Answers to your #AskChron questions

Duke's much anticipated trip to China and Dubai kicks off in just three days, and The Chronicle will be there every step of the way. During the trip we'll be answering the questions you ask on twitter via the hashtag #AskChron given the unprecedented access the trip will give The Chronicle to the team. But before the trip begins, here are some of the early questions:

@ActorMcKinnon—Which freshman on Duke will do best this year despite what their high school ranking was?

The easy answer to this question is of course Austin Rivers—the guard was not only the top recruit in the 2011 class, but he has the talent and basketball IQ (he's the son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers) to come in and make an immediate impact, much like Kyrie Irving did before his injury last season. But the rest of the Blue Devils' 2011 class was also loaded. The dark horse to make a big impact is Michael Gbinije, a wing player with size, athleticism and a solid mid-range jump shot. He provides a slightly different look than upperclassmen Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins, who score primarily from beyond the arc. Gbinije could see 10-15 minutes a game as a change of pace and provide a scoring burst off the bench.

@Jdotirving— wanna no if Tyler thorntons role will expand with injury of Quinn cook

Thornton's role might not expand due to the injury, but only because said role was already likely to be greatly expanded as the point guard enters his sophomore season. Former Blue Devils Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith made it quite clear during the pre-NBA Draft media frenzy that this was Thornton's team and the point guard spot was his to lose. Cook is too talented a recruit not to see major playing time once he fully recovers from his knee issues, but it never appeared that was going to come at the expense of Thornton's minutes. Indeed, the two could serve rather nicely as complementary guards, as Thornton is more of a defensive specialist and facilitator while Cook has more offensive firepower.

@MattyIce0412—Are any of the games going to be televised?

Yes.