 Let's rewind back to June 4, 2021. It was a Friday morning and I was inside Cameron Indoor Stadium waiting on the press conference that would officially announce Jon Scheyer as the next head coach of Duke Men's Basketball. Media members and family had gathered in Cameron for what was a monumental time in Duke Basketball. The previous day Coach K had just finished up his retirement press conference. On that Friday Jon Scheyer was introduced as the next head coach and would start after Coach K finished up the 2021 -2022 season which would be K's 42nd and final season as the head coach of Duke basketball.  Around this time and the upcoming months (or years) 2 main discussion points were talked about among the media and fans. 1- Why did Mike Krzyzewskiville give pretty much a year notice that the upcoming season would be his last and what impact will this have? 2 - Is a young Jon Scheyer the right coach to take over the reigns of Duke basketball? Well it is almost 3 years later since that Friday morning in June 2021 that the Scheyer press conference was held and these questions have been and continue to be answered... Look... Coach K is a mastermind of the game of basketball and of life. He knew what he was doing by giving a year notice to Duke basketball, to Duke, and to the fans of the game by announcing his retirement early. This gave Jon Scheyer a year head start to get ready to become the head coach. Scheyer was able to build connections with upcoming recruits as well as be on the sidelines of Coach K's last season knowing that he was next in line. And to think, there were media and fans that thought K was announcing early just for a victory lap. Um... no... You don't become the GOAT coach in college basketball by thinking about yourself. You become the GOAT by being able to constantly adapt to new eras of the game. Coach K was able to adapt his coaching style to make the Final 4 in FIVE different decades! He won 5 national championships with different types of teams over his 42 years at Duke that ranged from seniors and freshman to all-americans and role players. So yeah K had a solid plan in place for the future of Duke basketball for when he was ready to retire. Speaking of adaptability, Jon Scheyer was the right fit to replace Coach K as the next head coach. In just two years of coaching Duke basketball, Scheyer has lead the Blue Devils to an ACC Championship in his first season and an Elite 8 just this past season. Scheyer has accumulated 54 wins, (29 were conference wins and 4 were NCAA Tournament wins) in his first 2 years coaching Duke. This new era of college basketball requires a coach to be as adaptable as possible and that's where Scheyer was born ready. We can just look back to when Scheyer played at Duke to see how he was able to adapt. I know Duke fans remember when Coach K asked Jon to move from the shooting guard spot to the point guard spot to help the team. Look how that turned out.. Coach K, Jon Scheyer and company would eventually cut down the nets in April of 2010 for Duke's fourth national championship. Well the current game of college basketball is quickly changing with NIL and the transfer portal. As some Duke fans were recently worried when Duke lost players to the portal... we now see Scheyer and his staff were adapting and preparing to build the upcoming 2024- 2025 Duke basketball roster. Duke has the #1 recruiting class coming in along with Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster returning. Scheyer and his staff have also been able to bring in veteran talent in Mason Gillis who transferred to Duke after four seasons with Purdue as well as transfer Maliq Brown who played his past two seasons at Syracuse. And with open spots still left to fill on the roster, Scheyer is not done yet. I write all of this to now go back to the 2 questions above... 1 - Yes Coach K had a plan all along announcing his retirement a year ahead of time to give Jon Scheyer time to prepare for the fast changing landscape in college basketball with recruiting, NIL, the portal, etc... 2 - After 2 years at Duke with an ACC Championship, an Elite 8, and top recruiting classes as well as being able to work the portal, Jon Scheyer was , is, and continues to be the right guy for this new era of Duke basketball.
