Beginning Monday, June 21st, 2004 CHN began unveiling 144 Team previews in 144 Days. CHN ranked the nations top 144 teams, and is unveiling one per day leading up until the opening day of the 2004-05 Season.

Bookmark the 144 Teams in 144 Days home page, and check back each day to see which team is previewed next.

#11 Duke Blue Devils

ACC

2003-04: 31-6, 13-3, 1^st

2003-04 postseason: NCAA Final Four

By Joel Welser

J.J. Redick is a great shooter, Daniel Ewing is ready to break out and become a leader, Shelden Williams is a rebounding and shot blocking machine and Shavlik Randolph is primed for a breakout season.  Duke needs all four of those players to become leaders and perform up to their abilities or there could be some unhappy campers in Krzyzeskiville.

Who’s Out: Chris Duhon held together the Blue Devils for four seasons.  What happens with his absence?  Shaun Livingston would have been the answer, but he skipped out of Durham to head for the Clippers.  Duhon averaged 10.0 points, 6.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds as a senior last year.  The only true point guard on the roster is junior Sean Dockery who averaged 15.4 points in all 37 games, but is nowhere near the threat or leader that Duhon had been.  Luol Deng headed for the NBA after one season under head coach Mike Krzyzewski.  The 6-8, 220 pound forward averaged 15.1 points and 6.9 boards.  Nick Horvath and Andy Borman didn’t see too many minutes last year, but Horvath was a decent big man who would come in deep off the bench.

Who’s In: DeMarcus Nelson and David McClure are the only two newcomers, which give the Dukie’s just eight scholarship players.  Nelson holds the California state high school record with 3,462 career points.  He was also named the state’s Mr. Basketball award winner.  Obviously, Nelson is a scorer.  At 6-4, he has decent size for a shooting guard.  Nelson will score from anywhere on the court, but Duke needs a point man, not a scorer.  While Nelson could spend some time running the point if Dockery can’t step up, his future is at the two spot.  McClure will provide some much needed depth in frontcourt behind Shavlik Randolph and Shelden Williams.  McClure is a smart player and should be able to step in wherever Coach K asks him to.

Who to Watch: With Daniel Ewing and J.J. Redick on the wings and Shavlik Randolph and Shelden Williams under the basket, the Blue Devils have plenty of talented players to watch, but the most important player will be point guard Sean Dockery.  The 6-2, Chicago product did see some good minutes last year.  Dockery has a lot of doubters out there, but in the eight games Dockery played over 20 minutes, he put up 20 assists and committed only four turnovers.  If he can put up numbers like that, Duke will be fine.  Dockery doesn’t have to be the big time floor leader like Chris Duhon was.  Ewing and Redick can provide that.  Dockery just has to play smart and get the ball to the scorers.  If it becomes apparent that Dockery can’t run the show, then look for Ewing, Redick and DeMarcus Nelson to share time at the point.

Projected Conference Rank: The Blue Devils aren’t a deep team.  They could be an injury away from major problems, especially while drudging their way through the tough ACC schedule.  Shavlik Randolph came on strong at the end of last season, but can get into foul trouble, which causes a problem for such a thin bench.  It’s still Coach K and it is still Duke, so a total breakdown won’t happen, but in the ACC a 4^th place finish is still good enough for a borderline top 10 team. 

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

« Team #12 , Team #10  »

Email Joel Welser: jwelser_chn@ameritech.net

Chat About CHN's Top #144 Ranking: http://pub14.ezboard.com/fcollegehoopsnetfrm8

Return to the 144 Teams in 144 Days home page