Coming into the 2022-23 basketball season, the Duke Blue Devils were entering a new chapter with high hopes. The year before, Duke made it to the Final Four before being knocked off by arch-rival North Carolina. It was a bittersweet goodbye to an all-time great coach, Mike Krzyzewski. However, things looked bright for the Blue Devils heading into the new season. They have first-year head coach Jon Scheyer, a player and assistant under Coach K for many years, Jeremy Roach would be returning after a strong tournament showing, and a number one recruiting class headed to Durham, with three guys in the Top 10. They also brought in a couple of transfers with leadership skills who served as perfect glue for the team. With all of these additions, many were looking forward to this new era. The excitement quickly faded, however, as the situation took an immediate turn for the worst.
Before the season, Derek Lively and Dariq Whitehead suffered injuries that would sideline them for practices and a couple of games. Neither were severe injuries; however, with it being their first year of college and having a new coach with a different philosophy, they lost valuable time. Returning from injury, both guys looked behind and a step slow. Lively was now batting for minutes with bright transfer Ryan Young. Darqi was a shadow ofhis old self. Losing two guys who some figured to be starters before the season began was a big blow. These injuries resulted in Scheyer playing guys in minute situations that did not best suit them.
The injury bug did not stop with Lively and Whitehead. Lead guard Jeremy Roach had a lingering toe injury that also caused him to miss a couple of games. The way things played out, it might have been for the best. Many considered Roach a National Player of the Year dark horse coming into the new season, and it is safe to say he has not lived up to the hype. When Roach is commanding the offense, things get stagnant. He could distribute the ball better and he sometimes takes extremely questionable shots. These are weaknesses you would expect from a freshman or transfer guard learning a new offense, but this is a veteran who has been at Duke for three years. Jeremy shouldn’t be making these mistakes.
In Roach’s time away with injury, Tyrese Proctor took over point guard duties. Proctor showed glimpses of light at times. It seemed that Proctor took better care of the ball, effectively ran the offense and things went smoother all around for the Blue Devils. With the good comes the bad. Proctor is shooting a disastrous 26% from three and 34% from the field. Proctor has shown glimpses of good shooting, driving and passing, but has not lived up to expectations.
Only two guys have exceeded or met expectations on this Duke team: big men Kyle Filipowski and Ryan Young. Young has been a beneficiary of Lively’s poor performance. He is averaging around 10 more minutes and doubling Lively’s points and rebounds per game. As good as Young has been, he has his flaws. Young’s rim protection is next to nothing. He is a force on the offensive end as he backs down smaller defenders and uses excellent footwork. On defense, he is a liability. Lively is the opposite. He is a great shot blocker but a nonfactor on the offensive end. Fliopwski, on the other hand, has been everything Duke fans could have asked for and more. At 7’0, Flip does things that are not natural for a guy his size. He is capable of guarding one through five, is a double-double machine and, at times, is Duke’s only reliable offensive source. There are moments when defenses throw him off his game, but that is something that is to be expected from a freshman.
Excluding Flip and Young, the other players have glaring weaknesses. Fellow freshman Mark Mitchell has shot very well from three but doesn’t shoot many of them. He is a tremendous offensive rebounder but can’t drive or create for himself. Jacob Grandison is a three-and-D type player who shoots only 33% from deep with little to no production anywhere else. He hasn’t added much leadership in being a captain and grad transfer, either. Whitehead and Lively have not been as advertised before the season started. Proctor has been very shaky. Jaylen Blakes is a dog and won’t back down from anyone. He has had times where he is a leading scorer and a spark off the bench. However, he suffered an injury to his face and is still limited in what he can do offensively. There is little going right in Durham.
With Dariq suspected to be out with what looked like a possible torn Achilles (all hope that it is not), Lively not producing the way he should, Roach providing more bad than good and the rest of the guys not meeting expectations, things are starting to get scary for the Blue Devils. Duke is now 5-4 in conference play and 14-6 overall. If there was ever a time to change things, it is now. Scheyer expected growing pains, but no one expected it to be like this. This group does not have the same fight and intensity as previous Duke teams. While this team has shown little hope thus far, there is still time to turn things around and make some noise come March.