Duke's Mike Krzyzewski on talent of incoming freshmen: 'We'll have firepower'

Duke head men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski spent most of his time in Durham building teams comprised of established players, but with the changing landscape of the college game, Krzyzewski has been forced to adjust.

After winning with a roster reliant largely on young, talented players in 2014-15, Krzyzewski is now forced to answer questions as to whether he can rebuild his team and return to contention for a national championship.

"There was part of us wondering 'I don't know if we will be as relevant,'" Krzyzewski said, according to Laura Keeley of The News & Observer.

But the Blue Devils were able to secure early commitments from a pair of five-star recruits - point guard Derryck Thornton and forward Brandon Ingram - to help ease those concerns.

"There was some nervousness and uneasiness," assistant coach Jeff Capel said. "But we also trusted the work we had put in before that. It wasn't like it just happened at the end. Brandon, that had been a two-to-three year thing. With Derryck, it had been a year. And so, we trusted them and trusted the work we had put in and felt like we had the best situation for those guys. And we felt like they would see it."

While they lose four starters from last season, the Blue Devils add four top-25 recruits (as ranked by ESPN) in Ingram (No. 3), Chase Jeter (No. 11), Thornton (No. 17), and Luke Kennard (No. 24).

"With these guys coming in, we know they are really good players," Capel said. "They are very talented, and they are going to play. It's just that we don't exactly know what role or what shape our team is going to take yet. And that's exciting. It's exciting to see and get a feel for when we get them here and get them in workouts and figure out who they are."

Duke will have to work in a number of new faces, to be sure, but the Blue Devils certainly possess the talent to stay in the hunt for a national title.

"We'll have firepower," Krzyzewski said. "It will be different in that we don't have that one guy inside, but we have big guys. And we should be able to score the ball. Brandon is such an outstanding player and scorer from a lot of positions. Obviously Grayson (Allen) is a kid that is going to attack and get fouled. Luke can shoot. Matt (Jones), Derryck is a really good point and a pass-first guy. We're just going to be young."