Duke Blue Devils

What is wrong with Duke basketball?

Published Jan. 27, 2016 5:37 p.m. ET

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It's been 167 weeks since the last time Duke basketball was not ranked in the Top 25 in the AP poll. After losing four out of their last five games, including their Monday loss at No. 15 Miami, the No. 24 Blue Devils look as though their streak of being ranked will end when the new polls come out next Monday.

So what exactly is wrong with the defending national champs? Well, first off, they have been without their most important player, senior forward Amile Jefferson (broken foot), since Dec. 5. At that point, their only loss had been to No. 2 Kentucky. Since then, they have four losses to unranked teams. Jefferson is not a guy who is going to stuff the stat sheet, but he was the leader of the team and the best defensive player as well.

Since his departure, Duke has dropped from about 100 in defensive efficiency all the way to the 150s. Duke’s defense is one of the worst in the country, ranking in the 200s in many key defensive categories, including rebounding, points and turnovers forced. There is still no timetable for Jefferson's return, but in order for Duke to even have a shot at making a run in the NCAA tourney, it needs him back badly.

Second, Mike Krzyzewski has insisted on playing only six players. Not six players off his bench: Six players total. Many people in college basketball seem to defend this, saying, “He has no bench to play.” 

But Coach K has never been a guy to use a deep bench, usually bringing in only three guys off his bench. And since Jefferson’s injury, that number is down to one player. But in his last recruiting class, Krzyzewski brought in three McDonald's All Americans (Brandon Ingram, Chase Jeter and Luke Kennard) and then a five-star guard in Derryck Thornton, who reclassified up from the 2016 class. He also returned four players from last season's team. To go along with those eight possible rotation players, Rice transfer forward Sean Obi became eligible. So this number is at nine, but yet he has a lack of depth?

Chase Jeter has played a total of 161 minutes this season, appearing in 17 out of 21 games so far. Jeter has only played double-digit minutes in five blowout wins, three coming before Jefferson’s injury. Jeter has not played more than seven minutes in a game since conference play began. Duke fans keep saying how he has not lived up to expectations, but I argue, how can you even slightly get into a rhythm when you get in the game for a minute at a time? Obviously, he is not ready to be playing 20 minutes per game, but you’re telling me the 11th-ranked player in the country coming out of high school can’t even get 10 to 12 minutes a game? How are you supposed to develop him when you don’t give him a chance to make mistakes and grow as a player?

Obi has played in only 10 games this season, averaging 2.3 minutes. In his first year, the 6-foot-9, 260-pound big man averaged 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds (conference leader). But as a sophomore, Obi hasn’t played more than five minutes in any game, and sat out in six games in which Duke won by 20-plus points. 

Lastly, freshman guard Thornton hasn’t lived up to the hype as well. He was ranked No. 7 coming out of high school and in time he will grow into the point guard of the future for the Blue Devils, but for now he has a lot to learn about the college game.

Coach K and Duke have to get things turned around quickly or else they may be in danger of missing the NCAA tournament.

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