durham, n.c. – Seniors Jon Scheyer and Lance Thomas were named team captains for the 2009-10 men’s basketball season, head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced on Thursday. Scheyer was a team captain last season, while Thomas has garnered the honor for the first time.
“Jon and Lance have both been great leaders on and off the court for our program,” said Krzyzewski. “Jon has a great approach to the game and is one of the most consistent performers in practice and during games. Lance brings a work ethic and fiery competitiveness that teammates rally around. Both players are strong leaders individually and will be even stronger together.”
Scheyer, a Northbrook, Ill. native, was one of three captains last season on a team that went 30-7, claimed the ACC Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. He joined the 1,000-point scorer club at Duke a year ago and now ranks 32nd all-time with 1,349 career points. Scheyer, the 2009 ACC Tournament MVP, averaged 14.9 points per game to rank third on the team last season, while leading the team in minutes (1,214), three-point field goal percentage (.385), assists (102) and steals (58).
Thomas, out of Scotch Plains, N.J., has played in 100 career games with 62 starts. He averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season and led the team in field goal percentage (.626). In his career, he has 13 double-figure scoring games, 53 steals and 33 career drawn charges.
Duke will begin the 2009-10 season on Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. with Countdown to Craziness in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University announced three game time changes as well as single game ticket sales for five contests on Tuesday. The Duke ticket office will begin selling single game tickets on Monday, Oct. 5.
Three early season contests at Cameron Indoor Stadium have changed start times beginning with the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Duke will still face Coastal Carolina on Monday, Nov. 16 in a 7:00 p.m. tip-off on ESPNU, while Charlotte and Elon will now play at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday’s championship game remains a 6:00 p.m. start time with the consolation game following at 8:30 p.m.
Duke’s game against Radford on Saturday, Nov. 21 has been moved to a 2:00 p.m. start time and will be shown on ACC Select.
Single game tickets will go on sale on Monday for Countdown to Craziness (Oct. 16) and Findlay (Nov. 3) as well as regular season games against Gardner-Webb (Dec. 15), Long Beach State (Dec. 29) and Pennsylvania (Dec. 31). Ticket prices are to be determined by seat location.
The Duke ticket office is located in the south lobby of Cameron Indoor Stadium and is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telephone numbers for the ticket office are 1-877-375-DUKE (3853) and 919-681-BLUE (2583). Tickets may also be purchased online at www.goduke.com/tickets.
When the Duke Basketball team is led by a New Jersey point guard under Krzyzewski they win national championships, just ask former All Americans Bobby Hurley and Jason Williams.
All three of Coach K's titles had a Garden State native running the show and they are now seeking the services of a third Jersey point guard, Kyrie Irving.
If you are a Duke fan and you haven't heard that name by now, you probably don't follow recruiting closely. If that's the case Irving is one of the premiere prospects in the class of 2010 and he's visiting Duke this weekend.
BDN has covered Irvings recruitment from the start following him during various AAU events and we can tell you first hand that Irving can play with anyone.
Duke offers Irving a situation where he can step into the point guard spot from day one, or be tossed the keys to the car to motor the team. He's also a Duke type kid and one who by all reports gets along well with our players current and future.
The Blue Devils have made no secret that Irving is their man, following him as much as NCAA rules allows. Coach K made it a point to be front and center whenever possible and in Orlando, Irving took notice.
The staffs of Duke, Indiana and Kentucky were all over Irving during this event and they saw Irving make an even bigger name for himself with his play. During our then interview with the stellar prospect, Irving was all smiles when talking of Duke and he has seemingly continued to favor the Blue Devils dropping Indiana from consideration.
With the Irvings due in shortly, the excitement around campus and in the Duke community reminds me of the time Chris Duhon came in. For those of you who were not around then, there was a literal love-fest awaiting Duhon. While chaotic and not planned by the team, the end result was good and Duhon found a home.
