I still can’t even watch games or even highlights from last season.

Just a good old fashion Elon-Trump breakup with drugs, pedophilia and threats of cutting government contracts.

Going to assume a 10-year-old is running that account.

Can this team win a national title? Sure. Are they one of the favorites? No. While the extra COVID year is gone, other teams will still have a lot more experience. Squads like Florida, Houston, Purdue and others should be the favorites. If Duke begins the year ranked #9, that sounds about right.

My starters: Cayden, Foster, Evans, Cam and Ngongba. The first guards off the pine are Sarr/Harris, with Dame capable of running point for small stretches. Brown will back up both the four and five spot, with Iffy getting some minutes. Kham and Wilkins will backup the 3-4 spots.

Thus, the key for Duke will be what we'll get out of the returners. I'm excited for junior year Foster. Evans with more weight will be deadly playing 25 minutes per game. Add in Harris as well. Brown needs to stay healthy, but Big Pat is key. I think he is capable of being sophomore Carlos Boozer.

I love Dame, but I'm curious about the adjustment to playing college ball versus European. Wilkins should be a senior in high school, so I see him as a role player, which leaves Khamenia. He can stroke it, but needs work on his footwork and agility and could be a defensive liability on the wing.

The big question is, can any of the other freshmen be our next Kon? While Flagg was our star, Duke doesn't do what it does without Kon, who was considered a multi-year player until people started raving about him over the summer. The raves were right.

As for the freshmen, I'm a big fan of the twins. No, Cam is not Cooper, but he can be much like Banchero, leading the team in points and rebounds, sitting as a top-10 college player. I also believe people are sleeping on Cayden. The kid is clutch and very much can start at the point.

Those battles will let us know where we stand and then they'll have the conference games to improve for what matters...the tournament. If we win more games than we lose out of those high profile match ups, then win the ACC, we should be a 1 or 2 seed again.

This young team is going to be in a bunch of rock fights early in the season, with a schedule that is both brutal and insane. Texas, Michigan State, Kansas and Arkansas, plus who we face in the ACC/SEC challenge. Hell, we have to go to West Point on Veteran's Day to play Army. Then Michigan in Feb.

This squad won't be as good as last years. It can't be. Last year's team was a generational team; one of the best ever according to Ken Pom. A team that was just 18 points away from being undefeated. Expect a drop-off, which is fine. It's not about winning all your games, just the last one.

Three sophomores, five freshmen, one senior and maybe two juniors, if you believe Iffy is going to crack the rotation. Thus, very similar to the 2023-24 squad that lost nine games, but reached the Elite 8. Very talented, but a lot of first time college players.