When Mike Krzyzewski announced his retirement tour and succession plan in June, it sparked a lot of discussions. To say the least, not everyone was a fan. But, a little more than a year later, it’s difficult to dispute that the whole thing didn’t go off without a hitch.
Michael William Krzyzewski is a former college basketball coach from the United States. From 1980 to 2022, he was the head coach at Duke University, where he guided the Blue Devils to 15 ACC tournament crowns, five national championships, 13 Final Fours, and 13 ACC regular-season titles. Krzyzewski is acknowledged as one of the all-time great college basketball coaches.
Further, as a consequence, Krzyzewski led Duke to the Final Four for the 13th time, while Jon Scheyer, the Blue Devils’ coach-in-waiting, tirelessly recruited in order to give himself the best opportunity possible to maintain the Blue Devils at the top of the sport once he took over.
In what will be Scheyer’s first season as head coach, Duke possesses the nation’s top-ranked 2022 recruiting class and a team skilled enough to challenge for a national title.
Jacob Grandison, the most recent acquisition, revealed his commitment to the Blue Devils this weekend.
Last season, the 6-foot-6 wing scored 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 25.0 minutes per game for Illinois, hitting 41% of his 4.5 3-point attempts per game.
Along with returning point guard Jeremy Roach and the prospects have been rated No. 1 (Dereck Lively), No. 2 (Dariq Whitehead), and No. 4 (Kyle Filipowski) is projected as a probable starter at Duke.
Grandison’s devotion is one of the reasons the Blue Devils have risen to No. 5 in CBS Sports’ 2022-23 Preseason Top 25 and 1.
About Jacob Grandison
Jacob Grandison is a collegiate basketball player for the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference. He is American-Finnish (ACC). He formerly played for the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Holy Cross Crusaders.
Grandison earned third-team All-New England honors after leading the Exonians to a NEPSAC Class A victory when he scored 20 points in the championship game and was named tournament MVP.
Grandison was offered his sole Division-I scholarship to play at Holy Cross after his performance at Phillips Exeter, and he accepted.
Grandison got his highest points as an Illini with 24 points and equaled a career-high in three-pointers hit in a game with six as he led his team to a 79-74 victory over Michigan State on February 19, 2022.
Grandison, however, suffered a shoulder injury against Penn State on March 3, 2022, which forced him to miss the last game of the regular season and the Big Ten Tournament, as well as limiting his playing time in the NCAA Tournament.
Rankings In The Top 25 to 1:
Gonzaga maintains No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 because Mark Few’s squads return six of the top eight scorers from a 2022 NCAA Tournament team that was the No. 1 overall seed, including two-time All-American Drew Timme and double-digit scorers Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton.
Transfers Malachi Smith and Efton Reid have also boosted the roster this offseason.
Smith won the Southern Conference Player of the Year award last season after averaging 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists for Chattanooga. Reid began his collegiate career at LSU, where he was a former five-star prospect.
“Below are listed the top 10 Rankings“
1. Gonzaga
Gonzaga’s rating is predicated on the fact that the Bulldogs return six of the top eight scorers from their first-place performance at KenPom, including Drew Timme and Julian Strawther. Mark Few will have a good senior core to work with, as well as transfers, including Malachi Smith, a combo guard who averaged 19.9 points per game for Chattanooga last season and was named Southern Conference Player of the Year.
2. North Carolina
North Carolina’s rating is predicated on the fact that, with the exception of Brady Manek, every rotation player is returning, including All-American Armando Bacot, NCAA Tournament hero Caleb Love, and defensive specialist Leaky Black. UNC’s returning core is the greatest and most accomplished in the sport.
3. Houston
Houston’s rating is predicated on the fact that it returns a core that includes both players who were injured in December (Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark) as well as Jamal Shead. Kelvin Sampson will have to pair three double-digit scorers with Jarace Walker, a 5-star freshman who is one of the reasons Houston will be the AAC’s favorite once again.
4. Kentucky
The Wildcats’ rating is predicated on the return of CBS Sports National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe (along with fellow starter Sahvir Wheeler) and the addition of a five-star guard in Cason Wallace. Keion Brooks’ decision to transfer wasn’t ideal, but it will merely provide more opportunities for Jacob Toppin, who had higher field and 3-point shooting percentages than Brooks last season.
5. Duke
Duke’s rating is predicated on Jeremy Roach’s return, as well as the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class, which features three of the top four talents in the Class of 2022, as well as Illinois transfer Jacob Grandison and Northwestern transfer Ryan Young. Jon Scheyer’s first team will be young and inexperienced, yet full of NBA prospects.
6. Arkansas
The Razorbacks’ rating is predicated on the fact that they lost every significant player save Davonte Davis, which isn’t ideal. The addition of three five-star freshmen (Nick Smith, Anthony Black, and Jordan Walsh) as well as impactful transfers like Ricky Council (Wichita State), Jalen Graham (Arizona State), Makhel Mitchell (Rhode Island), and Makhi Mitchell (Rhode Island) should keep Eric Musselman’s team in the Final Four conversation (Rhode Island).
7. Baylor
LJ Cryer, Adam Flagler, and Flo Thamba are all returning from a Bears squad that shared the Big 12 title with Kansas. With the arrival of 5-star guard Keyonte George, Baylor could have one of the top backcourts in the country.
8. Kansas
Kansas’ rating is predicated on the fact that the squad that won the national title returns a core of Jalen Wilson, Dajuan Harris, and Joseph Yusefu. Bill Self’s team should contend for another Big 12 title thanks to a top-five recruiting class that includes 5-star recruits Gradey Dick, MJ Rice, and Ernest Udeh, as well as Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar.
9. Tennesse
Tennessee’s rating is predicated on the fact that four of its top five scorers are returning, including Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James. Tennessee will be without one-and-done point guard Kennedy Chandler but, owing to the arrival of five-star big Julian Phillips, should still be a factor at the top of the SEC.
10. ULCA
Jaime Jaquez, Jules, and Tyger Campbell provide Mick Cronin with a proven core to go along with a top-10 recruiting class that includes five-star recruits Amari Bailey and Adem Bona. UCLA could have a shot to make the Final Four for the second time in three years if the rookies are solid from the start.
