Category Archives: Duke Basketball

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Duke Set to Host DJ Steward

The Duke basketball staff will entertain DJ Steward this weekend for his official visit.  The Blue Devils have been heavily involved with the dual guard since this summer.

Steward is a Chicago native and that, of course, is where head coach Mike Krzyzewski is from.  The Blue Devils staff flew up to visit the star guard earlier this week.

Steward hoops for Whitney Young High School which produced Duke alum Jahlil Okafor.

It is no secret that Steward has been a focus of the Blue Devils staff and they are now moving quickly to state their case.  This will be the Stewart's family first visit to campus.

Steward most recently visited Texas and many have said Louisville has been all-in on him of late.  Both Duke and Louisville visited Chicago this week, but the Blue Devils have moved fast to get him on campus and show him how they envision his use should he become a part of the brotherhood.

Duke continues it's busy September and most recently hosted Henry Coleman and Walker Kessler as they try to round out their class.  The Blue Devils will also host Mark Williams soon as they zero in on their prospects of choice.

For more on Steward and how we think this recruitment will play out, join Blue Devil Nation during our 60.00 for one-year special.  We give you a straight forward take without the fluff on recruiting and views on the team.

 

 

Duke Basketball

Duke Hoops ACC Schedule Released

Entering the first season of a 20-game Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball schedule, the league rolled out the complete 2019-20 slate Thursday night during a schedule reveal show on ACC Network.

Of Duke’s 20 games, the reigning ACC Tournament champion Blue Devils are set for home-and-home dates with Boston College, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Duke’s conference opener is at the Hokies on Friday, December 6, with the home opener at Cameron Indoor Stadium slated for Tuesday, December 31 versus BC. Both of those contests will air on ACC Network.

The Blue Devils have a pair of non-conference games sandwiched between the VT and BC games, before entering the thick of the ACC loop, which starts Saturday, January 4 at Miami on ESPN.

The Duke-UNC rivalry features a pair of weekend games for the first time since the 1990-91 season, as the Dean Smith Center hosts on Saturday, February 8, with the regular-season finale at Cameron Indoor on Saturday, March 7.

Other schedule highlights include a pair of ESPN Big Monday home games – February 10 versus Florida State and March 2 versus NC State. Five conference games for Duke are set for ACC Network, with the potential for six others to appear on the network.

Duke’s longest ACC homestand is a three-game stretch against Louisville (Saturday, January 18), Miami (Tuesday, January 21) and Pittsburgh (Tuesday, January 28). A three-game road swing immediately follows at Syracuse (Saturday, February 1), Boston College (Tuesday, February 4) and North Carolina.

The conference opener at Virginia Tech marks the fourth time in the past five seasons Duke has opened ACC play on the road. As Mike Krzyzewski enters his 40th season as Duke’s head coach, he owns a 29-10 record in ACC openers.

ACC game times were not released Thursday night.

Other schedule notes: Duke’s games versus Wake Forest are Saturday, January 11 at Cameron Indoor and Tuesday, February 25 in Winston-Salem … The Blue Devils are facing NC State twice in the regular season for the first time since 2015-16 — the game in Raleigh is Wednesday, February 19 … Duke’s game in the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square versus Kansas on Tuesday, November 5 is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN … Duke at Michigan State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Tuesday, December 3 is set for 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN … Duke’s game versus California in the 2K Empire Classic Benefiting Wounded Warrior Project will tip at 9 p.m. ET at MSG on Thursday, November 21 on ESPN2 … The game the following day versus Georgetown or Texas in the Empire Classic will air on ESPN2 at either 5 or 7 p.m. ET.

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Busy September for Duke Has Walker Kessler on Campus

If you haven't noticed already, Septemeber is a big recruiting month for Duke Basketball.  Last weekend, the Blue Devils entertained Virginia power forward Henry Coleman.

This weekend, Duke will host top-rated big man and long-time target Walker Kessler.  The 6-10 prospect plays for Woodburn Academy in Fairburn, Georgia.

