Jay Bilas is heading into Duke’s season opener with a familiar role: back in Cameron Indoor Stadium, on the mic, and still very much part of the Blue Devils’ orbit.
The longtime ESPN analyst, who played on Duke’s 1985-86 team that won a program-record 37 games and reached the national championship game, will call the Blue Devils’ opener against Army on Monday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. It’s a fitting assignment for Bilas, a 62-year-old who has spent more than 30 years as a color commentator and studio analyst while continuing to show up around Duke every offseason.
Before he gets to work Monday night, Bilas spent time with the current team on Sunday after head coach Jon Scheyer asked him to address the group.
“I know when I sat there, we didn't have facilities this nice, but I always loved when old men came in to talk,” Bilas joked at the beginning of his speech to the deep collection of talent on the preseason No. 2-ranked Blue Devils' roster. “The first thing I want to do is, as a guy who played here and was lucky enough to be on the coaching staff of some of the teams here, I just want to say thank you to you guys.
“It’s hard for you in your position now to think about 20, 30, 40 years from now. But for the guys who played here, what you guys are doing has elevated all of us. Not just the fact that you guys are all great players and you have a great team and you win games and go to Elite Eights and Final Fours and that all stuff, but the way you do it, the way you conduct yourselves, the way you relate to each other, the way you relate to the community around you, it’s an elevating thing.”
Bilas told the players to keep that perspective in mind down the road, when they’re the ones watching from the other side.
“You'll be in this position I'm in, where you're an old guy supporting the current guys,” Bilas, who spoke to the team for 11 minutes to share his words of wisdom, explained to the players. “And the way you guys do it, just know that you have a lot of people that are behind you and grateful for the way that you go about this. So, thank you.”
Duke’s opener against Army will be the earliest season opener in program history. After that, the Blue Devils host Coastal Carolina at 8 p.m.
ET Thursday on ACC Network, then head to Chicago for a Champions Classic showdown with No. 6 Michigan State on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.
ET on ESPN.
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