Duke Blue Devils: Struggling to win games
The Duke Blue Devils are spiraling downward into a tailspin right now.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski, better known as ‘Coach K,’ will miss several weeks or potentially the rest of the season due to back surgery. Grayson Allen has received mass criticism for his tripping incidents. Amile Jefferson is out indefinitely due to reinjuring his foot. Harry Giles III does not look like he is 100% healthy. Marques Bolden cannot get any minutes on the court, though he is a highly recruited center. Jayson Tatum has not found a rhythm in this offense, partly due to playing out of position. There is no facilitator for the Blue Devils’ offense.
The best players for the Blue Devils this season have been Amile Jefferson and Luke Kennard. Jefferson averages 13.6 points and 10.1 rebounds this season. He leads the Blue Devils in rebounds. Kennard averages 20.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this season. Kennard leads Duke in scoring.
Despite having one of the No. 2-ranked 2016 recruitment class this season, Duke has endured chemistry problems. Bolden, Giles, Frank Jackson and Tatum were ranked in the top 20.
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Prior to this season, many people assumed that Duke’s incoming freshmen were the re-enactment of the 2015 season. Duke won a national championship in 2015, headlined by their freshmen class including Allen,
Tyus Jones,
Jahlil Okaforand
Justise Winslow. The Jones/Okafor/Winslow trio dominated college basketball in their lone season as student-atheletes. Jones, Okafor and Winslow went pro shortly after Duke won the title game against Wisconsin.
ESPN’s Seth Greenberg said it best during a podcast recently. Greenberg stated, “Duke has no point guard. Frank Jackson doesn’t know if he is a point guard or two-guard. Tatum is a volume-shooter who is a small forward. He is playing the four for Duke. The freshmen pieces do not fit at Duke.” Greenberg discussed everything mentioned earlier in this article.
One word sums up Duke’s problems: identity. Duke lacks an identity. The Blue Devils are at their best when the offense ran through Kennard. He is their best pure shooter. It is obvious that he is a team player, in my opinion. Last season, he came off the bench at times when he was capable of starting.
Duke should not force the identity of the team to be based off Grayson Allen. There is too much talent on this team to center the team around him. The absence of Jefferson will hurt this team.
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However, the other issue centers on how to make this team gel. Associate head coach Jeff Capel has his hands full figuring this team out. He has a good coaching track record, which makes him more than qualified to handle this situation.
Duke’s success this season will depend on how they can find an identity for the team that fosters cohesiveness on the basketball court. There is a lot of individual basketball taking place for Duke. Once the players learn how to play together and through one another, then they will look like a typical Blue Devils team.