Eight days ago, Duke had no point guard and few game-changers among its eight scholarship players.

After Derryck Thornton (No. 17 in ESPN 100) and Brandon Ingram (No. 3) committed, the Blue Devils suddenly have one of the best high school point guards and an elite wing to add to the roster.

Essentially, Duke went from a team that would have little chance of defending its national championship to one of the most talented teams in the country in the span of one week. Mike Krzyzewski has quality pieces all over his roster -- and now he has the depth and personnel to match.

He can play the small-ball lineup that helped the Blue Devils win a title this month. Thornton will be the primary ballhandler, but Krzyzewski can surround him with some combination of Ingram, title-game hero Grayson Allen, versatile wing Matt Jones and McDonald’s All-American Luke Kennard (No. 24).

Up front, Amile Jefferson and Marshall Plumlee return, and five-star center Chase Jeter (No. 11) enters the fold. Jefferson will continue to play his blue-collar role and Jeter gives the Blue Devils a skilled center who can score in the post. Rice transfer Sean Obi and Antonio Vrankovic will provide depth.

Duke won the championship this past season with eight scholarship players, and though this next group might not be as experienced, there is enough talent, depth and versatility for the Blue Devils to adequately defend their title.

On the recruiting front, Ingram’s commitment gives Duke the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for the second straight season. There are still some moving parts left on the board -- Jaylen Brown (No. 4), perhaps Thon Maker or Jamal Murray -- but the Blue Devils would be the first repeat No. 1 class since Kentucky finished there in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Kentucky has been known as the best closing team in college basketball recruiting since John Calipari moved to Lexington, consistently nabbing late signees to give the Wildcats that extra boost in the spring. Julius Randle pledged to Kentucky in March of 2013, Nerlens Noel committed in April 2012, Brandon Knight in April 2010, and John Wall in May 2009.

Yet this spring, it’s been Duke finishing the strongest. Though Kentucky struck out with Ingram, Cheick Diallo (No. 7 to Kansas), Malik Newman (No. 10 to Mississippi State), Stephen Zimmerman (No. 12 to UNLV) and others, Krzyzewski has solidified the Blue Devils' place in the college basketball recruiting hierarchy. He was able to close earlier than expected with Thornton, even getting the reclassified point guard to commit before he took a planned Louisville visit. And with Ingram, he was able to make up ground over the past few months on North Carolina while still fighting off Kansas and Kentucky.

It’s not as if things are falling apart in Lexington. Kentucky had the No. 1 recruiting class in the country before Monday and is still pursuing Brown, Maker and Murray. However, Duke is pushing the Wildcats to be considered the biggest, baddest dude on the block when it comes to recruiting.

Over the past two years, the Blue Devils have landed seven five-star prospects and another McDonald’s All-American considered a four-star recruit (Kennard). That’s eight top-25 prospects in two classes, not to mention elite recruit Jabari Parker in 2013. For comparison’s sake, Duke landed 10 top-25 prospects total in the six classes from 2007-12.

Krzyzewski has adjusted his recruiting somewhat over the past few classes, and it’s hard not to notice that it’s become slightly more Kentucky-like. When Kyrie Irving left after his freshman season in Durham, he was something of an outlier. Sure, the Blue Devils have had NBA draft early entrants in the past, but Irving was a freshman. Before him, only five freshmen or sophomores had ever gone pro under Krzyzewski, and three of them were back in 1999. Including Irving in 2011, there have now been six freshmen to leave Duke for the NBA in the past five years.

It’s a noticeable change. The 2010 national title team was led by senior Jon Scheyer and juniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. This month’s championship-winning team was led by three freshmen (and senior Quinn Cook).

Instead of keeping players for three or four years and sprinkling in promising newcomers, Krzyzewski is now reloading with elite-level recruits. Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones all leave after one season? OK, well here come five-stars Brandon Ingram, Chase Jeter and Derryck Thornton.

The only other program to have consistent success with this type of strategy in recent years is, of course, Kentucky. It’s weird to say, but Krzyzewski has taken a page out of Calipari’s playbook.

And like most things Krzyzewski tries, he’s executing it to perfection.