Duke basketball. Maybe you watch it religiously. Maybe you don’t watch it at all, but you still root for some other team. Maybe you have no idea what’s been going on. But chances are, regardless of who or where you are, you’ve at least heard of the infamy that is Duke basketball, the 2015 national champions. Or maybe you’ve heard of Christian Laettner. Maybe you’re UNC, and you hate us. Whatever your stance is, though, I’m here to let you know that next year’s Duke basketball team is going to absolutely dominate (and, quite possibly, win another national championship), and I’ve got 10 good reasons why:
1. Grayson Allen
You’ve probably heard at least something about Grayson. His freshman year, he was a primarily bench player that only really “turned up” during the championship game against Wisconsin. Many have attributed the 2015 win to Grayson’s relentless energy. Sophomore year, Grayson became a force to be reckoned with. He was second in the ACC in terms of points, became the ACC player with the highest leap in points between seasons, scored the buzzer-beating basket against UVA and was the star of the Duke basketball team. One can only imagine how amazing he’ll be next year.
2. Harry Giles
Harry Giles was ranked the number one recruit for this season, received a 97 Scout Grade and is currently ranked at number one for the 2017 “Way-Too-Early” Mock NBA Draft. Basically, he’s insanely good. At 6’11”, he towers above most of the team. He’s crazy at dunking and shooting, and is reminiscent of the 2015 national champion, Jahlil Okafor. His only downfall is the torn ACL he’s recovering from, but it has been reported that he’s feeling at 100 percent.
3. Coach K
Coach K has 1,000 wins. I could just leave it at that, but I’ll continue. The current coach of the US Olympic team, Coach Mike Krzyzewski has the most wins of any coach in NCAA history: five NCAA Championships, 12 Final Fours, 12 ACC Titles and 13 ACC Tournament Championships. Basically, the man’s crazy good. I have zero doubts.
4. Amile Jefferson
In case you haven’t heard, following an injury, Amile sat out for the majority of last season, including the NCAA tournament. Therefore he decided to redshirt, meaning he will be returning for the 2016-17 season. Although Amile isn’t the "best" player on the court, I can say with honesty that he’s definitely one of the players with the most heart. He’s an amazing captain and encouraging person. I think that having him there again will encourage the team quite a bit.
5. Cameron Crazies
I’ll admit it: we’re a little obnoxious. We scream at inappropriate times. We never shut up. But I love it. We’ve been described as the "biggest home court advantage in college basketball," and I definitely agree. We’re distracting. We’re annoying. We’ll make sure our team plays to our best. And you bet we’ll make it to the NCAA tournament, too.
6. Marques Bolden
So the boy delayed his decision about as long as humanly possible. So what? He still chose Duke in the end, and he’s definitely a force to be reckoned with. And he may be able to fill the hole left behind by the loss of Marshall Plumlee. Let’s go, Marques.
7. The Draft
After the national championship, Duke lost 4 players: Quinn Cook, Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow, all high-scoring and all important to the team. Last year, then, Duke started over with an essentially new team. However, this year, Duke only lost Marshall Plumlee, Derryck Thornton and Brandon Ingram, only two of which regularly started. This means most of the players have at least some experience.
8. Size
Just look at Duke’s loaded roster. We’ve got six new players, plus all but three from last year. We have plenty of replacements, most of which are completely capable of playing well.
9. Jayson Tatum
In my opinion, Jayson’s very underrated and overshadowed by Harry Giles. However, this kid is also completely insane. He’s pretty high up in the current rankings for a reason, and he’s been playing all season with admirable heart and determination. He won Gatorade’s National Player of the Year. This boy is ready.
10. We’re Duke!
We won the National Championship in 2015 when everyone thought Kentucky had it in the bag. We beat UNC and UVA last year when we were basically unranked. We can do anything, and we will do everything. We’re striving for six, because Duke basketball never stops.
