Duke’s latest exhibition made the early buzz look even louder.
After the Blue Devils opened with an eye-catching showing against Belmont, the next test was supposed to tell us a little more about where this group really stood. Instead, Jon Scheyer’s team went out and flattened No.
8 Tennessee, rolling to a 103-64 win in Durham. It was an exhibition, sure.
But that kind of gap doesn’t happen by accident.
And that’s with Drew Scharnowski and Caleb Foster still out.
Even without those two pieces, Duke looks every bit like a team built to chase the national championship. But the team ceiling isn’t the only thing getting people talking. The individual upside on this roster is starting to look just as wild, which is why three predictions now feel a lot less crazy than they might have a week ago.
Dame Sarr looks ready to turn the leap from promising defender to full-blown star.
He entered the season with plenty of attention after choosing to return to Duke for his sophomore year, but the questions around his offense were real. Last season, he averaged 6.4 points per game and had rough shooting numbers.
Through two exhibition games, though, he’s looked like a different player. Sarr is averaging 17 points, shooting 62.5% from the field, 50% from deep, and 85% from the charity stripe.
That’s a massive swing, even if it’s only preseason action. The perimeter defense was already there; now the offense appears to be catching up fast.
If this version of Sarr holds, he won’t just be a key part of Duke’s title push. He’ll be on All-American lists and headed toward the 2027 NBA Draft lottery.
Deron Rippey Jr. is making the kind of case that changes rotations.
The freshman point guard didn’t just hold his own against Tennessee - he stood out. Rippey posted 21 points and 3 steals, hit every shot inside the arc, and knocked down half of his attempts from deep. That’s a loud debut for a player who is supposed to be easing into college basketball.
The problem for the rest of Duke’s backcourt is simple: Rippey keeps looking too good to keep off the floor. With the depth and veteran talent around him, the minutes battle won’t be easy, but his explosiveness gives him a real edge.
If the outside shot keeps falling, he could become one of the toughest matchups in the sport. By January, he may have played his way into the starting five.
And then there’s Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, who might just end up running the whole conversation.
The 7-foot-2 freshman has already done enough to make the hype feel justified, and he followed up his dominant performance against Belmont with another strong outing against Tennessee. He didn’t need a monster scoring night to leave his mark. Boumtje Boumtje finished with 11 points, shot 71% from the field, and added 4 stocks while holding up against a physical opponent.
That’s the part that matters most right now: even when the box score isn’t exploding, his presence changes the game. He looks like a matchup problem teams won’t solve easily, and his ceiling is enormous. If he keeps building through the season the way he already has, there’s a real chance he’s the best player in college basketball by February.
In Other News...
Dukes 2028 Recruiting Board Just Got More Interesting
The early board for Dukes 2028 class keeps taking shape, and Josiah Rose is the latest name to land on it. The five-star point guard from Faith Family Academy in Texas picked up a scholarship offer from Jon Scheyer, adding another elite target to a class that is already drawing national attention. Rose is ranked No. 6 overall and No. 1 in Texas by 247Sports, and his list of suitors already stretches past two dozen programs.
Roses offer also fits a broader pattern for Duke, which has been active early with the 2028 group. The Blue Devils have also offered Colton Hiller and Yann Kamagate, while already sitting on two commitments in the 2027 class, a sign that Scheyer and his staff are keeping the pipeline moving well ahead of the usual recruiting scramble. For now, the real intrigue is how quickly Duke can turn that early interest into traction with one of the cycles premier guards. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forest Fans Have A New Reason To Watch Jake Dickert
Marylands coaching search is suddenly one of the more interesting openings on the board after the school moved on from Mike Locksley following a 2-5 start and a seven-plus-year run that finished at 39-54. For a program trying to reset, the next hire will matter just as much as the last one did, and this will be athletic director Jim Smiths first major decision since taking over the job.
Industry chatter has already started to link a familiar list of candidates to the opening, with Jake Dickert among the names drawing attention alongside Manny Diaz, Jason Eck, Bryant Haines, Mike Shanahan, Charles Huff, Brian Kelly and Dan Mullen. For Wake Forest fans, Dickerts presence on that list is the part worth watching, because any serious movement there could quickly reshape the ripple effects around the ACC coaching market. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Craycraft Is Earning National Respect Far Beyond Dukes O-Line
Matt Craycraft is getting noticed for much more than the work he puts in along Dukes offensive line. The Blue Devils lineman has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the 10th annual Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, a distinction that spotlights leadership, courage, integrity and sportsmanship on and off the field.
For Duke, it is another sign that Craycrafts influence stretches well beyond his snaps and assignments in the trenches. He has already picked up other honors this season and has become a team captain and student-athlete leader, the kind of presence programs lean on when they want stability in the locker room as much as production on the field. The semifinalist nod only adds to a rsum that is drawing attention on a national stage. [Read more 🡒]