The staff of BDN prides itself on covering the Duke Athletics Beat in a most vigorous manner.  That means if there is an event going on that is team related, we'll be there.  It also means that we look forward to certain events, one of them being the annual Coach K Academy.  During this event, Duke Coach Mike Kryzewski always addresses the Emily Kryzewski Foundation first, but then talks to the media for just under an hour.  In this video clip, Kryzewski speaks of captain-ship and or leadership.  In a nutshell, Coach said that true leaders are few and far between.  That said, we kick off this edition of Monday Musings with Coach K addressing the 2011-12 captain-ship question.  The keyword, as you will hear, is "culture."

Be sure to check out other recent BDN Video offerings with more from Coach and Jon Scheyer..

It tickles me when some acquaintances say I have might more time on my hands in the off season.  This time of year is beyond busy around here.  BDN staffed last week's Nike EYBL in Los Angeles and then this weeken'ds Pango's All American Camp.  Patrick has broken the last four Duke Football prospects to verbal to Duke and he's got more coming on Cut's crew.  The bottom line is that spring and summer means BDN is hitting ALL the major events.  Let's just say it'll be non-stop coverage from now until the end of next year's basketball season, and that we have a backlog of amazing content, both free and for members.

That busy schedule goes for the coaches as well, and I can assure you that their off-season consists of few weeks at the beach. Now that the Coach K Academy has wrapped up, the basketball staff will focus on their upcoming trip to China and Dubai.  More details on the trip can be found on BDN Premium where we break it down for you.  And they will, of course, be on the phones with the nation's top prospects.  Once the heat of July envelopes us, the dead period will be over and they'll be on the recruiting trail.  In August, they'll find out which players establish themselves going into the October 15th starting date for practice.  And while the duties with Team USA are not as plentiful this summer, they will surely keep an eye on the young kids that will don the Red, White and Blue, many of them Duke prospects.

You may have missed this article "Blue Devils go Camping in Effort to Improve," that speaks to which camps the men's basketball team will attend this summer.  It's worth a read and is very informative.   

A lot of times, good stuff falls off our main page, so go to "Duke Basketball or Football," to read the archives and catch up.  Patrick Cacchio has been all over Duke Football Recruiting of late.  Today, he broke the fourth straight prospect to commit to Duke on the message board and here is the article on DT Carlos Wray to Duke.  He also checks in with other football prospects and the archives will catch you up on the latest efforts by Coach Cut and company.

On the women's hoops front, incoming freshman Elizabeth Williams has been named one of 12 members of the USA Basketball Women's U19 World Championship Team.  She'll be the next big start on Coach P's program. The USA finalists downed the Brazil U19 National Team, 49-37, in an exhibition contest. In the game, Williams netted a team-high 15 points, six rebounds, five blocks, two assists and one steal in 25 minutes.  Also in the news, or should I say the Sports Illustrated WNBA preview, is former Duke standout Lindsey Harding, who via trade is expected to lead Atlanta to the promised land.

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