I want to see Duke's returning guards run an offense through a bad shooting half on the road. The January schedule gives Caleb Foster and Cayden Boozer three chances in four games to show how they handle that job.
Duke's September 9 schedule announcement puts the Blue Devils at Boston College on January 16, Wake Forest on January 20 and Clemson on January 30. A home game against Notre Dame on January 23 separates the last two trips.
That stretch follows a friendlier arrangement of buildings. Duke opens ACC play at Georgia Tech on December 30, then plays three of its next four games at home. The returners get that early January run before their routines have to travel.
The ball should be in experienced hands
Caleb Foster finished last regular season with 25 assists and two turnovers across Duke's final six games, according to his official Duke biography. He averaged 8.3 points and 2.8 assists for the season.
I would gladly take that six-game ball security into January. A guard can help a road offense by getting the team into its next action quickly, keeping his dribble when the first pass closes and avoiding the live-ball giveaway that hands the other team a layup. Those are the possessions I want to count alongside his made shots.
The two-turnover stretch is a useful precedent. Repeating it would be a demanding standard, especially with different teammates and opponents. Duke still has to establish how it will share the ball this season.
Cayden Boozer brings a different recent sample. Duke lists him as a starter in all seven postseason games last spring, when he averaged 13.0 points and 3.6 assists. His full-season averages were 7.7 points and 3.0 assists.
That postseason responsibility gives me a reason to expect more from him now. If an opponent pushes him away from the first screen, I want to see whether he can bring the ball back, organize a second action and give Duke time to find a shot. A late-clock rescue attempt tells us something different from a possession that never needed rescuing.
January can answer a question before Carolina arrives
Neither guard has to win a road game alone. Duke's announcement identifies Patrick Ngongba II and Dame Sarr alongside them among four returning players who finished in last season's top six in scoring. The returning group should have enough familiarity to communicate through a possession that breaks down.
North Carolina visits on February 13, with the return game in Chapel Hill on March 6. By then, Duke will already have had that Boston College, Wake Forest and Clemson sequence to show whether its guards can settle the offense away from home.
Boston College also has a recruiting story beyond that January date. Tre Keith's commitment gives Luke Murray an early win with the 2027 class. For another argument about established programs heading into the season, Sam Whitlock and I disagree about Pitino and Hurley's Big East edge.
My pick is to trust Duke's returning guards with the difficult possessions early. I would start judging that trust by their turnovers and late-clock decisions at Boston College on January 16.
