A Preview Of Duke Basketball

The 2020-2021 college basketball season was unlike any other season we have ever seen. From Covid restrictions, to no fans in the stands, to the March Madness tournament being in a “bubble”, and the traditional blue bloods not dominating the season, this was the most bizarre college basketball year in recent memory.

Duke Basketball saw their season get cut short for the second straight year due to Covid-19. The Blue Devils needed to make a run in the ACC tournament if they wanted a shot in the big dance. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils their game with Florida State got cancelled, therefore eliminating the Blue Devils from the ACC tournament and ending their season at 13-11.

While the season was not what any Duke fan was expecting or wanted, there was optimism that Duke would return almost all their 2020 recruits along with adding their 2021 recruits. However that was not the case as Duke saw two 2020 recruits declare for the 2021 NBA draft in Jalen Johnson and DJ Steward. Along with team MVP sophomore Matthew Hurt, who was expected to declare for the draft. Duke also had four players enter the transfer portal, including two 2020 freshman recruits who looked to be promising 3-4 year type of players in Jaemyn Brakefield, and Henry Coleman. So where does that leave Duke for the 2021-22 season ? As Duke lost 7 players from the 2020-21 team they will bring in 5 new faces including 4 2021 freshman recruits and a graduate transfer from Marquette.

Duke Basketball should return to the top of the rankings next year as they will have one of the top recruiting classes in the country along with returning some key players. Duke will get back veteran players in senior Joey Baker, and Junior Wendell Moore, along with two freshman from the 2020 recruiting class who are poised to have breakout years in sophomores Jeremy Roach, and Mark Williams. With those returning players Duke will add three 5 star recruits in Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffen, and Trevor Keels, and 4 star recruit Jaylen Blakes. The Blue Devils also added grad transfer big man, Theo John who will give Duke great front court depth behind Williams. Duke is still in the mix for another 5 star prospect, Patrick Baldwin, and if the Blue Devils can snag him, they for sure will be a top contender to bring back a sixth national title to Durham.

Duke fans should get very excited for this years upcoming squad as it’s a great mix of talented freshman, and experienced veteran players, a winning formula for college basketball. I expect Duke to be in the top ten and contending for another national championship this upcoming year led by Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams, and Jeremy Roach.

Q&A with Duke Nation Twitter Account Rick Heidrick

In 2014 Rick and a few buddies decided they wanted to expand on their love for Duke Basketball and create a Duke Basketball twitter account. With social media growing as popular as it is now it was a perfect opportunity for Rick and his friends to grow their platform.

Rick Heidrick and friends enjoy giving up to date news on all things Duke Basketball, including game scores, game recaps, podcasts, recruiting news and overall the interaction with Duke fans on twitter.

I sat down with Rick to talk about Duke Basketball, the twitter account, his thoughts on how the season abruptly ended, and early expectations for the 2021-2022 season.

What made you get into Duke Basketball ?

Well my Dad actually was the one who got me to watch college basketball when I was very young, but I really fell in love with Duke back in 2001 when I would watch Jay Williams one of the best college basketball players I have ever seen play. He led Duke to a national championship and was a top pick in the NBA draft and my love for the team just grew from there after watching great players come in and out through the years.

What made you want to start a Duke Basketball twitter account ?

I started this account to give myself a free space to let out thoughts and emotions on twitter, but after a few months as I gained more followers I realized I wanted to do this to interact with fans on twitter, hear different opinions, and try and grow this thing as big as possible. Right now I sit at 25k followers and Im hoping to continue to grow that even more.

What do you think a key issue was to this years Duke team struggling ?

Well for starters I wouldn’t pin point a specific reason why we struggled, I would name a few reasons why we struggled that all came together. Obviously we didn’t have any of those NBA ready type of players this year, plus add in the fact that Duke was one of the youngest teams in the country with no traditional preseason because of Covid it definitely was going to be a challenging year. It impacted our freshman guards the most like Jeremy Roach because the Point Guard position is easily the hardest to play for Duke. Roach’s season reminds me of Derryck Thorton back in 2016.

Thoughts on players returning next year and minutes ?

Next year will be interesting as we have most of our forwards returning with a few guards along with the freshman class. I would not be shocked if Duke gets in on the transfer portal and look to add a veteran transfer.

How do you feel about the way the season ended ?

It definitely was one of the harder pills I had to swallow because I truly believed they would have beaten Florida State on Thursday and work their way into the tourney. I feel awful for the players who didn’t get to experience march madness like Matthew Hurt and Jordan Goldwire who’s missed the tournament the last two years.

Expectations for Duke next year ?

Next year should be fun, as we bring in a good recruiting class plus return almost all these guys this year which is something Duke doesn’t usually do. I am very excited for next years team.

Duke Staying Alive

https://sportsbookwire.usatoday.com/2021/02/20/virginia-duke-odds-picks-prediction/

It’s not a normal college basketball year, especially when majority of the blue bloods aren’t ranked and struggling this year like Kentucky, North Carolina, Michigan State, and of course the Duke Blue Devils. Duke has not had an easy season as they saw their season open up at 2-2 with wins over Coppin State, and Bellarmine, but losses to Michigan State and Illinois. It was clear early on that Duke had a young an inexperienced team unlike other years.

The season however did not become kinder to the Blue Devils as the team saw five game cancellations because of Covid-19 in a span of five weeks. Duke just could not get into a rhythm during the season with games being cancelled left and right. As January rolled around and conference play was about to begin, and Duke sitting at a .500 record they received more disappointing news as their talented five star freshman and potential lottery pick Jalen Johnson went down with a foot injury.

Duke just could not catch a break and eventually dropped to a record of 7-8. The first time the team was below .500 since 1999. As Duke saw devastating losses come to below average teams like Miami and Notre Dame it was becoming panic time in Durham. To top everything off for Duke and the rollercoaster season, a few days after the Notre Dame loss, Freshman forward Jalen Johnson opted out for the remainder of the season to focus on the NBA draft. A decision that left most Duke fans frustrated and confused and a sense of reality that March Madness may not happen for the Blue Devils this year.

Not so fast, as Duke had its backs against the wall and with arguably the most talented player on the team opting out, The Blue Devils have rattled off three straight wins including a one point thriller vs #7 ranked Virginia Saturday night. Duke now sits at 10-8 with four games remaining and find themselves sitting on the “bubble” as some may say in hopes to make the NCAA tournament in March. It will definitely be an interesting next couple weeks in Durham as Duke has put their name back into the conversation. Watch Out Folks!

Introduction

I am going to be covering Duke Basketball. The geographic location will be Durham North Carolina. Also the Duke Blue Devils community across the country. The website will be called The Devils Den. The Devils Den is a site to get up to date information on all things Duke Basketball, including recruiting, games, schedules, prospects, and game breakdowns. The target audience is anyone interested to dive into Duke Basketball and learn more about the program and the behind the scenes work. All ages are welcomed as long as you love Duke. The content that will be created will be game by game breakdowns, player evaluations, in depth prospect / recruiting information, and a social media platform that will give up to date info on all things Duke Basketball.