Three Reasons Duke can Win the 2021 National Championship

[BlueDevilStop]

Three reasons I believe Duke can win the 2021 National Championship next season. What gives you confidence in Duke's ability to hang another banner next season?

Three Reasons Duke Can Win the 2021 National Championship | By the avid Duke fan, for the avid Duke fan

Duke enters the 2020-2021 season as one of the favorites to cut down the nets in April. There are plenty of reasons to believe that Duke can be the 2021 National Champions. Guard play. Guard play is always important during March Madness, and Duke will enjoy the luxury of having excellent guard...

bluedevilstop.com

 

[HuffyJB]

Three reasons I believe Duke can win the 2021 National Championship next season. What gives you confidence in Duke's ability to hang another banner next season?

Three Reasons Duke Can Win the 2021 National Championship | By the avid Duke fan, for the avid Duke fan

Duke enters the 2020-2021 season as one of the favorites to cut down the nets in April. There are plenty of reasons to believe that Duke can be the 2021 National Champions. Guard play. Guard play is always important during March Madness, and Duke will enjoy the luxury of having excellent guard...

bluedevilstop.com

I think the last several years have served to reiterate the point that there really isn't a "formula" for building a national championship team. There are some things that can be argued make the road easier - shooting, experience, etc. But there really is only one thing that is a must, and that is the prerequisite talent. You have to have pros. A lot of different types of teams have won championships in the last decade. Look no further than how different the two Duke teams that won a championship in that time span were. The only true common denominator among the various champions is that they had multiple guys who would go on to play in the NBA. Those guys can have no NCAA experience or be grisled seniors, but you gotta have dudes. This Duke team has that, including three potential first round picks in Johnson, Hurt, and Moore, all of whom will be in the league a year from now. Duke has question marks, as virtually everyone does - how will Roach handle the point, what they will get from the bigs - but the one box you absolutely have to have checked as a starting point is checked.

 

[kingbluedevil]

It takes a team playing together to win a championship and players that can handle pressure. Virginia proved that

 

[timo0402]

It takes a team playing together to win a championship and players that can handle pressure. Virginia proved that

UVA also proved you need a ton of breaks to win.

 

[HuffyJB]

UVA also proved you need a ton of breaks to win.

Boy did they.

 

[kingbluedevil]

Boy did they.

You definitely have a few games that you need breaks

 

[jwill133]

The biggest things Duke has going this year are...
-It's gonna be another down year for the NCAA overall. Guys leaving early to go pro are destroying rosters, nobody has any depth. Plus the incoming freshman class isn't a superstar type class.
-Lack of fans/crowds. I truly believe this is gonna help Duke out a ton, our road environments are insane. Even when it comes tournament time, I think a quiet gym is our advantage. Talent is even more important when fans aren't in the stands.
-2 of our 3 best players are sophomores. Call me crazy....but in 2020 that is an experienced team. We also got shooting and depth, K has a lot of options at his disposal.

 

[christophero]

I like our experience this year. It's a tough question as to what it takes to win. Talent, luck, some experience and balance. Our last 2 Elite Eight teams were good and our talent allowed us to get that far but our youth allowed teams to hang around and it caught up with us.

 

[Jake1985]

Guys leaving early will always happen or until there is a minimum years in college requirement but even then the G league could take a players too

 

[mo.st.dukie]

Guys leaving early will always happen or until there is a minimum years in college requirement but even then the G league could take a players too

I find it funny all the people who want the OAD rule to go away thinking that is going to help. There will still be players leaving after one year, it just means there will be fewer elite level talents in college basketball which won't be a good thing.

Anyways, on the topic of the thread, we will have good size, depth, and talent. I think Moore and Hurt are both going to make big improvements in their consistency and thus in their on-court production. I also think the backcourt rotation of Roach, Steward, and Goldwire will be very solid on both ends of the court.

 

[2 skerz 3]

The biggest things Duke has going this year are...
-It's gonna be another down year for the NCAA overall. Guys leaving early to go pro are destroying rosters, nobody has any depth. Plus the incoming freshman class isn't a superstar type class.
-Lack of fans/crowds. I truly believe this is gonna help Duke out a ton, our road environments are insane. Even when it comes tournament time, I think a quiet gym is our advantage. Talent is even more important when fans aren't in the stands.
-2 of our 3 best players are sophomores. Call me crazy....but in 2020 that is an experienced team. We also got shooting and depth, K has a lot of options at his disposal.

Good points all around.

 

[christophero]

Assuming Hurt and Moore make the expected jumps we will have 3 upperclassmen in vital roles. If Baker makes a jump that will be 4, although Baker plays a crowded position. But it will be very hard to keep Baker off the floor if he is hitting 3's.

 

[bmbritt]

It takes a team playing together to win a championship and players that can handle pressure. Virginia proved that

You’ve also got Connecticut and Louisville’s most recent championships within 5 years and neither team was loaded with NBA talent. UCONN had Shabbaz Napier and Louisville had Montez Harrell. The only teams loaded with NBA players to win it in the last 5-6 years have been Duke, UNC, & Nova.

 

[jwill133]

You’ve also got Connecticut and Louisville’s most recent championships within 5 years and neither team was loaded with NBA talent. UCONN had Shabbaz Napier and Louisville had Montez Harrell. The only teams loaded with NBA players to win it in the last 5-6 years have been Duke, UNC, & Nova.

UVA had 3 NBA players on their roster. Hunter (3rd pick), Jerome (1st rounder), Guy (2nd rounder).

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

I like our experience this year. It's a tough question as to what it takes to win. Talent, luck, some experience and balance. Our last 2 Elite Eight teams were good and our talent allowed us to get that far but our youth allowed teams to hang around and it caught up with us.

and we played two experienced teams in Kansas and MSU....uggghhh, we had those games too

 

[DukeNation12]

Any great teams must have at least 2 guys you feel comfortable with at the FT Line late....hope we can find those guys!!

Would be GREAT to have a nice FT shooting team as well.