Ladies and gentlemen, the curtain call has begun. A lot of jokes have been made at Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s expense the last few months since he announced this would be his “last dance” with the blue blood boys. But guess what, you envious bunch of haters? The joke is on you. This team is far too fun to hate on, and they looked like the best team in the country last night.
Duke’s roster this year is reminiscent of their 2018-19 roster that featured Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones. It’s stacked to the brim with upper-echelon talent — from the #2 overall draft prospect in Paolo Banchero, who should be the #1 overall prospect by a decent margin ahead of Memphis’s Emoni Bates, down to junior forward Wendell Moore who looked immensely confident in Madison Square Garden last night. This team isn’t only going to be really freaking good, they’re going to be undeniably fun.
Their top-tier talent was on full display last night, and they were led by two names that NCAA and NBA fans alike should get familiar with: Paolo Banchero and Trevor Keels. Let’s begin with Strawberry Keels since he hasn’t gotten as much coverage heading into the season as the Seattle native has.
Keels is what I call a bully guard. He’s not a point guard or a shooting guard specifically, he has combo guard skills with the body of an Alabama running back. He’s both quick and agile with a tremendous feel for the game and a soft handle that’s always in control regardless of how congested a half-court set is. He reminds me of a combination between James Harden at Arizona State and Tyreke Evans at Memphis. And as the mayor of Pull-It county, I’m proud to anoint him as a resident. He had 25 points on 10-18 shooting from the field and 1-4 from three, which is typically dangerous territory for a freshman in their national debut, but he flexed his way right on through it.
Banchero isn’t as beefy as Keels yet, nor as baseline-to-baseline fast, but he is a 6’9” shooting guard who can get his shot off any time he wants because of his god-given talents. I mean, seriously. This is a dude who’s played in every AAU or professional development camp imaginable over the last several years, and he won damn near every single 1-on-1 tournament. He’s a bucket when he sleeps. He has tremendously polished footwork for an 18-year old kid. He and Emoni Bates of Memphis both have those tendencies that Kevin Durant had at Texas in 2006-07, where they’re unafraid to jack shots over outstretched defender arms, and have that tenacity to them to do it over and over again.
And despite both of these freshmen and future lottery picks playing out of their minds, the buried lead here is that this was a team effort. Duke’s defense looked stifling all night against a veteran Kentucky team. A defense anchored by Mark Williams, a 7-foot phenom with a wingspan longer than God’s, who blocks shots like they’re DMs from chemistry students. And Wendell Moore told ESPN that he wanted to be the best on-ball defender in college this year, which is quite the statement for a junior who has all the tools to do so. Sophomore point guard Jeremy Roach also provided a calm demeanor in half-court possessions, which is a big jump for him after looking lost in many similar situations last year.
All in all, the Champions Classic was won by Duke yet again. They looked threatening on both ends of the floor. They have the best player in the country. And they’re the best team in the country, too. Am I overreacting a little bit? Absolutely not. The #DukeintheNBA army’s going to grow a little bit bigger next June, and Coach K’s going to retire with a couple of more trophies.
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