A year removed from a national championship, and the woes for Duke basketball are present. After a promising start with a lineup that looked as if it were a legitimate contender, star forward and senior leader, Amile Jefferson, broke his foot in an early season practice. Since his injury, things just haven't been the same.

Production has slacked greatly. Depth in the frontcourt was already slim, but losing Duke's leading rebounder hit hard. Now the Devils are forced to rely on senior Marshal Plumlee to anchor down the post. Plumlee, not as agile and athletic as Jefferson, struggles at times with getting to the boards in time. And on defense, Plumlee finds himself stuck defending the post by himself -- which is to be expected on a team that is guard dominant.

Identity is also a problem for Duke. This team is young. It's so young, that sophomore guard Grayson Allen is expected to be a leader for this team--big shoes to fill for a player that saw limited court time last season. Much of the offense is centered around Allen and his freshman partner-in-crime, Brandon Ingram. Ingram, a freshman from Kinston, North Carolina, has proven himself after a slow start. He's proven himself so much, that many NBA draft boards project Ingram to be the second pick in the 2016 draft. Joining the Allen-Ingram tandem is the pleasant rise of freshman guard, Luke Kennard. Rising as of late, Kennard has proven himself as an offensive threat.

The biggest problem? Outside of these select few, Duke is suffering. Without Jefferson, Allen, Ingram, Kennard, and Plumlee are having to pick up the workload. With three out of four of those players being underclassman, their experience is non-existant. To make matters worse, Duke's depth without Jefferson puts them into a six man rotation. You cannot expect high-level basketball to sustain when only six players hit the court each game.

With games lost to a mediocre Clemson team, and an under-performing Notre Dame squad, Duke needs to solve their problems fast. Otherwise, this will be a long season for Duke fans.