Duke Basketball: Jon Scheyer Expects Big Roles for All Four Freshmen
Unlike most recent years in Durham, the returning Duke basketball scholarship players alone could form a formidable rotation. There are eight of them, six more than last year.
That bunch includes four returning starters: Kyle Filipowski, Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell, and Jeremy Roach. Together, they mark the first time the program has welcomed back its top four scorers in almost 40 years.
So it's unlikely that more than one of the four incoming five-star freshmen (two guards and two forwards) will be in the starting lineup for Jon Scheyer's second season as head coach. That number might even be zero, especially if the Blue Devils land former Kansas big man Ernest Udeh Jr. or some other talented center via the transfer portal.
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Nevertheless, it sounds as though Scheyer sees newcomers Caleb Foster, Jared McCain, TJ Power, and Sean Stewart earning regular minutes.
"You go from having, really, no experience last year to having really good experience...and you add in a freshman class," the 35-year-old told SiriusXM's Chris Spatola on Friday. "All four [freshmen] are going to be ready to play and contribute — and play really big roles — but also not just where it's thrown on their shoulders, and nobody else is there to help them survive."
Assuming he's right about all four rookies carving out significant roles, then one would think that the Duke basketball rotation might grow into the double-digit variety, giving the Blue Devils a consistent advantage over opponents in the fresh-legs department.
After all, remember that Ryan Young and Jaylen Blakes played more than 30 games apiece last season for a team that won 27 games. Furthermore, it's not out of the question that Jaden Schutt and Christian Reeves will be deserving of increased usage as sophomores after receiving primarily mop-up time as freshmen.
If nothing else, the in-practice competition for minutes between those four less-heralded returnees and the four new faces should be beneficial.
While Foster, McCain, Power, and Stewart all finished among the top 20 on the 247Sports 2023 Composite, none were in the top 10. In other words, although the class is full of guys who would likely get immediate playing time for any team in the country next season, it might not contain an instant college superstar.
No worries. Filipowski, Proctor, Mitchell, and Roach should provide plenty of star power for a collection projected to begin the season at No. 1 in the AP Top 25.
Yes, continuity from last season and the addition of four heralded recruits give Scheyer high hopes for the 2023-24 Blue Devils' potential to be as dangerous as past Duke basketball super teams.
"The best teams we've had," Scheyer noted to Spatola, "we've had that balance of having some experience, even though it's not been a lot usually, with really good young talent as well. And I do think that we have both of those things."
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