Number 1 Blue Devils should be able to get by without their best player for a little while

CARRINGTON HARRISON

This season, the thinking has been that it’s Duke and everyone else.  In the early part of this season the Blue Devils have cruised to a 9-0 record, defeating highly ranked teams like Kansas State and Michigan State along the way.

A team that returned everyone except two complimentary players in Jon Scheyer and Brain Zoubek has gotten better and deeper. All of that was put into question however, when leading scorer and freshman point guard Kylie Irving got injured against Butler, now out indefinitely with a toe injury.  Irving up to this point was the best freshman in the nation this side of Jared Sullinger.

So the questions have to be asked.  Has the gap closed between the Dukies and the rest of the nation? What team does this help the most?

A myriad of teams are aided by Irving’s injury (Michigan State, Kansas, Syracuse, and Ohio State to name a few). But there is no reason for Coach K and Duke to panic. Irving will back.  A 18-19 year old heals quickly, especially someone in the elite level shape that Irving is in.

So before fans throw dirt on the Blue Devils take a look at their roster. The 17.4 points per game that Irving was averaging will now be picked up by Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry. Dawkins may be the best shooter in the country right now, shooting 54% from behind the arch and shooting (as older brother Steph and father Dell have shown) is in the Curry family lines.

Translation: Duke will be just fine.

They still have All-American Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and the Plumlee brothers to rely on.  I’m more than confident in Coach K’s ability to coach this team past this injury and for Duke to continue to play at a high level until Irving’s return. Before we know it, it will be mid January or February and the only issue will be whether Irving can get back into game shape, after which we can all resume rooting against Duke like we did before.

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