2014–15 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team

Departures

After the 2013-14 season, Duke lost 4 seniors and 2 underclassmen from the squad. The six players leaving the team accounted for over half of the team's scoring and nearly half of the rebounding during the previous year. Among the senior departures were Tyler Thornton, who started 25 games in his senior season, and Andre Dawkins, who was the last remaining member from the 2010 NCAA Championship team. The two underclassmen, Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood, declared for the 2014 NBA draft on consecutive days and were both selected in the 1st round. Parker led the team in points, rebounds, and blocks, with Hood being the second leading scorer on the team.

In addition to the player departures, Duke also lost a member of the coaching staff. Associate head coach Steve Wojciechowski left the program to become the head coach of the Marquette Golden Eagles. To replace him, assistant coach Jeff Capel was promoted to associate head coach, and special assistant Jon Scheyer was promoted to assistant coach.

# – Denotes departure that occurred during 2014-15 season

Class of 2014 signees

Duke brought in a recruiting class of four players to join the 2014-15 roster. Guard Grayson Allen was the first to commit, doing so soon after his junior season at Providence School. Throughout the summer of 2013, much of Duke’s recruiting efforts were focused on point guard Tyus Jones and Center Jahlil Okafor. Both were consensus top 10 recruits in the class of 2014, with Okafor being named the number one prospect by many major recruiting services. The pair had long been rumored to be planning on committing to the same college in spite of living hundreds of miles apart and the rarity of package deals coming to fruition. That November, the rumors were confirmed when the pair announced their decision during concurrent press conferences. Only a week later, 5-star small forward Justise Winslow announced that he would join the Blue Devils as well. Winslow’s commitment gave Duke the number 1 recruiting class of 2014 according to the major recruiting services, the first school other than Kentucky to be ranked #1 in six years. In the spring, all four players were named to the McDonalds All-America team with Allen winning the dunk contest, Jones capturing the skills competition and Okafor earning co-MVP honors for the game. Over the summer of 2014, Duke also added Sean Obi, a transfer from Rice, though he would redshirt during the 2014-15 season due to NCAA rules.

Team Expectations

Duke entered the 2014-15 season with high expectations. The combination of freshman talent and veteran leadership led many to put the Blue Devils on the early short list of Final Four contenders. Duke was named the favorite to win the ACC by the media at Operation Basketball, the league's annual media event. Nationally, Duke was ranked #4 and #3 in the preseason polls by the Associate Press and coaches respectively, earning 2 first place votes in the coaches poll.

Expectations were just as high inside the program. After a disappointing early exit in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, incoming freshman Tyus Jones sent a text message to Coach Krzyzewski saying “this won’t happen next year” in reference to the defeat. Senior guard Quinn Cook was preparing to cede his starting point guard role to Jones and transition to shooting guard, a position he had not played regularly in the past. Cook was quick to dismiss any speculation that Jones was coming in to replace him in the lineup, stating that his willingness to change positions was driven by his desire to win. Hanging a banner in Cameron Indoor Stadium, something that requires winning an ACC championship or reaching the Final Four, was a major goal for the team. Cook told the media that “I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished anything,” referencing the fact that his previous teams had not raised any banners. Cook proved his work ethic over the summer, remaining in Durham the entire summer to work out. That hard work helped him earn the title of captain prior to the season along with junior Amile Jefferson. Jefferson had his own high expectations for the team, stating that “our guys have been preparing this summer to do something special.”

Awards and watchlists

Aside from the team expectations, many individuals on the roster were highly praised during the preseason, none more so than freshman center Jahlil Okafor. In preseason interviews, teammates and coaches described Okafor’s game as “dominant”. The national media agreed with that assessment, with CBSSports.com and NBCSports.com naming him preseason player of the year. Additionally, he was named to the preseason All-American team by most major media outlets, including the AP, USBWA, and The Sporting News. Within the ACC, he was named preseason freshman of the year and was voted on to the preseason All-ACC team at Operation Basketball. Okafor was not the only player to receive high praise heading into the season. Fellow freshman Tyus Jones was named to preseason All-American second team by USA Today and third team by CBSSports.com.

Additionally, Okafor and Jones, along with senior Quinn Cook and Freshman Justise Winslow were named to several watch lists for prestigious postseason awards. Duke's three star freshmen were named to the watch list for the Naismith Award, with Okafor and Jones tabbed to the Wooden Award watch list, while Okafor and Winslow were named to the Robertson Trophy watch list. All three freshman made the Tisdale Award watch list, given to the national freshman of the year. Cook and Jones were tabbed for the Cousy Award watch list for best point guard in the nation.

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

In-season

‡ – Award shared with Xavier Rathan-Mayes

Postseason

Notes