When the Duke men’s college basketball team tips off their 2021-22 season, the time for talk will be over.
The talk, however, isn’t coming from the Blue Devils. It’s all the offseason and preseason analysis of their program which has the nation buzzing.
All eyes will be on Duke, ranked No. 9 in the Preseason AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll, as their head coach Mike Krzyzewski begins his final season on the bench.
There will be plenty of pomp and circumstance for Coach K, deservedly so. The man is a legend in college basketball, he’s a brand name on the professional and collegiate level.
The farewell tour, for the Blue Devils and Cameron Crazies, hopes to end with another Final Four run.
It’s the ending many believe will occur, because of how last season ended and the offseason unfolded.
Duke is coming off a season where it missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995. Think about that for a second – did that sink in yet?
There a few certainties in life, Duke playing in the tournament has been one of them.
However, with returning starting players Wendell Moore Jr. (junior forward), Jeremy Roach (sophomore point guard), and Mark Williams (sophomore center) – the Blue Devils are aiming for their return to normal – the normal which college basketball fans are used to seeing.
Stability and experience are a plus for any team, but Duke’s roster also received an influx of talent in the offseason.
For those watching from afar, one name to keep an eye on this season is Paolo Banchero; the stretch-forward is projected by many experts to go No. 1 in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Big East fans may remember big man Theo John with Marquette. The 6’9″, 242-pound center made his way to Duke as a graduate transfer.
AJ Griffin, like Banchero, is a top-10 freshman, with NBA Draft lottery potential.
This season, the national audience will see plenty of Duke and what’s shaping up to be quite the farewell tour for Coach K.
Duke has the experience and talent to have the bounce-back season many of are predicting. Will it also, however, be the storybook sendoff for one of the greatest coaches of all-time?
Image: Wendell Moore | Reagan Lunn / Duke Athletics
