Championship Team in the Making or Too Much Talent to Handle?
You hear every year about the colleges who get the top basketball recruits for the next season, but what you don't hear so often is a college getting the #1, #2 AND #3 recruit for the next season. Well, that all changes this season.
The closest a team has gotten to having the top 3 players on their team in the past decade was in 2016 when Duke landed #1 Harry Giles and #2 Jayson Tatum; but we all saw how that ended.
Coach Krzyewski landed #3 small forward, Cam Reddish, in early September of 2017. With this McDonald's All-American signing with the Blue Devils so early, it already made me excited to see what happens next. Just two months later the #1 ranked recruit for 2018, R.J. Barrett, also signed with the Blue Devils. So it all came down to one. With offers from 28 schools including Kentucky, Kansas, and North Carolina, Zion Williamson was the player almost everyone team wanted. On January 20, Williamson crushed the dreams of fans all over the country when he committed to the Duke Blue Devils; everyone except the Cameron Crazies of course. And let's also not forget that there's going to be a new Jones in Cameron Indoor next season. Duke basketball is ranked #1 in the pre-season rankings for the third season in a row, but what does that really mean anymore?
Although Duke has so much talent on one team, and to some is a guaranteed championship win, is it possible that Coach K has too much talent to deal with?
The question is not can these players play well in college, but if they can play well together in college. It's been a question in the past whether or not Duke can make a lot of star-power on one team work. It was questioned for the current season. With Allen returning as a senior and Duke gaining freshmen such as Marvin Bagley III, Trevon Duval, and Wendell Carter Jr. it was a concern that these key star players would be able to play together or if their star power would get the best of them.
So far in the season Duke has proved they could work together, regardless of the amount of talent and star power on the team, but I don't think the talent is as good as it will be in the 2018-2019 season.
The key to Krzyewski's 6th national title would be able to get these 3 players to work together, and if that happens this team is unstoppable. With Grayson Allen graduating this spring, Coach K no longer has, as some would say, his "go-to" player. Not knowing who will come back in the fall and who is planning on leaving for the draft, Krzyewski has a lot to think about.
With it being likely that only Gary Trent Jr. and Alex O'Connell being the only blue devils to stay for another season, how is Coach K going to bring these stars in to work with this team?
