My point is, most teams wouldn't survive with the amount of injuries Duke has had and yet Duke is 7-1 because they can still put out a very competitive team on the court. Also the other point, we're a long way from March.
You're missing one key thing...Duke has a lot of players come back. That, along with their recruits, is why nearly everyone had them preseason #1.
Grayson Allen- Junior
Luke Kennard- Sophomore
Matt Jones- Senior
Amile Jefferson- Senior
Sean Obi- Junior
Chase Jeter- Sophomore
AND you still have Frank Jackson and Javin DeLaurier
If you take away the 3 UK recruits you mentioned (Fox, Monk and Gabriel), it's not the same scenario...
Mychal Mulder- Senior (just now getting any minutes)
Isaiah Briscoe- Sophomore
Isaac Humphries Sophomore
Dominique Hawkins- Senior
Derek Willis- Senior
Along with freshmen SKJ, Bam and Tai wynyard (redshirt last year)
Out of that 5 above, only 3 of them played significant minutes last year.