Blue Devils Plan To Hit The Boards This Season

Even before this season began, Mike Krzyzewski was talking about the rebounding strength of his squad. He has five players 6-10 or taller, the same number as during the 2017 season. But there’s a different physical character to this group of big men.

Several of last year’s bigs, notably Jason Tatum and Harry Giles, were more of the lithe, perimeter-prone, stretch-forward variety. Tatum, for one, attempted more than 100 shots from 3-point range.

Key to the ’18 Blue Devils is a more traditional frontcourt contingent led by a trio of underclassmen: 6-10 Wendell Carter Jr., 259 pounds; 6-11 Marvin Bagley III, 234 pounds; and holdover Marques Bolden, 246 pounds.

“We’re a much different team than last year in that we’re big. We’re very big and athletic. We’ve normally had this plethora, we’ve usually have a lot of perimeter guys and shooters,” Krzyzewski says. “That doesn’t mean we can’t shoot but we we’re not the outside shooting force that we’ve been in some of these previous years. Hopefully we’ll be an outstanding rebounding team and defensive team and still play up and down the court.”

In his previous 37 years on the job, Krzyzewski has had a player lead the ACC in rebounding a mere three times. Upperclassman Shelden Williams did it twice – in 2005 and 2006 – and freshman Jabari Parker paced the league in 2014.

The Devils have been outrebounded seven times over the course of a season under Coach K. They led the league in rebound margin on four occasions, all of which included trips to the Final Four – 1986, 1988, 1989, 2010.