Before the season started everybody thought the Duke Blue Devils would more often than not blow by their opposition. Well, reality is different.

Duke has already faced plenty of adversity with injuries to key freshman Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden.  Tatum has returned and before the Holiday break is looking like an All ACC candidate, not to mention possible Rookie of the Year honors.

Bolden has been in the midst of getting back into shape and one hundred percent healthy.  Over the break, the Texan big man went home with Matt Jones to DeSoto where he will certainly take time to reflect.

The aforementioned Jones has been a solid leader for this seasons team as a captain.  His defense has been steady and he might have had his best offensive output against Elon.  More importantly, he briefly met with Grayson Allen to discuss a third trip in said game.

That brings us to Allen, who has also battled many ailments in the early season.  His unfortunate play against Elon where he had a run in with his opponent was not what the Blue Devils needed going into the Christmas break.

Instead of concentrating on the team as a whole, Duke has had to weather an intense media storm directed at Allen.  And that takes the emphasis off the team and on an individual.

That adds up to the early season adversity, where Duke has in all reasoning had more than their fair share.  Once again, or until recently, Mike Krzyzewski has not been able to have full practices and that kind of thing plays on achieving team chemistry.

That brings us to Harry Giles, who has now played in two games after a 14 month lay off.  Giles will continue to get into shape but he has a way to go and that means even more patience will be needed.

Giles blocked shot against Elon has been his highlight to date, but the freshman big man told Blue Devil Nation that just getting some time in the games behind him has been vital for his psych.

When you talk of steadiness, two players come to mind thus far for Duke.  One is a captain in Amile Jefferson and the other is Luke Kennard.

Jefferson looked great before his injury a season ago and his time off left little rust.  The graduate student captain has been the Blue Devils top guy on the glass where he regularly has flirted with double-doubles.

As for Kennard, no player in the nation has improved more. Whether he starts a game fast or slow, Kennard can always be counted on to score.  His play has perhaps been the most pleasant surprise of the pre-ACC season.

Another freshman Frank Jackson, has also shown flashed of brilliance.  It is clear Jackson continues to adjust to the college game, but his play at times has won games for the 12-1 Dukies.

As the ACC season starts, Duke is still a shadow of what they hope to look like come March.  Missing from their game with a good Virginia Tech team on the road will be Grayson Allen.

It is an unfortunate reality that the staff has to deal with the issue with Allen, but deal with it they will.  That means, yet another different set of players Krzyzewski has at his disposal for maybe the next few games.

The hope for the staff is likely to bring injured players along quicker in some cases.  Krzyzewski said that he would push Giles harder after the break.

It's a bit trickier with Bolden, but he too should come along in time. While that is happening, Jayson Tatum will be asked to continue his aggressive play of late for he is one hard player to guard.

Duke has the luxury of having two great captains in Matt Jones and Amile Jefferson who've been national champions.  They will continue to help the young guys blend in, but it may come down to whether Allen can get past personal demons and return to the player that helped Duke win their last title.

While Allen gets undue attention in some cases, at other times it is justified.  And one of those times was against Elon where he lost his cool.  It was an unfortunate moment that hurt Duke in many ways.

In Allen's defense, I can tell you he is a good kid having known him since his junior season in high school.  I think he's fully capable of overcoming this but it will take time.  And when he returns there must be a smooth transition into more consistent play.

The ACC slate is a tough one this season.  No team will be running the table against a bevy of talented teams.  And for what it is worth, Duke plays the ACC's upper teams on the road more often that at home in Cameron.

Krzyzewski said he wants to see his team play as one.  In all honesty, despite just a two point loss to Kansas which keeps the team from being undefeated, they have yet to play as one.  But that is a good sign of sorts in that they have been pretty good without doing so.

There are four months of basketball to go in the season if Duke is to reach the Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona.  Twists and turns lie ahead, for sure.  But there is plenty of time for Krzyzewski to mold his team into what he wants them to be.  And his staff which features three title ring holders and one who knows of Final Fours will do their best to see that pre season expectations are met.