Duke enters another season with lofty expectations, and the second-ranked Blue Devils aren’t shying away from them.
“I have a lot of confidence in this group and where we can get to,” fifth-year coach Jon Scheyer said. “We have a long way to go, but I could not be more excited about these guys.”
The journey officially launches Monday night, when Army arrives as the season-opening opponent in Durham, N.C.
This is the third season in a row the teams will meet and the fifth time in the past decade. Duke won 114-59 last November at West Point, N.Y.
The Blue Devils have tuned up for the regular season by winning a home scrimmage against Belmont and exhibition games at home against Tennessee and at Kansas.
Duke has reloaded its roster, though it may lack the immediate freshman impact Cooper Flagg and Cameron Boozer provided the past two seasons. That’s OK with the Blue Devils.
“We’ve seen historic impact with our freshmen, but the (new ones are) going to be contributors to winning,” Scheyer said. “They’re fortunate they have more experience in the building where guys can help guide them.”
Duke has dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference in recent seasons. Last season ended with a stunning loss to Connecticut on a last-second 3-pointer in the East Region final, leaving the Blue Devils with a 35-3 record.
“I feel like the guys we have coming back and the guys we’ve brought in are super talented guys, but I love the mentality that everybody has,” swingman Dame Sarr said.
Sarr, center Patrick Ngongba II and guards Caleb Foster, Cayden Boozer and John Blackwell, a transfer from Wisconsin, provide the veteran element.
Ngongba, at 6-foot-11, has pointed out that there are three teammates taller than him.
The lineup rotations are bound to be evolving, Scheyer said.
“We can go small. We can go big,” he said. “I think the strength of this team is the versatility, but at some point we have to find our core of who we’re going to be.”
Army won’t have the size to match up in the frontcourt.
Army coach Kevin Kuwik enters his fourth season hoping for a turnaround, beginning with a difficult opening-night assignment at Duke. He said there’s an emphasis on improving defensively.
“It’s going to take a little bit,” Kuwik said.
The Black Knights have four returning starters from last season’s 11-21 team.
“To have those four guys who have been through it is awesome,” Kuwik said. “That being said, behind them we have a lot of young guys that are still kind of finding their way as Division I basketball players.”
Senior Ryan Curry, a three-year starter, led Army with 13.3 points per game last season.
“That fearlessness, the confidence, the competitiveness that Ryan has is invaluable for our younger guys,” Kuwik said.
It’s a homecoming type of game for Army reserve guard Jaden Ellis, who’s from Greensboro (less than an hour away from Durham).
This is one of two Army games against a power-conference opponent, with the other coming prior to Christmas at Rutgers.