Mark Story of the Herald-Leader wonders if Coach Mike Krzyzewski and Duke will beat Kentucky and coach John Calipari at their own game.
In the past, Kentucky has oftentimes been a team composed of star freshmen who lacked experience playing against veteran college basketball players.
Tomorrow night, it will be Kentucky with several experienced players mixed with raw freshman talent vs. Duke’s team of probable one-and-done stars.
Check out Story’s article:
When No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 4 Duke tips off in the Champions Classic late Tuesday night in Indianapolis, it is a showdown between a team with a veteran core and one built around transcendent, young talent.
The twist is that Kentucky has the experience and Duke the presumed elite one-and-doners.
It is the Wildcats with three key players — forward PJ Washington; center Nick Richards; guard Quade Green — back from a NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 team a season ago.
UK also boasts one of the best seniors in college basketball. Double-double machine Reid Travis used the graduate transfer rule to move from Stanford to Kentucky for his final season.
Meanwhile, the organizing theory of the 2018-19 Duke roster is that elite talent, no matter how young, is preferable to more experienced players with lower ceilings.
Against Kentucky, Krzyzewski is expected to start four freshmen. Those four were ranked No. 1 (wing RJ Barrett), No. 3 (wing Cam Reddish), No. 5 (power forward Zion Williamson) and No. 14 (point guard Tre Jones) in the 2018 Rivals 150.
