John Scheyer inherits a seemingly impossible task at Duke, following former Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski. However, the sixth-ranked Blue Devils continue to win.
This year they start out as the favorites in the Atlantic Coast Conference again.
The Blue Devils finish the season with 35 wins, including a trip to the Final Four, and Scheyer, 38, became the first coach to win the ACC Tournament twice in his first three seasons. The Blue Devils lost all five of that team's starters, including Associated Press Player of the Year and No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Cooper Flagg, but added a No. 1 overall recruit and became the preseason pick to win the league race featuring No. 11 Louisville and No. 25 rival North Carolina.
This is the 10th time in 13 years that Duke has been the ACC favorite. Winning the ACC will depend on the integration of a recruiting class led by power forward Cameron Boozer — a recruit ranked third in the 247Sports rankings — along with returnees like Isaiah Evans and Malik Brown.
“I think if you continue to put yourself in that position where you're in that moment, you're right there, it's only a matter of time before you break through,” Scheyer said of the program's status as a frequent national title contender. “And I feel like that’s what our program is all about.”
The Cardinals lost to the Blue Devils in last year's ACC finals and reached March Madness in Pat Kelce's first season. It was a quick rise from a two-year slump under Kenny Payne: 12 wins, 52 losses, a 5-35 ACC regular season record.
Louisville is Duke's top contender, and Kelce has revamped his roster through the transfer portal.
“We don't talk about the past. We don't talk about the future,” Kelsey said. “Our only goal is excellence in the present.”
Top players
Darrion Williams helped Texas Tech reach the NCAA Elite Eight last year before declaring for the NBA draft. But the 6-foot-6 guard returned to college basketball for his senior season and transferred to NC State, where under new coach Will Wade he was the preseason ACC Player of the Year.
The league returns its two top scorers: Notre Dame point guard Marcus Burton (league-best 21.3 points) and Syracuse guard JJ Starling (seventh at 17.8).
Best transfers
In addition to Williams from the Wolfpack, the Cardinals added three of 247Sports' top 20 transfers: Ryan Conwell, Isaac McNeely and Adrian Wooley — all 6-4 guards who shot better than 40 percent of their 3-pointers last year.
Conwell averaged 16.5 points against Xavier and will be playing for his fourth school in as many seasons. McNeely averaged 14.4 points at Virginia, and Wooley (18.8) was Conference USA Rookie of the Year at Kennesaw State.
North Carolina added 7-footer Henri Wesaara, who left Arizona to join a Tar Heels team desperate for solid frontcourt play.
Best Freshmen
Boozer is one of six McDonald's freshman All-Americans, including Duke teammates his brother Caden (a point guard) and forward Nicholas Khamenya.
UNC will lean on forward Caleb Wilson, a two-way talent with athleticism and length. Wilson joins Boozer and Louisville point guard Mikel Brown Jr. as high-end NBA talents considered possible prospects.
Notre Dame also landed McDonald's All-American cornerback Jalen Haralson, the Fighting Irish's highest-rated prospect in the modern era.
New trainers
The league has four new coaches: Wade, Florida State's Luke Lucas, Miami's Jai Lucas and Virginia's Ryan Odom.
Wade, 42, returned to the ranks of the power conference after being fired from LSU due to problems with the NCAA. He had a big win in his two seasons at McNeese and replaced the fired Kevin Keatts.
Luks, 35, came after years in the NBA to take over at his alma mater under longtime coach Leonard Hamilton.
Lucas, 36, left Duke's staff to take over the Hurricanes, who saw coach Jim Larrañaga retire last December and retire under interim coach Bill Courtney.
Odom, 51, will take over a program at Virginia that saw longtime coach Tony Bennett retire just before last season. The former VCU coach grew up in Charlottesville, where the program competed, and his father, Dave, was an assistant in the 1980s.
Shortened schedule
The ACC will have an 18-game slate, down from 20 games, as the league tries to reverse a downward trend in NCAA bids (four last year). The move is designed to give ACC teams two more spots to schedule quality non-conference matchups that can bolster postseason resumes. The ACC moved to 20 games for the 2019-2020 season with the addition of ACC Network, partner ESPN.
Pre-season elections
Champion: Duke; 2) Louisville; 3) UNK; 4) state of North Carolina; 5) Virginia; 6) SMU; 7) Clemson; 8) Miami; 9) Syracuse; 10) Notre Dame; 11) Wake Forest; 12) Virginia Tech; 13) Georgia Institute of Technology; 14) Pittsburgh; 15) BSS; 16) California; 17) Stanford; 18) Boston College.
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