Duke’s roster has the kind of talent that usually comes with a lot more preseason love than this.
Instead, the Blue Devils showed up on The Athletic’s preseason All-American list with just one player on the first two teams: senior guard John Blackwell. That’s a pretty thin return for a team that many view as one of the strongest in the country on paper.
Blackwell arrives with real credentials. He was an All-American last season at Wisconsin, and he posted 19.1 points per game while shooting 38.9% from 3-point range on 7.3 attempts per game.
At Duke, the expectation is that he can keep climbing. He’s older, he’s proven, and there’s little reason to think the move to the ACC should slow him down.
The Big Ten, after all, is arguably the better conference.
What stands out more than Blackwell’s placement, though, is the broader question of how Duke is being viewed. Player for player, the Blue Devils appear to be in excellent shape. That’s why landing only one preseason All-American from The Athletic - and from other outlets as well - feels like a slight.
The Athletic made its case for Blackwell in no uncertain terms: “Blackwell was The Athletic’s top available guard in the transfer portal this spring, following three standout seasons at Wisconsin. By choosing Duke, he guaranteed he’ll be one of the faces of the sport this season.
The 6-4 flamethrower will benefit from playing alongside a dominant frontcourt. Blackwell already made 38.9 percent of his 3s last season, but in three exhibitions with the Blue Devils - including against Top 25 foes Kansas and Tennessee - he shot 10-for-19 (52.6 percent) from deep while defenses keyed in on Duke’s bigs.
Expect more of the same all season…
“Blackwell could have gone elsewhere and commanded a larger share of the offense. But at Duke, he’ll get the same off-ball looks that turned Kon Knueppel and Isaiah Evans into NBA players over the past two seasons - and possibly make a Final Four doing so,” The Athletic wrote.
Still, the simplest truth is the one that usually matters most in October: preseason rankings don’t decide anything. The lists are out, the opinions are in, and Duke has already been handed a little disrespect. The games will settle the rest.
In Other News...
Nate Sheppard Just Pushed Duke Into A Much Bigger Conversation
Nate Sheppard turned a routine late-season game into a statement performance against Boston College, and in the process pushed Duke into a much bigger conversation. The sophomore running back set multiple school records in the win, including five rushing touchdowns in a single game and 18 total touchdowns on the season, giving the Blue Devils a centerpiece who has been as productive as any player in the country.
For Duke, the timing matters as much as the numbers. Sheppards surge helped secure bowl eligibility and reinforced his standing among the FBS leaders in all-purpose yards and total touchdowns, the kind of production that changes how opponents prepare and how the rest of the schedule looks from here. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Just Added More Fuel To A North Carolina Basketball Debate
Duke enters the new college basketball season with the kind of roster and preseason buzz that usually keeps the conversation centered on Durham. Under Jon Scheyer, the Blue Devils are again viewed as a national contender, and CBS has gone so far as to label them the best team in North Carolina. For a program that has spent decades setting the standard, that kind of attention is less a surprise than a reminder of how high the bar remains.
The comparison matters because North Carolina basketball arguments never stay quiet for long, especially when Duke is ranked among the top five before the first meaningful games are played. The Blue Devils have history, talent and expectations all working in their favor, which only sharpens the debate with the other programs in the state. However the season unfolds, Duke has already added another layer to the annual question of who holds the edge in North Carolina. [Read more 🡒]
Nate Sheppard Just Gave Duke Fans A Real Reason To Believe
A lopsided win over Boston College gave Duke football more than another mark in the victory column. The Blue Devils rolled to a 47-2 finish, moved to 6-2 and clinched bowl eligibility, with the defense controlling the game from start to finish and keeping the Eagles out of the end zone.
Nate Sheppard was the centerpiece of it all, setting Duke records with five rushing touchdowns in one game and pushing his season total to 14 on the ground. Boston Colleges only points came on a botched hold on a PAT that was returned for a safety, a fittingly strange footnote to a night when Duke looked as complete as it has all season. [Read more 🡒]