Duke Basketball
Basketball season is just two weeks away, and the Duke Blue Devils are top of the AP Pre-season poll for the 8th time in school history. Duke came into the 2016-2017 season with the number one recruiting class in the nation, and high hopes for the season. Last year going into the beginning of the season, the Blue Devils were seen as too young and lacking talent in the point guard position. An injury to Senior Forward Amile Jefferson halted any chances of returning to a National Championship Title like the previous year. The team finished with an overall record of 25-11 and 11-7 in the ACC, picking up key wins against rival North Carolina, and a veteran Virginia team. This year, the Blue Devils are hungry to get back to the Final Four, and potentially win it all. They have already been picked as a favorite to win the National Championship. The Blue Devils roster is loaded. Due to Amile Jefferson's injury, he was granted permission to be red-shirted to play out his Senior season. Grayson Allen turned down a chance to go to the NBA to return for his Junior season, along with Matt Jones returning for his Senior season. Sophomore Shooting sensation Luke Kennard is back as well, after averaging 11.8 PPG his freshman year. The biggest asset for Duke this year however, is their freshman class. The Blue Devils picked up the number 2 and number 3 recruits in the nation in Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles. Tatum is expected to play some at Guard and as a Forward. He is explosive off the dribble, and uses his height to gain easy access to scoring in the post. Giles is currently rehabbing from a torn ACL that occurred his Junior Year of High School. He has not played competitively in over a year, but believes he will be back to competing midway through the season. Harry Giles stands at 6"11 with a 7"3 wingspan, and is very agile which will help the team tremendously. A key contributor to the team will be Frank Jackson. Duke has struggled with finding a true point guard the last two years, and Jackson may have the answer to the problem. He has a great eye on the floor and is capable of making the right pass at the right time. He also can elevate quickly off the dribble and has a quick pull-up jumper that will be essential. The final pieces to the puzzle for the outstanding Freshman class are Forward Javin DeLaurier and Center Marques Bolden. These two will be an important part of Duke's defense in the paint. DeLaurier averaged 1.9 steals, 2.6 blocks, and 12.0 rebounds during the 40 minute Adidas All-Star game. This shows that he will be needed on the glass. Marques Bolden will also be a rim protector and will be needed on the defensive end. He averaged 2.6 blocks per game during High School, and was able to block 5 balls during Duke's exhibition game against Virginia State. Bolden will need to use his long arms and his aggressiveness down low to finish at the rim and give the Blue Devils easy points. Overall this team is loaded down with talent, and should do big things in the coming months. Their first matchup will be against Marist on November 11th at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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