No. 6 Duke has run this race before, the one that begins with newcomers starting the season in consideration for anchor roles with a title contender.
Head coach Jon Scheyer is prepping the Blue Devils to be ready to sprint out of the gates when Duke tangles with a rebuilt Texas team with Sean Miller in his first season as coach of the Longhorns.
Duke and Texas meet in a neutral-site game on Nov. 4 in Charlotte in a season opener.
“It is going to take some time to understand some rotations and how to play our guys in the best way possible because we can put some different lineups on the floor,” Scheyer said.
It’s likely that freshmen Cameron Boozer and Nikolas Khamenia will be in Duke’s starting lineup. They could be joined by returnees Isaiah Evans, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II.
Duke, which reached the Final Four last year, was dubbed the preseason favorite in the Atlantic Coast Conference. But the Blue Devils have lost some of their firepower from a year ago, most notably Cooper Flagg, who was the first overall selection in the NBA Draft. But he’s not the only core player who is now playing professionally. So are first-round draft choices Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach and second-round picks Sion James and Tyrese Proctor.
There are ample openings for new standouts to emerge.
“We may not be deep, in terms of numbers, but I think our depth is in our versatility with the different lineups we can play,” Scheyer said. “So, I think for me as a coach and our coaching staff, that is going to be something we have to figure out.”
Texas, coming off a 19-16 season, has played in the NCAA Tournament the past five seasons.
Miller is well-traveled, coming off the second of two stints with Xavier. In between, he was in charge at Arizona. He was with Xavier for three seasons in the second go-around, coming off a 22-12 season.
“You need experiences before you take on challenges like the one that is in front of us now,” Miller said.
Sixth-year guard Tramon Mark is embarking on his second season with the Longhorns after averaging 10.6 points per game last season, joining returnees Jordan Pope and Chendall Weaver.
Miller has brought along swingman Dailyn Swain and forward Lassina Traore from Xavier, while former St. John’s guard Simeon Wilcher and ex-Purdue forward Camden Heide are on board. Center Matas Vokietaitis, the Freshman of the Year in the American Conference last season, also joined the Longhorns in the offseason.
The roster composition was intentional for the Longhorns.
“I think they want to play in a style that allows them to get up and down, so that’s something that we’re certainly bringing with us to Texas,” Miller said.
Duke was without Maliq Brown (knee injury) for both preseason exhibition games, while Dame Sarr (oblique) missed much of the preseason before playing in the Oct. 26 exhibition at Tennessee. Scheyer has identified the duo as keys to the team’s defensive efforts.
The Duke-Texas matchup is dubbed the Dick Vitale Invitational. The Blue Devils have won all five previous meetings — all at neutral sites — in the series, most recently in November 2017 in Portland, Ore.
