The offseason was a bit of a roller coaster for Duke basketball fans, before head coach John Scheyer and the rest of the Blue Devil staff were repositioned to become a championship contender again right after the season ended. There was a large exodus of players from last year's roster. Also.
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After losing Ryan Young to eligibility exhaustion, the Blue Devils lost two of their best players as Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain declared for the upcoming NBA Draft. Those departures were quickly followed by seven players entering the transfer portal, just one year after zero international transfers from Duke.
In total, the Blue Devils lost 11 scholarship players from last year's team, including most of their starters. The only scholarship returnees are in the backcourt, with rising junior Tyrese Proctor and sophomore Caleb Foster opting to commit to Durham.
They will be joined by the nation's No. 1 recruiting class. This six-tier collection is headlined by this cycle's No. 1 prospect, genius forward Cooper Flagg. Alongside him will be five-star center Carman Maluach, five-star forward Isaiah Evans, five-star forward Con Knuppel, five-star center Patrick Gomba II, and four-star winger Isaiah Evans. There's Darren Harris.
Duke has built the perfect roster for this season around Cooper Flagg.
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Coach Scheier made sure his top-ranked players weren't the only newcomers to the Brotherhood this season, as the young team has shown to be struggling in the transfer portal. The Blue Devil staff hit the portal hard with a four-tier transfer class to complement the mix of returning students and freshmen.
The first two commits are Syracuse transfer forward Malik Brown and Purdue transfer forward Mason Gillis, who provide size and experience. Brown's overall defense and Gillis' shooting ability are individual strengths.
A few weeks later, Tulane transfer guard Zion James arrived. And on Thursday, Rice transfer winger Cameron Sheffield committed to the Blue Devils.
This squad gives the Blue Devils 12 dependable scholarship players with a blend of youth and experience, as well as players with talent, size and versatility all over the court. Of the 12 scholarship players on next year's roster, none are under 6 feet 5 inches.
The Blue Devils currently have one scholarship announcement left, but all indications at this point are that walk-on center Stanley Bolden, who has been with Duke University basketball since the 2021-22 season, will be the 13th. It shows that you will receive the final scholarship.
On that note, keep an eye out for one or two new walk-ons in Durham next season.
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