The Duke basketball roster has gone through tons of changes throughout the offseason, and there are still several decisions that have to be made. Cedric Coward has not officially announced he will be staying in the 2025 NBA Draft, but it’s much more likely than not that he will. Additionally, the Blue Devils are the leaders to land international prospect Dame Sarr, but a decision there has yet to be made.
Now, with the likelihood of Sarr heading to Durham and Coward staying in the draft, that gives a good idea of what next season’s Blue Devil rotation will look like. However, not only is the majority of next season’s roster built on potential and not proven production at a high level, but it’s missing one key aspect that all championship-caliber programs need: experience.
After swapping Coward for Sarr, next year’s starting five will feature only one upperclassman in junior Caleb Foster. The other four starters will likely be Isaiah Evans (sophomore), Dame Sarr or Nik Khamenia (both freshmen), Cameron Boozer (freshman), and Patrick Ngongba II (sophomore).
And beyond that, Maliq Brown will be the only heavy contributor that’s above a sophomore coming off the bench. The Blue Devils added Rice transfer center Ifeanyi Ufochukwu and Princeton transfer guard Jack Scott, but Jon Scheyer will be seriously lacking guys who have proven to be able to be impact-caliber players on a championship team next year.
Foster came into last season as a top breakout candidate in college basketball, but things didn’t go as planned, as he was eventually benched in favor of Sion James and didn’t provide much offensively for the majority of the season. Although the talent is there, Foster hasn’t proven he can start on a team that can win a championship.
Evans established himself as one of the best shooters in the nation as a rookie, but he was strictly a 3-and-D guy. 81% of his shot attempts and 78% of his makes came from beyond the arc, and although we all know how good of a shooter he can be, it’s still to be seen if he can be a second or third top scorer for an elite team and increase his offensive arsenal outside of shooting.
Ngongba showed flashes of ability to protect the rim and the ability to run the floor in transition, but his offensive package needs to be heavily developed throughout the summer. He dealt with injury for a good part of his freshman season, but he’s another Blue Devil who will be thrust into a major role next year after never being a key contributor before.
Then, outside of Darren Harris, a rising sophomore who didn’t play much as a freshman but has tons of outside shooting potential, the rest of the offensive production will come from almost exclusively rookies in Khamenia, Sarr, and the Boozer twins, Cameron and Cayden. Cameron Boozer might be the most “sure thing” on next season’s roster in terms of expectations. He’s one of the top recruits in the nation and is expected to potentially be the best freshman in college basketball in 2025-26.
Next year’s Blue Devil squad possesses a ton of talent and potential, but it’s tough to see this team as a perennial national championship contender with the lack of experience and proven production at a high level.
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