The Blue Devils have had the Kessler family on campus before but this time they hope to close the deal on a much-needed body.

Duke is expected to lose almost all of their frontcourt players after this coming season and there is a need for multiple prospects who can anchor the baseline.

The Blue Devils have already secured the services of Jalen Johnson and Jeremy Roach, but the desire is to land commitments from several more players.

Duke will entertain Virginia big man Mark Williams in November.  He's the brother of former Duke standout Elizabeth Williams.  The fast-rising big man will be playing alongside Jalen Johnson after transferring to IMG Academy.

The Blue Devils are in the process of setting up a visit with Chicago scorer DJ Steward.  Duke is all in on Steward who has been getting several offers since early summer.

Duke has also entered the Ziaire Williams race to stay which we mentioned a few weeks back to Blue Devil Nation members.  That said, join Blue Devil Nation Premium during our 60 bucks for one year special and get straight talk on where we think Duke stands with the aforementioned recruits.

While the players listed head the list, there are some other possibilities which could come into play.  But make no mistake, Duke wants every prospect on this shortlist of players they want to become a part of the brotherhood.

Duke Basketball

Tatum, Plumlee to Compete in Shanghai

Jayson Tatum Photo by Brian Babineau/Getty Images)

DURHAM, N.C. –  USA Basketball has announced its final roster for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, with former Duke Blue Devils Jayson Tatum and Mason Plumlee picked for the 12-man USA squad. The World Cup begins Saturday in Shanghai, China.

Tatum, who played for Duke in 2016-17, will make his first career World Cup appearance. In a pair of tune-up games against Australia last week, Tatum scored 16 points, gathered five rebounds and dished out five assists. A 2013 Duke graduate, Plumlee is making his second World Cup roster, as he helped Team USA win gold in 2014. Plumlee recorded seven rebounds and tallied two steals in the tune-up games against Australia.

The final USA roster includes Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks); Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks); Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz); Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics); Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers); Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).

The World Cup, which begins Saturday, August 31 and runs through September 15, consists of 32 teams from four confederations. USA opens competition against the Czech Republic on Sunday, September 1 at 8:30 a.m. in Shanghai.

Duke Basketball

Three Blue Devils are Finalist for Team USA

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- USA Basketball has announced its roster of 17 finalists for the 2019 USA World Cup Team, which includes former Duke men’s basketball players Marvin Bagley III, Mason Plumlee and Jayson Tatum.

The announcement by USA Basketball came after four days of training and Friday night's USA Blue-USA White intrasquad exhibition game in Las Vegas. The 17 finalists include 13 athletes from the USA National Team roster and four players from the USA Select Team.

With his Duke coach and past USA National Team mentor Mike Krzyzewski looking on, Tatum led all scorers with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting with four rebounds and a game-high plus-20 in leading the USA Blue to a 97-78 win Friday night in Las Vegas.

Plumlee added five boards, a steal and an assist in nine minutes for the Blue, while Bagley scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds for the USA White.

The USA National Team coaching staff features USA and San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. Serving as USA assistant coaches are Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce and Villanova University head coach Jay Wright.

Following a short break, the USA finalists will reassemble in Los Angeles to train Aug. 13-15 and play an exhibition contest versus FIBA's No. 2 world-ranked team, Spain, at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Aug. 16 (7 p.m. PDT).

Finalists include Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Marvin Bagley III (Sacramento Kings); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); De'Aaron Fox  (Sacramento Kings); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers); Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks); Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors);  Khris Middleton  (Milwaukee Bucks); Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz); 2014 World Cup gold medalist Mason Plumlee (Denver Nuggets); Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics); Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics); P.J. Tucker (Houston Rockets); Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers);  Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).

"We're bringing a couple of young players from the Select Team so we're going to be patient with the rest of the squad because we have plenty of time, we have two weeks to decide who will be the final 12," said Jerry Colangelo, USA Men's National Team managing director.

The 32-team 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup competition is set for Aug. 31-Sept. 15 in China. Results from the World Cup will qualify seven nations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.