Duke isn't the only team that will be forced to deal with departed talent this year.
After falling to St. John's in the Sweet 16 in March, the Terrapins waved good-bye to star forward Laron Profit, point guard Terrell Stokes, center Obinna Ekezie and one-year sensation Steve Francis, the second pick in the NBA draft.
Although the loss of three NBA talents is devastating, other coaches refuse to feel sorry for Gary Williams' team, which returns preseason ACC player of the year Terence Morris.
"There's not one thing lacking in his [Morris'] game," Williams said. "In terms of passing, shooting, dribbling and running skills, for a guy who's 6-foot-9, he's got all of it."
Morris, who was compared to Scottie Pippen by Wake Forest coach Dave Odom, averaged 15.3 points and 7.1 rebounds a game last season to go along with 77 blocks and 50 steals, a 55.1 field goal percentage and an 82.5 free-throw percentage. All were good enough to put Morris among the ACC's top 10.
Morris will also be expected to provide leadership for a team whose only senior is Matt Hahn, a guard who played just 43 minutes last season.
"This is probably the youngest team I've had since I've been at Maryland," said Williams, who is expected to start two juniors and three sophomores.
Williams will also add three freshmen to the program. The most heralded, point guard Steve Blake, was picked as the second-best point guard in his class by recruiting expert Bob Gibbons.
If Maryland is to make the NCAA tournament for a school-record seventh straight time, it will need consistent efforts from point guard Juan Dixon and center Lonnie Baxter, both of whom won ACC All-Freshman honorable mention honors last season.
Dixon led all ACC rookies with 50 steals last year and is expected to be the Terrapins' best returning three-point threat. He will need to take better control of the ball, however, because last year's 50 turnovers compared to 47 assists will not get the job done.
Baxter got significant playing time in the second half of last year after Ekezie ruptured his Achilles tendon with 11 games to play. As a starter, he averaged 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds a game, shooting 59.9 percent from the field.
Baxter shone in his first appearance this year, scoring 44 points and grabbing 21 rebounds in the Red-White game, Maryland's first open practice.
Baxter will likely move to power forward this year to make way for 7-foot junior Matt Mardesich, who is looking for a breakout season after averaging 4.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in limited minutes his first two years.
Rounding out the starting lineup will be 6-8 shooting guard Danny Miller. After a lackluster start to the season last year, Miller worked his way up the rotation and averaged 20.2 minutes per game in the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
All of this leaves Morris confident that he won't have to carry the Terps single-handedly.
"I'm not going to force anything," Morris said. "I feel our team has a lot of players that are capable of damaging other teams."
But Williams acknowledges that his young lineup needs to make significant strides in order to match last year's second-place finish in the ACC.
"We're trying to get good right now," Williams said. "At this time last year, we were already good."
The Terps' reliance on three new starters may cause Williams to ease out an aspect of Maryland basketball that the team has become known for in previous seasons-the press.
"We won't be as good a pressing team early," Williams said. "This year we're basically new to pressing, so it's going to take a while."
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One thing that won't change for Williams, however, is high expectations. Maryland is picked to finish fourth in the ACC standings, a finish which should ensure its streak of six straight non-losing ACC seasons.
But Williams welcomes the challenge.
"I like these expectations," Williams said. "To lose four starters and still be picked high in the preseason, I appreciate that. [Now] we have to show we deserve it."
There will be plenty of chances for the Terps to prove their worthiness during a tough early schedule, which includes a bid to the preseason NIT, games against Big Ten teams Iowa and Illinois and a home game against Kentucky, which last season handed then-No. 2 Maryland its first loss after opening the year with 10 wins.
Note: Williams' first win this season will be the 400th in his 21-year coaching career, which includes stints at American, Boston College and Ohio State before turning around the fortunes of his alma mater, Maryland.