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 From Duke Sports Information
In the Blue Devils' first public performance under new head coach Manny Diaz, the defense (White Team) held off the offense (Blue Team) for a 21-16 victory in the Blue & White Game on Saturday evening at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. The contest featured two 15-minute quarters with traditional scoring for the offense and specialty scoring for the defense, including six points for a turnover, three points for a fourth-down stop, two points for a three-and-out and one point for a sack. On the opening drive with redshirt sophomore quarterback Maalik Murphy calling the signals, the defense secured a three-and-out for an early 2-0 advantage. The offense moved the ball to the 9-yard line on the ensuing drive but was stopped on a fourth-down pass into the end zone, as the defense increased its margin to five points. As sophomore Grayson Loftis rotated in at quarterback, linebacker Tre Freeman broke up a pass on fourth down to push White's lead to 8-0. On Blue's fifth possession, Murphy engineered a 14-play drive with four first downs to set up junior Todd Pelino for a 25-yard field goal, narrowing the deficit to 8-3 with 1:55 remaining in the opening half. Blue implemented its two-minute offense to move the ball from the 25-yard line to the opponent's 35-yard line, but a pass to the end zone on the final play fell incomplete to give the defense a 11-3 cushion at halftime. Out of the break, the White Team added another fourth-down stop to extend its edge to 14-3, but Pelino chipped in again for the Blue Squad with another field goal, this time from 28-yards away, to cut into the deficit at 14-6. On the next drive, although forced into a third-and-long situation following a pass break-up by junior cornerback Chandler Rivers and a tackle-for-loss by graduate student defensive end Michael Reese, Murphy completed a five-yard pass on fourth down to keep the drive alive. After moving the chains, senior receiver Jordan Moore made a leaping grab over a defender at the goal line for the game's only touchdown. The connection from Murphy trimmed the Blue Team's deficit to one point, 14-13, with 8:19 left on the clock. With less than four minutes remaining and still a one-point contest, the offense moved the ball inside the red zone, but a pass toward the sideline by Loftis was intercepted by freshman cornerback Vontae Floyd at the 10-yard line to keep Blue off the scoreboard and push White's advantage to 20-13 at the 3:38 mark. On the final drive, junior safety Terry Moore tallied his second pass deflection of the evening and junior defensive end Vincent Anthony Jr. recorded a sack to force the offense into a long field goal try. On the last play, Pelino drilled his third field goal of the night, a 49-yard boot, but it was not enough as the defense secured the victory. The Blue & White Game was the Blue Devils' final workout of the spring. Duke now turns its attention to its 2024 season opener against Elon on Friday, August 30 at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium.  From Duke Sports Information Additional details have been announced for Duke's Blue & White Game, which is slated for Saturday, April 20 at 6 p.m. Fans that are not able to attend the game in person can watch it on ACC Network. Admission – Free admission for all fans. Stadium entrance at the north Bostock Gate and west Powers Gates will begin at 5 p.m. All seating will be in the west stands (Blue Devil Tower side). CLICK HERE for full stadium map. Parking – Free parking will be available starting at 3 p.m. in the Science Drive Garage (no tailgating allowed) and Grounds (Green Zone/tailgating allowed) lot. See parking details HERE. Accessible parking priority will be located in the Grounds Lot. A state issued ADA placards or license plate is required for designated accessible parking areas. Pregame Fan Fest – From 5-7 p.m., fans can head down to the practice fields behind the main scoreboard to enjoy a football skills challenge, inflatable games, bounce house and obstacle course. Access to Fan Fest will be available by the stairs/elevator located by section 32. Interactive photo opportunities will be set up on the concourse behind section 20. Fan Giveaway – Free 2024 Duke football posters, schedule cards and key tags will be available on the concourse. Concessions and Merchandise – Concessions and official Duke football merchandise will be available to purchase. Additionally, the Duke Team Store, located on Tribull Plaza across from Cameron Indoor Stadium, will be open during its normal business hours until kickoff at 6 p.m. From Duke Sports Information
Fourteen Blue Devils were recognized by the National Football Foundation (NFF) Hampshire Honor Society the organization announced on Wednesday. Representing Duke were Graham Barton, Al Blades Jr., DeWayne Carter, Jaylen Coleman, Nicky Dalmolin, Scott Elliott, Cole Finney, Ja'Mion Franklin, James Hopson II, Jeremiah Lewis, Dorian Mausi, Jordan Moore, Anthony Nelson, and Porter Wilson. The 14 Blue Devils named set a program record. Duke has now placed at least three players on the NFF Hampshire Honor Society in 12 of the last 13 seasons. The NFF Hampshire Honor Society, which is comprised of college football players from all divisions of the NCAA, NAIA, and sprint football who each maintained a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers. An elite group of 1,989 players from 339 schools qualified for membership in 2024, setting a new record for the number of members in a single year during the program's 18-year history. The initiative has now honored 18,387 student-athletes since its inception. "We are thrilled to honor a record number of athletes as part of this year's Hampshire Honor Society," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "Over the last 18 years, the Hampshire Honor Society has served as a powerful vehicle for schools to recognize their college football players who have distinguished themselves both academically and athletically, and we congratulate the schools and each of these young men for their commitment to excellence in all aspects of their lives."blue From Duke Sports Information
The Associated Press announced its final men's basketball top-25 poll on Tuesday afternoon with Duke finishing the 2023-24 season ranked No. 9. Powered by three wins in the NCAA Tournament, including a victory over No. 1-seed Houston to advance to the Blue Devils' 24th Elite Eight, Duke jumped four spots from the prior poll on March 18. The No. 9-ranking to cap the 2023-24 campaign marks the 40th time the Blue Devils have appeared in the top-10 of the final AP poll, representing 53% of all final polls dating back to 1949. Under the direction of second-year head coach Jon Scheyer, Duke was ranked inside the AP top-25 for the entirety of the season, finishing with a 27-9 overall record for the second consecutive year and placing second in the ACC standings with a 15-5 league mark. |
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