RALEIGH, N.C. — In this era of college basketball more than any other, with rosters upended from top to bottom at all three Triangle schools and not just Duke for a change — the Blue Devils actually have more returning contributors (2) than either N.C. State (1) or North Carolina (1) — it’s hard to tell exactly what things are going to look like until … you can actually see what they look like.

With a couple of blowout wins for the Tar Heels and Wolfpack on Monday and Duke’s second-half surge against Texas on Tuesday, giving Dick Vitale something to shout about in a game played in his honor, there are a few suspicions that have matured into certainties after 40 minutes of real action.

NC State: Darrion Williams is That Guy

Being named preseason ACC player of the year before ever playing a game in the ACC isn’t the novelty it used to be, but the Texas Tech transfer got off to such a hot start in his first game at N.C. State — 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting with three rebounds in the first 204 seconds — that the athletic department was already preparing a Wolfpack Unlimited award for him at the under-12 television timeout.

The prize of Will Wade’s transfer-portal class, Williams delivered exactly as expected in his State debut, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds and eight assists on 70% shooting against N.C. Central.

Williams’ performance wasn’t the only way that Wade’s first game at N.C. State lived up to expectations. He was one of seven players in double-figures as the Wolfpack pushed the pace and Wade even picked up a late technical in a long-decided game, more red meat for the fans in his self-proclaimed Red Reckoning. As Wade has said, he’s not a good fit at 90% of ACC schools, but he’s a perfect fit at State.

UNC: Caleb Wilson is going to be That Guy very soon

Wilson isn’t going to tower over many teams the way he towered over Central Arkansas, but he took advantage of that height advantage to dunk firmly and dunk often in a 22-point debut. The other elements of his game — the athleticism, the quickness — were on display as well, even if they still need some refinement.

It may take Wilson a little while to adjust, especially on the defensive end, but it’s clear the freshman has all the tools and his potential on both offense and defense is astronomical. North Carolina needs someone to be a star, and Wilson showed that he’s going to be capable of assuming that role eventually. After Monday, it’s only a question of when.

The Wilson-Henri Veesar post partnership has the aura of one of Roy Williams’ old offense-defense duos and Kyan Brown showed an understanding of how to get the ball to Wilson in positions where he could take advantage, both positive signs for the Tar Heels that should help Wilson thrive.

Duke: No one is more important than Maliq Brown

This isn’t necessarily a surprise, given the difference in Duke’s defensive performance last year between a healthy Brown, a banged-up Brown and no Brown at all, but among his new teammates who lack Cooper Flagg’s athleticism and rim protection down low, Brown’s ability to deny penetration and single-handedly throw sand into offensive gears is more valuable than ever.

If anything, he’s more important to this team than he was his first year at Duke, and that’s saying something. His presence takes pressure off Cameron Boozer to defend and Patrick Ngongba to develop as a shot-blocker, although the sooner the latter happens the better Duke is going to be.

Boozer grew into the game in the second half — and is going to end up paying residency taxes at the free-throw line at this rate after making nine of 12 attempts — and Isaiah Evans looked a year older and a year better, but Brown is a force multiplier for Duke on defense, making the other four players on the floor with him better. The Blue Devils have a lot of offensive weapons. Brown is irreplaceable at the other end.

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