Tag Archives: Blue Devil Nation

Cassius Stanley Can Ball

Perhaps the number given to Cassius Stanley's was a hint that he could play. The California freshman who led Duke in scoring with 19 points against Colorado State dons number two for the Blue Devils.

A quick look at Blue Devils past shows that some good players have worn #2 over the years. A season ago the number belonged to Cam Reddish and Gary Trent Jr. before that. You can trace the number back to two national champions in Quinn Cook and Nolan Smith as well.

Whether the number assigned to Stanley has anything to do with his ability or not, after just two games he's shown he is more than capable of handling a starting nod on the 2019-20 Blue Devils.

The Los Angeles native has had immediate success on the court this season. Stanley was wonderfully efficient in the Duke win over Colorado State. The self-proclaimed LeBron James and Lakers fan, went 8-11 from the field for his 19 points,

But Stanley is more than just instant offense. A quick look at the box score shows he grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds and added a blocked shot for good measure in 25 minutes of play.

His play was noticed by Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski who lauded his newcomer during his post game press conference. The long-time Duke leader called Stanley's two opening games outstanding -- high praise indeed.

Duke won a defensive slug-fest against Kansas and Stanley scored 13 points in that game on 5 of 6 shooting. He also played 30 minutes, the second-most on the team.

You can already see that Krzyzewski wants Stanley on the court. And the reason for that is his efficiency. One of the most telling stats was the fact Stanley committed 4 turnovers against Kansas only to cut that down to zero in the win over the Rams.

Stanley has the potential to be a solid on-ball defender as well. He gets his hands on the ball and has stayed with his man in the 2-0 Duke start to the season.

It's also clear that Stanley likes to run the court and his two baskets against Kansas on the break were game-changing. Despite the early success, Stanley is still learning the Duke system and getting better as a player.

We have yet to see the finished product with concern to Stanley. But it is clear that he will play a vital roll on this year's team. The one thing which is evident early on is that Cassius Stanley can ball. And that is great news for this year's Duke team.

Hunter Dickinson Has Duke in Final 4

Courtesy of Tipton Edits

Duke center prospect Hunter Dickinson has included the Blue Devils in his Final Four.  The Duke men's staff is now trying to iron out the details of a visit to Durham.

Check out what he had to say about his four finalists at Stockrisers.com

Five-star Hunter Dickinson is down to four schools, has decision timetable

There are many exciting happenings on the recruiting front.  Join BDN Premium during our yearly special for a straight forward take on the situation.

Zion Williamson Addresses New Orleans Media

Former Duke basketball standout Zion Williamson spoke with the New Orleans media today about the coming NBA season.  The Pelicans rookie talks of his adjustment and advice he is getting from teammates.  New Orleans will open their season on Tuesday, October 22nd at the defending champions Toronto Raptors in a game that will be nationally televised on TNT.

Duke Moving Quickly with Hunter Dickinson

Hunter Dickinson in action with one of the top Nike EYBL programs in Team Takeover. The young prospect seems like a good fit with Duke on and off the court. The Blue Devils are moving quickly to make sure he knows of his priority status.

The Duke men's basketball staff is wasting no time with their recruitment of 2020 center Hunter Dickinson.  The Blue Devils recent offer is being followed by an in-home visit where the staff will get to know the key prospect and his family.

Dickinson announced his offer on twitter this past Friday.  The DeMatha Catholic prospect stands 7'2 and weighs in around 250 pounds plays where former Blue Devil Danny Ferry starred in high school.  Another former Duke standout, Quinn Cook played at the program as well before transferring to Oak Hill for his senior season.

The latest Blue Devil offer went out after Walker Kessler elected to go to North Carolina.  Dickinson had been on the Duke radar for some time and now has a chance to develop his skills under Mike Krzyzewski in Durham.

Dickinson played for Team Takeover, an AAU program on the Nike EYBL circuit.  That program has had great success over the years teaching their player how to develop within a team concept.

The Blue Devils are now moving to get Dickison on campus in October or early November at the latest.  Duke looked at several big man prospects when a scholarship became available and came to the conclusion that Dickinson was the best fit.

Duke currently has an offer out to another big man in Mark Williams who is the teammate of committed prospect Jalen Johnson, his teammate at IMG Academy.  Williams is the brother of famed Duke women's standout Elizabeth Williams.

The Blue Devils also have a standing offer to Zaire Williams who is a west coast stud prospect.  Duke needs to sign a large class where they are once again faced with mass losses to the NBA.

The Duke class currently consists of a point guard, in Jeremy Roach and the aforementioned small forward Jalen Johnson, the first two players to pledge their service.  Duke later added talented swing guard DJ Steward and most recently got a pledge from hard-working Henry Coleman, a power forward out of Virginia.

Dickinson holds several offers which include Michigan where he visited earlier this month.  Ten other ACC schools have offered Dickinson who has had multiple suitors.

