news-record.com

DURHAM — Duke starts the season tonight as one of the favorites to win the ACC championship.

Duke also starts the season tonight with some lingering question marks.

The Blue Devils have three starters back from the team that won the ACC tournament last season and reached the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen. Versatile junior Kyle Singler was voted the conference's preseason player of the year, and Duke tied with North Carolina atop the preseason poll.

But these same Blue Devils head into coach Mike Krzyzewski's 30^th season at Duke with just three scholarship guards on the active roster. And Singler, the team's leading rebounder each of the last two years, has been moved away from the basket to play on the perimeter as a guard or small forward.

So which is it? Dominant? Or depleted?

Maybe a little of both.

Yes, Duke's roster includes just three true guards. But the Blue Devils' starting backcourt of senior Jon Scheyer and junior Nolan Smith is one of the ACC's best guard tandems.

Scheyer, whose move to point guard late last season keyed Duke's postseason run, said people make too much of a lack of depth at guard.

"I think when you look at it, how many guards do you really play?" Scheyer said. "When it comes down to it, we have four really good guards. And that's something where, in past years, we've only played four or maybe five guards. So the main thing is staying out of foul trouble and staying healthy the whole year."

Four guards? Scheyer's already counting the 6-foot-8 Singler as a guard.

"Kyle's obviously a great player," Scheyer said. "And he's going to create so many mismatches being on the perimeter because he's big and he can shoot. I think he'll actually post-up more this year because he'll have a smaller guy (defending) him. Playing him on the perimeter is really going to help our team."

The other guard is freshman Andre Dawkins. After Elliot Williams transferred to Memphis, the prized recruit from Virginia studied over the summer to finish high school a year early and join the Devils now.

Scheyer said the kid will help right away. He'll have to, because Smith was suspended for the first two games of the season for playing in an unsanctioned summer league.

"Andre has been great so far," Scheyer said. "He's a really talented player. He can score. He can shoot. He's a good finisher. He can definitely bring us some firepower off the bench, and he gives us some real depth."

Even with Singler's move, there's all kinds of depth up front. Senior power forward Lance Thomas was a starter last season and a tough interior defender. Seven-footer Brian Zoubek also returns, and Duke features three 6-foot-10 forwards in freshman Ryan Kelly, and brothers Miles and Mason Plumlee.

Scheyer said sophomore Miles Plumlee might be the team's most improved player. His kid brother, freshman Mason Plumlee, will miss the start of the season after breaking his left wrist in a hard fall during practice Wednesday.

The key to the season will be Scheyer, a proven scorer and defender who returns as the point guard.

"Once our final roster was set and we looked at it," Scheyer said, "Coach K told me, 'You're going to bring the ball up again, so work extra on your ball-handling.' I'm excited about it.

"I'm not the quickest guy," Scheyer added. "I've always had to be pretty crafty to create shots. I'm not a point guard like Allen Iverson or Jason Williams, someone who can break guys down off the dribble. That's not what I'm trying to do. I'm just trying to get us into our offense. Once I get the ball back, of course I can still drive on people and score that way. That's just not the main thing I'm doing."

Scheyer won't carry the whole point guard load. When he and Smith are both in the game, Scheyer will run the point on offense while Smith defends against the opposing point guard.

"Nolan's really good at that," Scheyer said. "He's better at that than I am, and he takes a lot of pressure off of me. I don't have to worry about getting worn down, bringing the ball up the court and guarding the ball."

Keeping them both on the floor is crucial. Scheyer was eighth in the ACC in minutes played last season (32.8 mpg), but Smith missed three games with a concussion.

"I think a big thing for us is foul trouble," Scheyer said. "We're going to have to be smart — myself and Kyle and Nolan — to not make any silly fouls, just because we don't have the depth (at guard). And also, our conditioning needs to be really good, too, because we know we're going to play a lot of minutes. We just have to play a smarter style of basketball."

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com