Does Duke Have Too Much Talent?
The Blue Devils Added A Ton Of Freshman And Transfer Talent Ahead Of The Upcoming Season. Can They Harness That Depth To Finish Ahead Of The Pack Or Have They Taken On More Than They Can Handle?
The Duke Blue Devils have had themselves an all-time recruiting class ahead of the 2024-25 college basketball season. Loading up with 6 freshman and 4 transfers, they look absolutely stacked heading into the year. With consensus number 1 and 5-star recruit Cooper Flagg headlining Duke’s recruitment drive, they also added fellow 5-stars Khaman Maluach, Kon Knueppel and Isaiah Evens alongside 4-star recruits Darren Harris and Pat Ngongba. Throw in the transfers of Maliq Brown from Syracuse, Mason Gillis from Purdue, Sion James from Tulane and Cameron Sheffield from Rice then you're starting to get a pretty awesome group already. Then factor in the returners they have in Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor then we are looking at a team that could go all the way come March. But the real question hanging over this all is - do they now have too many mouth to feed to truly showcase them all?
On most early pre-season projections, Duke seem to have 3 locked in starters - Tyrese Proctor, Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach. The intrigue really surrounds those 2 & 3 spots on the team, which ironically is where they have a boatload of talent. The most common lineup seems to settle on Tyrese Proctor, Caleb Foster, Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach as the starters with some featuring Isaiah Evans instead of Knueppel or even Sion James sliding into that spot. But there are questions surrounding this team. Who starts? Who comes off the bench first? Who gets minutes? Can they find minutes for all these guys? All of these are important questions and could invariable impact whether Duke can make a deep run come March.
The one thing Duke has going in their favour with having such a deep roster is the versatility this will bring to their lineups. If they want to go big, they have the guys to do it with a lineup of Tyrese Proctor, Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg, Maliq Brown and Khaman Maluach. In this case, Proctor would be the shortest guy in the lineup at 6ft 5in and they would have the size and length to match up with anyone on both ends of the floor. If they want a lineup with everyone being a threat from outside, they could run out a lineup of Caleb Foster, Kon Knueppel, Mason Gillis, Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach.
They have a lot of choice at all positions, and have the depth to adapt on the fly against anyone, however, while being this squads strength could also end up being their undoing. With up to 12 guys vying for a spot in the rotation, it is inevitable that someone's minutes will suffer. There are only a certain amount of minutes to go round so Coach Scheyer will have to perform a very delicate balancing act to keep everyone happy. The first sign of unrest could be this squad’s unraveling and it's going to take everyone buying in for this team to hit the heights expected of them.
The Rotation
Looking at how the Blue Devil’s will be best set up for success, we need to look at who they will send out to start. I think their most projected lineup of Proctor, Foster, Knueppel, Flagg and Maluach will be the one that starts. This lineup gives them the best balance of playmaking, scoring, shooting, rebounding, interior defense and perimeter defense. On the offensive end of the floor, Proctor is a more than capable table setter, with Foster and Knueppel ready to shoot the cover off the ball. Having Flagg and Maluach in the front court offers both an inside presence and an outside threat that will be hard to stop. On defense, you have Proctor and Foster holding their own on the perimeter, Flagg and Maluach locking down the interior and Knueppel ready to show that he's a more committed defender than he has been given credit for so far.
With a potential 7 players ready to contribute off the bench, decisions will need to be made. The Blue Devils have Darren Harris, Sion James, Isaiah Evans, Mason Gillis, Maliq Brown, Pat Ngongba and Cameron Sheffield ready to make an impact from the bench, but who will be the first guy off the bench? I think a realistic rotation could look something like this:
6th - Sion James
7th - Maliq Brown
8th - Isaiah Evans
Depth - Mason Gillis, Darren Harris, Pat Ngongba, Cameron Sheffield
James and Brown as the first guys off the bench offer experience and consistency. They also offer the potential to slide into different positions with James possibly playing the 2 or 3 and Brown playing the 4 or 5, meaning that a variety of options are available. We could even see them go to a jumbo lineup if Brown were to be subbed in for Foster with Knueppel sliding to the 2, Flagg sliding to the 3, Brown at the 4 and Maluach at the 5. James offers a direct swap out if either Foster or Knueppel are the first guys off the floor. Evans as the next man off the bench makes a lot of sense as a dynamic spark to the offense when the opposing defense is tiring. With Gillis, Harris, Ngongba and Sheffield offering depth at the end of the bench, Scheyer has a number of options to take the game in any direction he chooses.
The Blue Devils had a historic recruitment for this season. Their strength in depth will be their biggest asset this season, especially if Scheyer can find a way to keep everyone happy and bought in. All eyes will be on the team this season to see which way the equilibrium tips, but if Scheyer can find a way to feed all the mouths that need fed, Duke should be eyeing plenty of success come March Madness.