The Irving visit is similar in that Duke students are more than just a little aware that a vital cog in Duke's future is in town. Signs adorned campus as did fliers but a last minute interpretation of NCAA rulings may force them down.
Either way, the Duke staff has worked tirelessly and steadfast in their wooing of Irving and you can bet they are prepared to put their best foot forward. If all goes as planned, Irving will find his collegiate home in Durham and the visit will make his pending decision come sooner rather than later.
Gene Banks threw roses to the crowd during his last game against Carolina in Cameron
Gene "Tinkerbell" Banks played for the nations top high school team in the Philadelphia and he may well have been Duke's first super hyped recruit. The former "Speedboy," signed on the dotted line for then head coach Bill Foster and in his first season at Duke he helped the Devils to one of the most storied years in basketball history. Banks came in with fellow freshman Kenny Dennard and the two of them joined Mike Gminski on the front line affectionately known as Duke Power Company. After defeating Wake Forest for the ACC Tournament Championship, the Blue Devils wild ride finally ended in the national championship game to an experienced Kentucky team. I caught up with Gene in the off season during the Coach K Academy and here is part one of that conversation -
The Duke Men's Basketball staff has been very busy during the most recent open recruiting period and they hope that the hard work pays off by months end. This should prove to be an eventful week for Duke in that they have in homes and official visits in place.
Let's start out talking about Austin Rivers. As some of you may know by now, Rivers had a great visit, so much so that many feel Duke made more than just a good impression. It's up to Rivers now [private] in that he must first de-commit from Florida before Duke can actively recruit him. The Duke staff told Rivers and his Mom to go home and discuss the matter with Doc. There is a lot going on behind the scenes these days in Florida and Donovan is learning that building on those two titles is not so easy. It is not out of the realm of thinking to see that a player sees how the Gators treated Jai Lucas and that they are still going after Brandon Knight. So, all eyes are now on the Rivers camp to see when they make an announcement. Rivers is a Duke player through and through and he got along with the players very well during his visit. We'll have more on this hot issue later.
Duke has cooled on the aforementioned Knight, only because Kyrie Irving is their first choice and they feel very good about the New Jersey native becoming one of their own. Coach K and Chris Collins will be in Jersey today to visit with Irving and he will then visit Duke. I think Irving will be a Dukie, it's just a matter of time. Irving fits the Duke system well and the team has defined his role already.
Duke is taking no breaks with Harrison Barnes. In fact, Coach K and Wojo visited Barnes during an open gym in Ames yesterday. The Blue Devils are in very good shape with Barnes and in my opinion are the leader for his services. UNC came in hard but they were late in doing so. While I am not counting them out, I think the visit is more than wearing off. The Heels gave it their best shot and followed up with a Roy Williams visit, but they now realize it is going to be tough to swoop him away and they are running out of bullets. Barnes is still considering Kansas and Oklahoma.
The Blue Devils had their in home visits with Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton on Sunday as we mentioned earlier.
Not much out there on Roscoe Smith due to trying to get in touch with him at Oak Hill Academy. Here is the deal, Nate James visited Roscoe at his school this past week. Duke is working on setting up an in home with his parents and that will likely take place in the next couple of weeks.
In the class of 2011, Duke has seen Quincy Miller,Marshall Plumlee, Brad Beal, Adonis Thomas, Michael Gilchrist and Trevor Cooney during this open period.
Duke took in2012 prospect Amile Jefferson, and JP Tokoto has also been seen this month. So needless to say, the Duke staff has been working their butts off.
Here is a list of standing offers - Kyrie Irving, Harrison Barnes, Brandon Knight and Roscoe Smith from 2010. Quincy Miller, Marshall Plumlee, Brad Beal and soon to be Michael Gilchrist in 2011. In 2012, only JP Tokoto has been offered. [/private]
durham, n.c. – Seniors Jon Scheyer and Lance Thomas were named team captains for the 2009-10 men’s basketball season, head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced on Thursday. Scheyer was a team captain last season, while Thomas has garnered the honor for the first time.
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