Category Archives: Duke Basketball

Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Recap of Recent Duke Prospect Visitors

The Duke Blue Devils secured three prospects and two commitments this past weekend during Countdown to Craziness.

The Duke staff entertained 2020 center prospect Hunter Dickinson on his official visit. Dickinson is expected to make a decision in the near future.

Duke also had a visit from 2021 standout Paolo Banchero who is expected at this time to remain with his class. Banchero has a long list of suitors. He did make this tweet pictured in a Duke uniform -

The Blue Devils also had a visit from 2021 New York standout AJ Griffin. We look forward to seeing him back for an official visit to Cameron and Duke.

Also attending the festivities were verbal commitments Henry Coleman and Jaemyn Brakefield.

Hunter Dickinson
AJ Griffin (L) and Paolo Banchero (R)

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Left to right, AJ, Jaemyn. Paolo, Henry, and Hunter with the Crazies. Photo copyrights Blue Devil Nation.
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Mark Williams Set For Duke Visit

The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball staff will entertain Mark Williams for his official visit this coming weekend. Williams is a seven-foot center and the brother of former Duke women's hoops standout, Elizabeth Williams.

Standing at around 7 feet tall, Williams is one of the top centers in the 2020 class. He transferred to IMG Academy for his senior season where he will play alongside Blue Devil's verbal commitment Jalen Johnson.

Williams is from Norfolk, Virginia and he played for Boo Williams in the Nike EYBL summer league circuit. For those wondering, that is the same program that produced former Duke player and national champion Andre Dawkins.

While there is already a familiarity with the campus and program, Williams will get the Duke staff's undivided attention and their vision on how he can help with the future of the program.

Williams will attend the exhibition game with Northwest Missouri State. The Blue Devils entertained Hunter Dickinson the week before which are the last two offers currently on the table for next year's class.

Duke already has verbal commitments from Jeremy Roach, Jalen Johnson, Henry Coleman, and Jaemyn Brakefield.

For more on how things will shake out, join Blue Devil Nation during our 60.00 for one year special for a stright-forward take on the latest happenings.

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Hunter Dickinson Highlights Visitors to CTC

The Duke Blue Devils unofficial start to the basketball season is their annual Countdown to Craziness event in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

While the event is designed to introduce the Cameron Crazies to the 2019-20 version of the team, it is also a time when key recruits and or prospects attend.

This year is no different where Duke will be entertaining 2020 center Hunter Dickinson of DeMatha High for his official visit. Duke seeks a verbal commitment from Dickinson and Mark Williams who will visit later this month to round out what could be a seven-player class.

Dickinson has been linked to Michigan which got a verbal commitment from Isiah Todd yesterday who is a power forward from North Carolina. His official visit begins today where he will be on campus early for the festivities.

Three 2020 players who have already given Duke a verbal commitment will attend the event as well. PG Jeremy Roach will come down from Virginia to join the last two Duke commitments, Henry Coleman and Jaemyn Brakefield for the festivities.

Roach was a former teammate of Hunter Dickinson and he will surely be in his ear as will the other players which form the Class of 2020. Roach was the first prospect to commit to the Blue Devils and he, along with Jalen Johnson has been active in recruiting teammates.

The Blue Devils staff has also secured visits from two 2021 studs. Big man Paolo Banchero will be making his first trip to Durham. Banchero has been on the Duke radar and every other blue blood program since his stellar play during the summer circuit.

Another consensus top ten rated player AJ Griffin, a small forward out of New York will also be in attendance. Much like Banchero, Griffin is a physically mature player who will thrive at the college level even if it is for a single season.

There may be a few other young or local players attending as well and Blue Devil Nation will keep you posted on further developments.

Duke currently has the top-rated class for 2020 with the aforementioned Brakefield, Coleman, Johnson, and Roach. The other prospect on board is Chicago combo guard, DJ Steward.

Countdown to Craziness starts in just a few hours now where the doors open at 6:00 but there will be festivities in K-Ville around 4:00. The Blue-White game will finish things off starting around 8:30.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

4 p.m. - Festivities begin in K-Ville

6 p.m. – Doors open

7:55 p.m. – National anthem

8 p.m. – Introduction of the 2019-20 Blue Devils

8:25 p.m. – Blue-White scrimmage

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Countdown to Craziness Tips Friday

Duke Countdown to Craziness

DURHAM, N.C. – The 2019-20 Duke men's basketball team will debut Friday night when the program hosts Countdown to Craziness presented by Delta Air Lines at Cameron Indoor Stadium. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase through the Duke Athletics Ticket Office.

Countdown to Craziness presented by Delta Air Lines features a night of entertainment, games, engaging videos and on-court contests all leading up to the introduction of the 2019-20 Blue Devils, the unveiling of this season's team poster and the annual Blue-White scrimmage.

The festivities begin at 4 p.m. in Krzyzewskiville, adjacent to Cameron Indoor Stadium, where fans can enjoy various activities, music and games. Doors to Cameron open at 6 p.m., and the annual Blue-White scrimmage is set to tip off at approximately 8:25 p.m.

Countdown to Craziness will broadcast live on ACCNX with Ryan Craig and Chris Spatola providing commentary and analysis, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Live coverage can also be heard across the Blue Devil Sports Network from Learfield/IMG College with David Shumate and Jon Roth on the call.

Duke opens the 2019-20 regular season when it battles Kansas at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Nov. 5 in the State Farm Champions Classic. Prior to the start of the regular season, Duke hosts exhibition games against Fort Valley State on Oct. 26 and Northwest Missouri State on Oct. 30.

