The Duke Blue Devils will be defending their national championship in the 2015-16 season, but they'll have to do so with a very different team. Here are some burning questions facing Coach K's squad heading into next season:
3) How much juice does Coach K have left?
Mike Krzyzewski did one of his best coaching jobs this past season, taking a group of eight players - four of which were freshman - to a national championship. Now, he's having to replace half of his team with Quinn Cook graduating and Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, and Tyus Jones moving on to the NBA. Coach K will turn 69 years old this February, and while he's still having success, it's fair to wonder when his decline will start.
2) Can Grayson Allen take the next step in his maturation?
Allen was the least heralded of last year's freshman class, but he had his coming out party in the national championship game, scoring 16 points. He started the season on the bench, but after the dismissal of Rasheed Sulaimon, he started to get more playing time and showed flashes of his McDonald's All-American talent. With all of the roster turnover, Duke needs him to step up and be the team's best player if they're going to remain among the best teams in the nation.
1) Will the new class of freshman step up?
Duke's freshmen were absolutely unbelievable last season, and quite simply, the Blue Devils need this class of freshman to be extremely successful as well to fill the void Okafor, Winslow, and Jones are leaving. Brandon Ingram, Chase Jeter, Derryck Thornton, and Luke Kennard will all receive a lot of playing time, and Duke needs them to produce immediately if they're going to have any success this season.
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