We’ve looked at the intriguing point guard battle between vet Caleb Foster and freshman Cayden Boozer and how the competition should make both better, and what the big men, Maliq Brown, Patrick Ngongba and Iffy Ufochukwu, bring to the team. We touched on Sebastian Wilkins briefly as a potential big in a pinch but not Cameron Boozer, which we’ll talk about in a bit.
Pitt’s Jeff Capel, who served on Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke staff along with Jon Scheyer, maintains that there is only one position left in basketball: point guard. Everything else, he says, is interchangeable.
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Scheyer takes a slightly different approach. He hasn’t had a great point guard yet but as a former point guard himself, he obviously understands Capel’s argument. However, he also likes rangy big guys who can defend inside.
When it comes to the other players, the In Betweens, he’s more or less in sync with his old colleague and current ACC rival.
And this year, Duke has a lot in between the 1 and the 5. Let’s look:
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We’re not listing Cameron Sheffield and Jack Scott as both are primarily going to be practice players.
Evans, a 6-6 sophomore, is widely seen as a guy who could have a major breakthrough season. He had flashes of greatness last season and has one of the most beautiful shots in all of college basketball. No one doubted that last season, not least of all after his first half, 18-point eruption against Auburn and the rugged Tiger defense.
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Evans’ issues revolved around his weight and strength and developing the rest of his game, notably on defense. He made big progress on that end last season and has been putting in time in the weight room as well. There are a lot of other things he’s going to work on to reach his potential, but so far, he’s not scared to put in the work. Consequently, Evans is poised for a big year.
Great things are expected from Cameron Boozer as well. Our SBN colleague Ricky O’ Donnell goes so far as to say this: “The mix of youth and experience on this roster is really tantalizing, especially if Cam Boozer can be as dominant as Flagg was a year ago. I think it’s on the table, and that’s why Duke is again a top national championship contender.”
Strong words.
Boozer, a 6-9 freshman, is physically mature and he has broad skills like Flagg. He can go outside, inside, around and under. His competitive desire is also well proven, as he and brother Cayden won basically everything they tried in high school and AAU competition.
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We don’t expect he’ll be as good on defense as Flagg was, but he could be a more dominant offensive performer. Obviously he’ll have to defend to play for Scheyer, but otherwise?
Potato, potahto: different means to the same end. We didn’t list him as a big man because we think his versatility is too valuable to confine him to the post. Our guess is that if got down to either Boozer or Wilkins having to play the post in an emergency, Scheyer would probably go with Wilkins and let Boozer roam free on the plains like the magnificent bison he was always meant to be.
Sorry about that…the spirit of Bill Walton channeled through for a minute. Bad Walton! Bad Walton!
One last point on Boozer: it’s very rare for the son of a celebrated athlete to be as good as his father. Boozer has a chance to be better than his father, Carlos. Kobe Bryant did this, as did Ken Griffey, Jr., but not many do.
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Darren Harris, a 6-6 sophomore, was an anomaly in the modern game last season: he was willing to wait. No one has to wait anymore, but Harris was fine with it.
That may pay off this season as he is reportedly vastly improved. And while we won’t take this to the bank, it’s at least possible: Harris could make Evans the second best shooter on this team. The guy has an absolutely gorgeous shot. As Clark Kellogg, voted the TV analyst most likely to have an anal fixation (okay, it’s just our vote there, although maybe Walton will weigh in again, but he does like to go on about the nether regions) might say, it’s as soft as a baby’s bottom.
Dame Sarr, a 6-8 freshman from Italy, was a late recruit, a guy who Duke got after Cedric Coward decided to stay in the NBA Draft.
At 6-8, Sarr is comfortable in the backcourt or at forward. There are some questions about his shot, but with Evans and Harris on board, not to mention Cameron Boozer, three point shooting should be covered. If he can hit it, that’s great. If he’s a 6-8 slasher and defender, that’s a huge asset as well. We’ll see about his athleticism as the season unfolds, but reportedly it’s quite good. Of course, that’s the main requirement to excel, but if he has a fierce nature, that’s just as important. He could be a massive defensive asset, particularly if Scheyer wants to switch constantly again. This is a guy who could easily guard 1-4 against most teams.
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Khamenia, a 6-8 Californian whose father hails from Belarus, and get this: he was a college teammate of Ngongba’s father, also named Patrick, at George Washington. Those guys should enjoy seeing their kids together at Duke. Wouldn’t that be amazing as former teammates to cheer your sons on on the same team?
Khamenia, like Ngongba, benefits from growing up in a basketball family. Like Ngongba, one of his parents coaches (Ngongba’s mother is a coach at GW and Khamenia’s father is an assistant at Los Angeles Valley College).
His play reflects it. Although Khamenia, like many unusually tall teenagers, is physically immature, or at least was last spring, his game is anything but. He shoots well, passes beautifully and can be plugged in in many ways. He reminds us a bit of Mike Dunleavy, who came to Duke as a very thin freshman before maturing into a superb all-around threat. Khamenia has a chance to emulate that at Duke. Another willing defender, Khamenia should also be useful if Scheyer opts to switch with this group, and why wouldn’t he?
Khamenia says that the reason he chose Duke over UCLA and Gonzaga was the culture. That’s a huge compliment, really.
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Last, but not least, is Wilkins, who like Flagg, is from New England and reclassified.
His story is well known: like Brown and the Boozers for that matter, he has been a Duke fan since a very young age. He conned his mother into taking him by Cameron when he was six and this past spring, he made his dream come true by committing to Duke. We’d love to know which Duke player he first started to follow since that’s been a major factor for several other players over the years. As we’ve noted, that pattern tends to repeat.
At 6-8 and 220, he’s physically mature. In fact, his high school nickname is possibly the best at Duke since Sheldon Williams’ Landord: THE WARDEN. Gotta love that. We may get “lock him up!” or “busted!” cheers this year.
Here’s what Wilkins says Scheyer can expect: “He’s getting someone who’s going to work for whatever he gets. I don’t get anything given to me. I always work for everything. I’m just a hard worker. The talent’s going to show for that.”
According to Adam Finkelstein, Wilkins has a 6-10 wingspan, is fluid and switches well on defense (there we go again). Finkelstein says he’s best at getting to the rim but his outside game is improving.
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Where he really has an early chance to shine is in rebounding. He’s a true dog on the boards and that, along with defense, may get him on the court with a chance to build a role.
All in all, Scheyer has a lot to work with with the players between the point guards and the bigs. And for that matter, there is significant overlap between Foster, Cayden Boozer and Brown and the In Betweens.
Next up – we put the pieces together in Part XI.