Should Duke land Dickinson, he would be one of the few big men on the teams' roster.  Duke will lose senior captains Javin DeLaurier and Jack White after the coming season.  And the Blue Devils will also lose freshmen studs Matthew Hurt and Vernon Carey Jr. as early entrants to the NBA draft.

Duke has two staff members in Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith who can share with the Dickinson family how much similarly sized Brian Zoubek meant to the program.  Those three guys were a part of the 2010 national championship team.

For more on hoops recruiting and our thoughts on how things will turn out, join Blue Devil Nation during our one-year special.  Thank you for supporting Blue Devil Nation.

A Program Win for Duke Football

The end of the first quarter came to a close in Blacksburg last evening and Duke trailed Virginia Tech 3-0.  The Blue Devils could not even manage ten yards of offense and there was not a single first down on the ledger.

What happened next has people talking about Duke Football and David Cutcliffe for the Blue Devils went on to outscore the favored Hokies by a score of 45-7.

When the dust cleared, Duke had dominated Virginia Tech in Blacksburg 45-10 in a game that served notice to the nation.  The Blue Devils won their ACC opener in grand style before a nationally televised audience on ESPN.

The Blue Devils were so dominant that they sent Virginia Tech fans to the exits with their first score in the third quarter. Duke also spoiled the Hokies white-out party where former head coach Frank Beamer and player Michael Vick were on the sidelines.

This was one of David Cutcliffe's finest moments, but it was also one for the program on the whole.  Duke not only won by their largest margin on the road ever under their long-time coach, but they handed a traditionally strong program their worst defeat since 1950.

It is hard to know where to start when talking about the positives from the win.  Quintin Harris was once again solid accounting for three touchdowns as the new leader of the team.  He gained a team-leading 100 yards in rushing including an explosive back-breaking 42-yard jaunt to go with two passing touchdowns.

Tight end, Noah Gray caught two touchdown passes.  The first came on a one-play drive after a turnover.  Turnover was a sweet word on the evening.  Duke recovered a fumble which led to a score and a momentum swing and the secondary got their first interception on the season from Leon Johnson.

True freshman wideout, Jalon Calhoun connected on a double-pass trick play to Deon Jackson for a score.  And this is where I mention Duke offensive coordinator Zac Roper called a near-perfect game for three-quarters.

And on defense, the Blue Devils held the Hokies offensive attack to 259 yards.  But a closer look shows that if you take away two plays, a 45-yard run and a 72-yard touchdown pass the Hokies gained a mere 142 yards.

Duke limited explosive plays while making some of their own.  And when their strategy failed them in the first quarter, they made adjustments that drove their opponent mad.  The change of pace on offense and the personnel packages was quite simply masterful coaching.

And then there was the special teams play.  Josh Blackwell almost broke a return save a slip.  AJ Reed stayed perfect on the season with a 31-yard field goal.  And punter Austin Parker rolled for 28 yards on a fake punt, which interestingly gives him bragging rights for the highest yards per carry of any player on the team this season.

Back to the defensive side of the ball, Duke senior linebacker Koby Quansah was stellar.  He recovered that key fumble and was a part of 13 tackles and a half of a sack.  On a night when Duke managed a single sack, their secondary played well shutting down Hokies quarterback Ryan Willis for all but a handful of plays.

Another highlight for Duke was getting backup quarterback Chris Katrenick some snaps.  And he wanted in on the fun as well as witnessed by his 9-yard run for a score to mark the final margin of victory.

While Duke got off to a miserable start, they showed off some maturity that has not always been there in the past.  The players were clearly tougher, more physical and quicker than their opponent and they let it show.

I cannot help but wonder if David Cutcliffe wanted to show the nation more about Duke football on a Friday night to remember.  Duke dressed in their black uniforms played the tough guy role on this occasion and did so with authority.

It is no secret Daniel Jones has had a great NFL debut, but some in the media felt the need to take shots at Duke Football when speaking of him.  Nevermind the team has been to 6 bowls in the last 7 seasons.  So, perhaps last nights performance will make some of them come around as they did with the aforementioned Jones.

Wins like the one over Virginia Tech cannot help but gain some attention and Duke likely helped itself with any possible recruits watching or seeing the result.

So, this was a program win.  Duke Gang should be proud as should the fans who ought to turn out in appreciation next Saturday when the team takes on Pitt.

While this is an ultimate feel-good moment for Duke alumni, family, friends and fans, the Blue Devils will soon need to go back to work to continue to build on their most recent accomplishment.  That is, of course,  after some well deserved weekend celebration.

Duke has a two-game homestand coming up in Wallace Wade Stadium on Brooks Field and fans will hopefully turn out to support the team.  The next step in the journey is to solve one of the most physical teams in football -- the Pitt Panthers.

As David Cutcliffe likes to say, "Are you ready for some football?"

Duke Offers Hunter Dickinson

The Duke Blue Devils have formerly offered 2020 center4-star center Hunter Dickinson.  The DeMatha Catholic product tweeted the latest news just moments ago.  He goes to the same high school where former Blue Devils Quinn Cook and Danny Ferry attended,  More to come.  Join Blue Devil Nation during our one-year special.