Duke’s preseason buzz will follow the newcomers, but the Blue Devils may already have their most important edge sitting in plain sight.
Before the fresh faces settle in, Jon Scheyer has four returners who already know the system and know Cameron Indoor Stadium. Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba II and Dame Sarr are back after finishing among Duke’s top six scorers last season, giving the program a core that can steady the roster while the rest of the pieces get sorted out. Scheyer is heading into his fifth season, and that returning production gives him a real foundation to build on.
Duke gets another look at that group Thursday, Oct. 8, when Belmont comes to Cameron for a preseason scrimmage at 7 p.m. The game will air on ACC Network Extra.
The Blue Devils are coming off a 35-3 season, so the bar is high from the jump. But the return of Boozer, Foster, Ngongba and Sarr gives this group something concrete to lean on as it starts to come together.
According to Duke, those four combined for 1,131 points, 533 rebounds and 311 assists last season. That’s not just experience. It’s production, and it gives Scheyer players who have already shown they can contribute inside his program while helping set the tone for the newcomers.
Duke also brings in three transfers and the nation’s second-ranked recruiting class, so the challenge now is figuring out how all of it fits together. The Oct.
3 Countdown to Craziness scrimmage offered a first glimpse. John Blackwell scored 10 points for Team Blue, and Team White won 29-24.
Thursday’s scrimmage should tell a different story, because outside competition can reveal problems that are easier to hide when teammates know each other so well.
Belmont is only the beginning. Duke’s preseason schedule also includes Tennessee at Cameron on Oct. 20 and Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Oct. 25.
That stretch gives the Blue Devils a few chances to sort out the rotation before they open the regular season against Army on Nov. 2.
The biggest questions aren’t limited to scoring. Duke still needs to learn which lineups can defend, who handles the offense when the first option is taken away, and how the newcomers can add to the roster without taking away what the returners already do well.
Those answers won’t come all at once. But Duke at least starts October with a clear advantage: four familiar scorers who can help smooth the transition while the new pieces settle in.
In Other News...
Duke Defense Faces Its Biggest Identity Test Yet At Georgia Tech
A bye week often gives a coaching staff time to sharpen the details, and for Jonathan Patke, Dukes defensive coordinator, it has also meant reinforcing something less tangible: the soul of the unit. The Blue Devils have taken real steps forward on defense this season, sitting near the top nationally in scoring and total defense, and Manny Diaz has pointed to the groups cohesion and its ability to keep opponents from generating easy chunk gains as a major reason.
Georgia Tech brings a different kind of test after making changes on offense, with a new play caller and a new quarterback steering the operation. For Duke, the matchup is less about matching stats than proving its identity holds up when the pictures change, the pace shifts and the game asks the defense to communicate on the fly. The next step for this unit is about whether those improvements still look the same when the pressure rises. [Read more 🡒]
Undefeated Duke Faces Another Chance To Prove This Start Is Real
Duke heads into its conference trip to Georgia Tech with an undefeated record and a growing sense that this start is more than a hot spell. Manny Diaz has made clear the Blue Devils know what is waiting in Atlanta, where winning is rarely simple and respect for the opponent is part of the preparation. So far, Duke has leaned on a strong defense and a balanced offense, with transfer quarterback Walker Eget and running back Nate Sheppard helping steady the attack.
Georgia Tech comes in off a bye looking for a reset after a difficult season, and Brent Keys team will try to build around first-year starter Alberto Mendoza. For Duke, the broader question is not just whether it can stay unbeaten, but whether it can keep answering the same test on the road, against a team still searching for traction and a setting that has made this matchup tricky before. [Read more 🡒]
Dukes Frontcourt May Hinge On One Underrated Newcomer
Jon Scheyer keeps circling back to Drew Scharnowski as one of the more intriguing pieces in Dukes offseason haul, and not just because the Belmont transfer arrives with a reputation for bringing size and versatility to the frontcourt. The Blue Devils are trying to sort out a rotation that can hold up once games start counting, and Scharnowskis presence was always going to matter because of how he fits with returning big man Patrick Ngongba and the younger forwards trying to earn minutes.
For now, though, Duke is waiting. Scharnowski is dealing with a knee injury and will not be available for the exhibition against Belmont, which at least delays the first look at how the frontcourt might take shape. Scheyer has indicated the two big men could share the floor often, and there is even a path for Scharnowski to push into the starting mix, a development that would not only change the look of Dukes lineup but also ease the pressure on freshmen Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Cameron Williams as they learn on the fly. [Read more 🡒]