Potential Duke Position Battles To Watch For

There are a few realistic position battles for Duke fans to watch throughout the offseason. Let's go through them now.

Starting Point Guard: Caleb Foster vs. Cayden Boozer

John Blackwell will be Duke's go-to guy offensively next season, but it will likely be either the senior Foster or the sophomore Boozer alongside the Wisconsin transfer. The favorite is likely Foster, but a competition could assuredly arise.

Obviously, Foster has the experience and has now been to three NCAA Tournaments with the Blue Devils while serving as the lead guard in 2025-26. The North Carolina native's box score stats won't jump out, but it's the way Foster impacts winning that sets him apart.

Foster is one of the best rebounding guards in college basketball and was arguably the best perimeter defender Duke had last season. However, it's hustle, energy, and poise that make the upperclassman the favorite.

Although, when Foster went out with injury for the ACC Tournament and part of the NCAA Tournament, Boozer proved he can run the offense.

In the five games Foster missed across that time, handing the keys to Boozer, the freshman averaged 13.4 points and 3.4 rebounds a night while dishing 16 assists to nine turnovers. He also played over 35 minutes in four of those games.

Experience is one of the most important aspects of a roster in today's age of college basketball, but this is certainly the top battle to monitor.

Starting Frontcourt: Lots of Options

Patrick Ngongba will be Duke's starting center, but the two pieces around him in the starting lineup remain unclear, mainly due to the creativity at Scheyer's disposal in working with this roster's plethora of size and skill on both sides of the ball.

Dame Sarr is the projected starter at the three spot with incoming 5-star freshman Cameron Williams at the four. However, Scheyer can tweak this in many different ways.

Scheyer could go small and run three guards, putting the 6'8" Sarr, 6'10" Williams, 6'9" Drew Scharnowski, or 7'0" Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje at the four (yes, the seven-footer can play the four).

Or, Duke could go big with a Sarr/Boumtje Boumtje or a Williams/Scharnowski combo, or anything in between.

Scheyer has a lot of options here, and the makeup will come down to what Scheyer wants to have on the floor to begin games, whether that be defensive length, shooting, or anything else.