- Last Season: 29-8, Lost in Elite Eight
- Notable Losses: Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr., Grayson Allen, Gary Trent, Trevon Duvall
- Notable Additions: R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, Tre Jones, Joey Baker
We likely have never seen a recruiting class that can rival what the Duke Blue Devils are bringing in for the 2018-19 college basketball season. At the top, they are doing something that’s pretty much unprecedented, adding the top three recruits in the entire class with R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish. While those three players get the hype though, they have another top-20 player in Tre Jones and, after reclassifying for 2018, Joey Baker also joins as a top-20 recruit from the 2019 class.
This collection of freshman talent is absurd and should make this Duke team formidable from a talent perspective. That’s at least three lottery picks that are going to be on the floor in Cameron for the Blue Devils every night and then two other NBA-caliber players. In a model that we’d expect from John Calipari, this might be the most talent-laden group of young players that Mike Krzyzewski has coached in his illustrious career.
While that may be true, there are still questions about this team. The first and perhaps most crucial is in regards to their experience. Duke returns no starters and essentially every returning player is someone who is unproven. In addition to being young and top-heavy though, there is also the notion that these highly touted recruits are both unproven and have to learn to play together.
Because of the talent, you have to believe that this Duke team is one of the three best in the country. Having said that, if there are stumbles from this team, it wouldn’t be surprising.