Countdown to Craziness presented by Delta Air Lines Schedule of Events

4 p.m. - Festivities begin in K-Ville

6 p.m. – Doors open

7:55 p.m. – National anthem

8 p.m. – Introduction of the 2019-20 Blue Devils

8:25 p.m. – Blue-White scrimmage

Duke Basketball

Duke Tabbed to Win ACC


GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Duke was selected as the favorite to win the 2019-20 Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, as chosen by media members at 2019 Operation Basketball. Picked as the preseason ACC favorite for the fourth straight season and the sixth time in seven years, the Blue Devils were followed by North Carolina, Louisville and reigning national champion Virginia atop the poll.

Duke received 51 first-place votes out of the 111 total votes and finished with 1,564 points. UNC picked up 19 first-place votes and 1,493 points, while Louisville earned 29 first-place votes and 1,448 points. Virginia received the remaining 12 first-place votes and racked up 1,405 points.

Louisville junior forward Jordan Nwora was picked as the Preseason ACC Player of the Year. A 2019 Third-Team All-ACC selection and the 2019 ACC Most Improved Player honoree, Nwora averaged 17.0 ppg and 7.6 rpg a season ago.

North Carolina guard Cole Anthony was selected as the Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year. Anthony was a 2019 USA Today First-Team All American and Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year. He also was named MVP at the 2019 McDonald’s All-American Game and at the 2019 Jordan Brand Classic.

Nwora and Anthony each earned spots on the Preseason All-ACC First Team and were joined by Duke sophomore guard Tre Jones, Notre Dame senior forward John Mooney and Virginia senior forward Mamadi Diakite.

The Preseason All-ACC Second Team was comprised of NC State senior guard Markell Johnson, Duke freshman center Vernon Carey Jr., Miami junior guard Chris Lykes, North Carolina junior forward Garrison Brooks and Florida State senior guard Trent Forrest.

The 2019-20 regular season begins Nov. 5. This season marks the ACC’s first-ever 20-game conference slate, including seven league matchups to begin the regular season on Nov. 5 and 6, with doubleheaders each evening on ACC Network. Nov. 5 features Louisville at Miami (6:30 p.m.), followed by Georgia Tech at NC State (8:30 p.m.). On Nov. 6, the network airs Notre Dame at North Carolina (7 p.m.), followed by reigning national champion Virginia playing at Syracuse (9 p.m.).

The ACC’s current 15 member schools have captured eight of the last 19 NCAA Championships and 17 overall, including Virginia’s first title in 2019. Current ACC member schools have combined for 62 Final Four appearances and a national-best 639 NCAA Tournament wins. League teams have combined to win an NCAA-record 74 NCAA Tournament games over the past five seasons, highlighted by a 68-29 mark versus teams from outside the conference. Additionally, four of the top eight and six of the top 30 winningest programs in NCAA Division I basketball history currently reside in the ACC. Three of the six active Division I coaches currently in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame are competing in the ACC again this season – Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim.

ACC Preseason Order of Finish (first-place votes in parentheses)

1. Duke (51), 1564

2. North Carolina (19), 1493

3. Louisville (29), 1448

4. Virginia (12), 1405

5. Florida State, 1157

6. NC State, 1038

7. Notre Dame, 915

8. Syracuse, 910

9. Miami, 768

10. Pitt, 577

11. Clemson, 564

12. Georgia Tech, 437

13. Boston College, 382

14. Virginia Tech, 334

15. Wake Forest, 328

Preseason All-ACC TeamFirst Team

Jordan Nwora, Louisville, 95

Tre Jones, Duke, 89

Cole Anthony, North Carolina, 81

John Mooney, Notre Dame, 51

Mamadi Diakite, Virginia, 49

Second Team

Markell Johnson, NC State, 39

Vernon Carey Jr., Duke, 19

Chris Lykes, Miami, 18

Garrison Brooks, North Carolina, 11

Trent Forrest, Florida State, 11

Preseason ACC Player of the Year Jordan Nwora, Louisville, 55


Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year Cole Anthony, North Carolina,

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Breaking! Jaemyn Brakefield to Duke

In huge recruiting news, Jaemyn Brakefield has committed to Duke.  The Blue Devils moved with a stealth-like and quick effort to secure his services.  Show him the love Blue Devil Nation for he is a part of the brotherhood.

Brakefield who was just offered yesterday knew where he wanted to go to college, calling Duke his dream school.  After talking with his AAU teammate over time, Brakefield was sold on Duke and he became their fifth commitment in 2020.

He joins future teammates DJ Steward, Jeremy Roach, Henry Coleman, and the aforementioned Johnson.  His addition gives Duke some very versatile players for Mike Krzyzewski to work with.

Brakefield moved up from the Class of 2021 to 2020 earlier this summer.  He is slated to play for Huntington Prep this season before joining the brotherhood next summer.

The newest Duke verbal commit averaged 15.9 points, 6.1 rebounds per game for Phenom Hoops on the Nike EYBL circuit which also features his future teammate Jalen Johnson.  He was also teammates with a key Duke target in the Class of 2021, Patrick Baldwin Jr.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski spoke to Brakefield on Wednesday of this week expressing the Blue Devils interest.  He would call on Thursday night to make an official offer.  Today, Brakefield felt that Duke was the perfect fit and he made his choice public.

Duke is getting a versatile frontcourt player in Brakefield who can stretch the floor with his outside shot or he can take the ball in the paint.  With his athleticism, Brakefield has a chance to be a good defensive player and he can hit the boards for rebounds.

The Blue Devils are not finished this with the Class of 2020.  They will get a visit from center Mark Williams on October 26th weekend.  They also have a standing offer with Hunter Dickinson.

This has turned out to be an exciting Friday for Brakefiled and Blue Devil Nation.  "Look what God can do," was the catchphrase on his commitment tweet.  Amen!