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2009-10 Duke Basketball Predictions

Written October 28, 2009 by Rock Henderson

The Duke Blue Devils will open the 2009 season in a familiar position inside the preseason Top 10 rankings. After watching their neighbor North Carolina take home the national championship a year ago, Duke has aspirations of cutting down the nets themselves as no clear cut favorite has been decided for the upcoming season of college basketball. The success of the Blue Devils will weigh heavily on the shoulders of SF Kyle Singer. Coach K led Duke to their first Sweet 16 appearance is three years and has stock piled talent in Durham to possibly get even deeper into the Big Dance. The college basketball odds to win the 2009-10 NCAA basketball tournament at Sportsbook.com lists the Blue Devils at 25-1 odds to take home the title.

Gone from the Blue Devil program is explosive F Gerald Henderson who opted to enter the NBA Draft a year early and was picked 12th by the Charlotte Bobcats. Greg Paulus is playing college football at Syracuse currently. Paulus was the general of the team from 2005-2007, but saw his playing time decrease to virtually nothing his senior year due to the emergence of Nolan Smith. Guard Eliot Williams showed flashes of becoming a big time player in the program, but a family illness caused him to transfer closer to home to play for the Memphis Tigers. Blue chip recruit Mason Plumlee adds depth to one of the tallest front courts in the nation and brings athleticism to the table which is something Duke has lacked in the past. Plumlee is one of three McDonald’s All-Americans that join the squad. G Andre Dawkins should see considerable playing time as a true freshman due to Williams leaving the program and was ranked the 10th best prospect in his class by most publications. 6-10 F Ryan Kelly was North Carolina’s player of the year. Get ready to bet college basketball this season with a $20 free play when you open a new account with Sportsbook.com.

Preseason All-American Kyle Singler will assume the leadership role for the 09′ Blue Devils. The versatile forward averaged 16.5 points per game last season and a team high 7.7 rebounds. Singler and guard Jon Scheyer averaged almost 33 minutes/game, but that number should decrease this season with added depth through the addition of a nice recruiting class. Scheyer is the teams main threat from the perimeter after hitting on almost 39% of his three point attempts in 2008 and averaging 15 points per game. PG Nolan Smith will run the Blue Devil offense full time and will have to improve on his 1.1/1 assist to turnover ratio. Smith is Duke’s best defender and probably the most athletic of the starting five. 7 foot center Brian Zoubek provides height up front along with a soft shooting touch from the foul line as Big Z shot 83% from the charity stripe a year ago. Lance Thomas shot 63% from the field last season and provides a physical presence for the Blue Devils in the post that is also willing to do some of the dirty work.

The big knock on Duke recently has been the lack of raw talent they have brought in in recent recruiting classes. Up tempo teams have had their way with the Blue Devils (eg Villanova’s 23 win in the Sweet 16 last year) and that resulted in the benching of three year starter Greg Paulus at point guard. The Dukies are optimistic that the true freshmen they brought in along with the experience Smith gained at point last year will result in a much more up tempo team. This team is capable of making a tournament run, but their young players will need to mature quickly before ACC play begins.

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