3 Questions for the Duke Blue Devils

Duke has started 8-0 and currently find themselves ranked fourth in the country. They have a huge week ahead of them including games against Florida in Durham and Michigan State in East Lansing. There are 3 key questions that have continued to exist throughout the start of the season. Let’s break them down here.

3 Key Questions for the Duke Blue Devils

1. Who is Robin?

Thus far, there is no question who is Batman. Cameron Boozer has put up monster numbers and established himself as one of the best players in the country. Look no further than the masterclass against Arkansas. Boozer was quite bad for the first 10 minutes of that game and ended up with 35 points and was unguardable for the last 30 minutes. He scores from all three levels, is a great passer, and has started to rebound well.

The big question is who goes along for the ride? Duke is currently missing Boozer’s Robin. Some games it has been Isaiah Evans. Some games it has been Caleb Foster. Other games it is Dame Sarr. While it is good to have numerous options, teams need a firmly established second option. If Cameron Boozer is in foul trouble or does not have it going, it is unclear who Duke would turn to to run their offense through.

Isaiah Evans is the guy that needs to be Robin. He is the most prolific scorer on the team but too frequently has spurts of brilliance with spurts of disappearing. Caleb Foster can do it as a scorer but he is currently trying to fill a playmaking role and he has struggled to do both simultaneously.

To avoid this, Duke can play through the post and initiate offense on the block. In doing so, the other players become spot up shooters. You also have the benefit of your best passers being Boozer and Patrick Ngongba.

2. Can Duke Control the Defensive Glass?

So far, it has been shaky at best. It thankfully has been astronomically better from the 17 offensive boards given up to Texas. However, it tends to still rear its ugly head. Duke allowed 4 offensive rebounds to Arkansas in the first few minutes which let the Razorbacks get off to a big time start.

Part of this is energy and effort. Duke has more size than most teams but Dame Sarr and Evans have not been consistently attacking the glass. Also, against Arkansas, Ngongba had 0 rebounds at half time.

The slow starts for Duke are largely related to this inability to rebound on the defensive end. If you can’t finish possessions, you let teams hang around. Scheyer will absolutely make this a major focus moving forward.

3. What Lineup Finishes Games?

The million dollar question. Starting games is nice, but finishing games is what matters. Without a doubt, Cameron Boozer will be on the court to finish games. Most likely, he will share the frontcourt with Ngongba or Maliq Brown. I expect Dame Sarr to be on the court because of his defense. However, Nik Khamenia played extraordinarily well against Arkansas and was able to defend the shifty Razorback guards quite well. His offense with that level of defensive effort could push Sarr.

The guard position is the other big question. Foster has been better with Cayden Boozer on the court. He also is currently Duke’s best 3 point shooter. Playing them together takes some size and length off the court with Evans going to the bench. However, it may give Duke a true point guard and two great defenders. Evans will be on the court when he is feeling it but Boozer and Foster may ultimately make up the backcourt to close out game.