DUKE FRESHMEN START RED HOT

The future has arrived.

Duke Blue Devils basketball is now as dominant as ever. Led by the greatest recruiting class of all time, the Blue Devils have taken over the Associated Press No. 1 ranking and show no signs of slowing down.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has done what he has done for years and assembled what seems to be an unstoppable roster. Although the starting five this year includes four freshman, which some might say would reflect a critical lack of experience, the team is absolutely monstrous.

It starts with the man who broke the freshman school record for three-pointers in a game, Cam Reddish. Some say Reddish is Durant-esque, as he is a taller guard and is an absolute threat from anywhere on the floor. This showed against Army on Nov. 11, when he sank seven deep ones, helping propel Duke to a 94-72 victory. His stock is already rising, most draft boards putting him within the top five in the 2019 NBA draft.

Next comes the most underrated player on the team, Tre Jones. Most people recognize him or refer to him as the younger brother of 2014-15 Duke point guard Tyus Jones. But Tre deserves just as much respect as Tyus and deserves to be referred to simply as Tre Jones. He plays the game the right way and sticks to his role. He doesn’t try to do too much and is amazing at setting up his teammates. Through two games so far this season, while being the team’s main ball handler, Jones only has one turnover. This shows that his vision and control is superb, and helps play a huge role in Duke’s early success.

Third up is RJ Barrett, an all-around player who can seemingly score at will in any way possible. Averaging 28 points per game (through Nov. 11), Barrett is as dominant as any player in the nation, and being 6 foot, 7 inches, his rebounds rack up quickly. He’s averaging five a game, as well as four assists. He stuffs the stat sheet with practically every stat that he can come across and in turn helps his draft stock rise to a top-three pick.

Lastly and most certainly not least of the four freshmen is the most well-known player in all of college basketball, Zion Williamson. He is an absolute beast on the floor. Averaging 27.5 points and missing only five shots total in the first two games, the guy is virtually unstoppable. All this season, opposing team game plans will be geared to contain Williamson, since they know there is no actual way of stopping him. There is a reason he is already being compared to LeBron James.

Watching the games thus far, I just do not see any other team standing a chance against this Duke lineup if the stars stay healthy. In a few months, I almost guarantee you will hear the Blue Devils’ names being called in the national championship game.