Wahoo Wire

With basketball season gearing up, Wahoo Wire will be previewing each ACC team.

Duke Blue Devils

Last Season:

ACC: 13-3

Overall: 29-5

Postseason: NCAA National Champions

What they lost:

First, the Blue Devils lost their leading scorer from last year, John Scheyer.  While an important part of their offense the whole season, he was not relied upon as much as the season wore on.  Duke also lost Brian Zoubek, their 7′-plus center that became a Duke legend in the NCAA tournament.  While his play was brilliant and really helped carry them to the championship, Zoubek was never more than a role player in his years at Duke, not to mention Duke has never been known for producing true centers.

What they gained:

There’s a saying that good schools do not rebuild, they just reload…and that is surely the case with Duke.  The backcourt will see the arrivals of Kyrie Irving and transfer Seth Curry to go along with senior guard Nolan Smith.  Curry, two years ago in his freshman season at Liberty, averaged over 20 points a game and was absolutely lethal as an outside shooter.  Irving was the top guard in his recruiting class and the true freshman garners many a comparison to Isiah Thomas.  He brings a great deal of athleticism at the guard spot and should fit in well with Nolan Smith.  Also, it would be inappropriate to forget Kyle Singler who decided to come back for his senior season at Duke.  Both he and Smith should be in the hunt for player of the year.  Singler does it all as he can score from anywhere and there is no indication of him taking a step backwards.

Summary:

Last year’s team will probably prove to be more complete but it dwarfs in the athleticism of this year’s squad.  They should expect to win the ACC and surely compete for another National Championship.  If the Plumlee brothers can breakout this season, the Blue Devils will have the inside presence they need to defend their title.  The Bad News for the Hoos is that UVA plays them twice.  The Good News?  Both games are on ESPN.

• Boston College
• Clemson
• Florida State
• Georgia Tech
• Miami
• Maryland
• North Carolina
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• Virginia
• Virginia Tech
• Wake Forest