The Premier Lacrosse League’s All-Star stage in Annapolis will have a strong Blue Devil flavor.
Four former Duke standouts are headed to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on July 5, with Brennan O'Neill and Michael Sowers set as starters for the West and East teams, respectively. Andrew McAdorey and JT Giles-Harris will join O'Neill as West reserves.
It’s a familiar spotlight for some of them. Sowers is making his fifth All-Star Game appearance, while Giles-Harris is in for the fourth time. O'Neill earned the nod for the third straight year, and McAdorey is being recognized for the second time in his two-year career.
The Lexus All-Star game is scheduled for 2 p.m. on ESPN.
McAdorey has been a key piece for the California Redwoods, who sit atop the Eastern Conference midfield picture. He leads the unit with nine goals and has 10 points overall. The Redwoods are 4-2 and tied for the league lead with 72 goals.
O'Neill and Giles-Harris have Denver sitting second in the conference at 3-2. O'Neill, in his third season, ranks second on the team with 15 points and leads the Outlaws with eight assists, a total that is tied for fourth in the PLL. He is also 11 points away from 100 for his PLL career.
Giles-Harris has done his damage on the defensive end, where he’s piled up eight ground balls and two caused turnovers while also adding an assist. Denver has allowed just 47 goals through five games, 11 fewer than the next-best defensive team in the league.
Sowers has been just as productive for the Waterdogs, leading both the league and his club with 11 assists and 17 points. He also crossed the 200-point mark for his career before the break, entering the All-Star game with 105 goals and 96 assists.
In Other News...
Josh Pate Just Tore Apart Duke's ACC Repeat Case
Josh Pates latest read on Duke was the kind of reality check that tends to follow a breakthrough season. The Blue Devils have a lot to answer for after last years ACC title run, but the roster looks different now, with major departures and a schedule that figures to ask more of Manny Diazs team than it did a year ago. Pate pointed to the turnover as the central issue, especially with key pieces heading elsewhere and the overall depth of what is coming back looking thin.
The quarterback situation is part of why the skepticism has settled in so quickly. Duke moved from Darian Mensah to San Jose State transfer Walker Eget, and Pate sees that as a step back at the most important spot on the field. Add in the tougher path ahead and the shrinking margin for error, and the case for another ACC crown starts to look less like a defending-champion repeat and more like a reset year for a program trying to stay in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Dukes Post ACC Title Reality Is Setting Off A New Debate
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Walker Eget is the latest answer at quarterback, and his arrival is part of the reason the conversation around Duke has shifted from celebration to expectation. CBS Sports analyst Brady Crawford has the Blue Devils at 6-6, which frames bowl eligibility as a realistic goal rather than a disappointment, but it also underscores how much harder it may be to repeat anything close to last years climb. [Read more 🡒]
John Blackwell Just Put Dukes Backcourt Into Focus
John Blackwells move to Duke gives Jon Scheyer another perimeter option at a time when the Blue Devils are still sorting out who will carry the offense on the outside. The Wisconsin transfer arrives with a proven scoring rsum, coming off a season in which he averaged 19.1 points and 5.1 rebounds while also sharpening his three-point shot, and that production is exactly the kind of backcourt punch Duke has been looking to add.
What makes the fit especially interesting is the role Blackwell is chasing. He spent much of his time at Wisconsin working off the ball, but Duke expects him to handle more of the creation load and compete for major on-ball duties. That gives the Blue Devils a more dynamic guard picture, even if the path to those responsibilities is not going to be handed out easily. [Read more 🡒]