Tag Archives: RJ Barrett

Duke Basketball

Coach K Talks Practices to Date

Coach K

The first Mike Krzyzewski coached Duke team to take an offseason foreign trip was the 1983 group to France.  Freshman at that time could not make the journey per NCAA rules, but that has now changed.

Thank goodness for said changes, in that Duke will rely heavily on freshman this season and two of them in Tre Jones and Cam Reddish will be sidelined for their upcoming Canadian trip.

It was announced earlier today, that Cam Reddish is hobbled by a groin injury and that Tre Jones had yet to recover fully from an issue with his hip.  While both players will be ready to go for the season and are participating in some drills, Krzyzewski will err on the side of caution and sit his prized freshman but did call the injuries minor.

Duke has completed seven of ten allowed practices to date.  "So far, I couldn't be more pleased with the chemistry that has developed and these guys have been really fun to coach," said Krzyzewski.

Krzyzewski also said they have not been pushing conditioning as of yet, stating that his team was in decent shape but the staff did not want to push them too early. "For this trip, it is impossible to put in your entire system, so we are trying to keep it simple and see how our guys play."

As for the veterans, Krzyzewski said that Javin DeLaurier has played great and not just good.  And that Marques Bolden was healthy and adjusting to a new position and how he will be used.

Other notes from his press conference were that Jack White has lost ten pounds and is shooting the ball better per Krzyzewski and Alex O'Connell has been playing well.

The Duke coach also said the team would run a different offense this season with five men out and more motion.  And there was a strong hint that the team would get back to playing some man to man defense.

Before Kryzewsski came out for the media, R.J. Barrett took to the podium.  He was asked if there were instances where he could run the point as a lead ball handler in which he said yes.  Krzyzewski would later say that as well, "Having those two guys (Jones, Reddish) out will hurt our ball handling for the trip and there will be more emphasis with R.J. being out there.  Alex O'Connell will help and Zion (Williamson)  will be all over the place "

Krzyzewski also said this years group would be good defensively and that they would do a lot of things differently than a season ago on offense where he expects the players to have the freedom to create.

Duke will leave for the Toronto area on Sunday where they will play three games in six days.

GAME SCHEDULE
August 15, 2018, 7 p.m. ET Game 1 vs. Ryerson University Hershey Centre 
August 17, 2018, 6 p.m. ET Game 2 vs. University of Toronto Hershey Centre 
August 19, 2018, 3 p.m. ET Game 3 vs. McGill University Place Bell

 

Duke Basketball

Duke Basketball Sunday Happenings

The Duke men's basketball staff has been busy of late on the recruiting trail.  Today, Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff are visiting Vernon Carey Jr. in Florida.  The 2019 Power Forward is s sure thing prospect.  For more on who Duke has visited lately and some other interesting information on Carey, join Blue Devil Nation Premium during our two for one membership special.

Two future Blue Devils will also be on display today during the Jordan Brand Classic which tips off at 5:00 on ESPN.  Tre Jones and Cam Reddish will suit up for the moe squad in today's contest.  Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett were scheduled to play on the same squad but will sit out the event.  Williamson has his thumb in a cast for three weeks after injuring it at the McDonald's All American game.  Barrett has had an extraordinarily busy schedule and will sit out the event.  All of the current Duke signees have been select to play in the Nike Hoop Summit which starts  next week.  Blue Devil Nation expects Williamson to sit out that event as well but it is likely Barrett will play.

Duke lost Gary Trent Jr. to the NBA yesterday.  We dreamed of a rekindled backcourt of Tre Jones and Trent whom played together on the AAU circuit and in high school.  But Trent is a hard worker who is mature beyond his years and ready for the challenge.  Duke will miss his three-point accuracy and mental toughness.  He joins Marvin Bagely III and Trevon Duval as Blue Devils who will enter the draft.  We should hear news from Wendell Carter Jr. soon.  Carter is a projected lottery pick.  All of these players gave their hearts and soul to Duke which fell just short of the Final Four as Grayson Allen's shot rimmed out.  As for Allen, he is currently speaking with agents as are others.

The off-season is a busy time for Duke Basketball.  All Star games are winding down while recruiting is still going on.  Duke will soon start their exit interviews with players after class completes for the semester.  More on that and much else on the Blue Devil Nation message board.

In short, Duke Basketball never stops.

Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Duke Trio Named to McDonald’s All American Team

The McDonald's All American team was officially announced today and three Duke Blue Devils to be will participate in the prestigious contest.

Tre Jones, a 6-2, 180 pound point guard from St. Paul, Minnesota (Apple Valley) made the team.  He follows in the footsteps of his brother, Tyus Jones who played in the game and eventually helped lead Duke to a National Championship.

Cam Reddish, a 6-8, 215 pound SF from Norristown, PA (Westin School is on the roster as well.  Reddish recently scored 25 points in his teams close loss to IMG Academy.  He plays center on defense and basically his high school teams PG on offense out of necessity.

RJ Barrett, a 6-7 190 pound SF from Mississauga, Canada (Montverde Academy) also made the team.  Barrett and Reddish are generally considered to top ranked players in the nation in no particular order.  Barrett led Team Canada to a win over Team USA and plays for the top high school team in the nation.

Also on the team is Zion Williamson, who will be making his college decision this coming Saturday,  More on that and other Duke recruiting tidbits in the latest team and recruiting update for members

Duke is also still active with Moses Brown, a center prospect who blew up during the spring.  The McDonalds All American game will take place on March 28th, 2018 in Philips Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks.

Tickets to the event will go on sale soon.

Read more about Duke Basketball Recruiting by taking advantage of our current special and joining Blue Devil Nation Premium.

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Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

No. 1 Prospect RJ Barrett is a Duke Blue Devil

Canadian superstar, R.J. Barrett is a Duke Blue Devil.

Duke landed another stellar prospect and the best player on Canada when Rowan (RJ) Barrett committed to the Blue Devils on Friday evening.

Barrett possesses tremendous scoring instincts and led Team Canada to a historic win over Team USA this past summer.  The sleek, multi faceted wing scored 38 points in that game on a team that feature future teammates Cameron Reddish and Tre Jones.

The young star to be excels in the transition game, easily creating his own shot or dishing an assist.  He has good range and plays with a lot of energy quickly surveying the floor and calculating his move.

Barrett plays his high school basketball for Montverde Academy in Florida.  He has played with some different Nike teams but mostly for Nike Uplay in Canada.  He hails from Mississauga, Ontario.  He made his announcement on the TSN (The Sports Network) which is in his home country of Canada.

Barrett is another can't miss prospect who will make Cameron Crazies blush with his play.  Many feel he will be the top pick in the 2019 NBA Draft which shows the respect he has earned with his play.