There hasn’t been one official practice yet for the Duke basketball team and its starting five might already have been selected based on one intrasquad scrimmage in July.

In a short clip of a 5-on-5 exhibition posted to YouTube by the Blue Devils social media team, it was clear that most of the projected starters were wearing blue during the game.

One side had Caleb Foster, Dame Sarr, Isaiah Evans, and Cameron Boozer alongside of a manager to keep the teams even. The other projected starter, Pat Ngongba II, was playing with the white team due to a lack of bodies at the disposal of the team.

Maliq Brown, who is expected to play another key role off the bench this season as a defensive standout, will not be cleared for contact for at least six weeks as he continues to recover from surgery following two dislocations of his shoulder.

The coaching staff was trying to make the teams as fair as possible by having Ngongba play for the other side.

Nevertheless, it’s very fair to expect those five players to be the starters for the Blue Devils on opening night.

Alongside Ngongba was Cayden Boozer, Darren Harris, Sebastian Wilkins, and Nik Khamenia – a clear drop off from the talent on the other side.

However, it’s not uncommon for Duke to have landed on a starting five, albeit its very early in the process. Last season the only changes in the starting five outside of swapping Caleb Foster for Sion James were due to injury when Cooper Flagg sprained his ankle in the ACC Tournament.

The combination of Foster, Sarr, Evans, Boozer, and Ngongba would give Duke experience, length, size, and a ton of athleticism to match up with any team in the country. There is plenty that can change between now and the start of the season but it seems that those players are the most likely to be on the floor opening night for the Duke basketball team.