Duke’s latest summer conversation made one thing clear: this group expects to be big, physical and hard to deal with.
The program’s newest edition of The Brotherhood Podcast dropped this week, and the “Summer Update” episode brought together senior guard Caleb Foster, junior center Patrick Ngongba II and freshman forward Cameron Williams. The three spent about 25 minutes talking through the shape of Jon Scheyer’s fifth Duke team, and the early theme was easy to spot.
Foster, coming off a 2025-26 season in which he posted career highs of 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while starting full time for a Duke squad that went 35-3 and reached the Elite Eight, said the identity starts on defense and effort.
"I mean, I feel like it's kind of simple," Foster, fresh off averaging a career-high 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game as a full-time starter for a 2025-26 Duke basketball team that finished 35-3 overall and reached the Elite Eight, noted to Williams and Ngongba.
"Obviously, we want to be a defensive-first team and then just a team that plays hard and shares the ball and creates advantages".
Williams, a five-star newcomer who arrived in Durham about two months ago ranked No. 4 overall and No. 1 among power forwards in the 247Sports 2026 Composite, kept the message short and sharp when asked about the group’s mindset.
"Just, like, be dogs," the 7-foot, 215-pound Arizona native explained. "We're gonna be dogs."
Duke’s newly released 2026-27 roster only reinforced that point. The official list includes heights and weights, and the most obvious takeaway is the size. The Blue Devils have five players listed at 6-foot-10 or taller, a group that could give Scheyer the kind of depth that pushes him toward a double-digit regular rotation for the first time since taking over for Mike Krzyzewski in 2022.
Ngongba, who checked in at 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds and is now the fourth-tallest player on the roster behind Williams plus rookies Maxime Meyer, a 7-foot-1, 225-pound center, and Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, a 7-foot-2, 250-pound forward/center, said the size is a defining trait.
"I feel like we're a pretty big team," the 6-foot-11, 250-pound Patrick Ngongba, who averaged a career-high 10.1 points and 5.8 boards last go-round and is now just the fourth-tallest 2026-27 Blue Devil behind Cameron Williams and two more rookies in 7-foot-1, 225-pound center Maxime Meyer and 7-foot-2, 250-pound forward/center Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, added when commenting on the team's identity.
"So, I feel like we can use our size in the paint and whatnot, protecting the paint and finishing [down low]."
Ngongba also said the coaching staff has been pushing communication during summer workouts, especially with so many new faces in the mix.
"I feel like [the primary talking point] has been talking because there's a bunch of new guys on the team," Ngongba said. "I feel like that's been a big emphasis.
"And then, I would just say playing with each other - not taking too many dribbles and just keeping the ball moving."
Duke, which appears set to rank in the preseason AP Top 25 for the 19th straight year, opens the 2026-27 regular season at home against Army on Nov. 2, with the tip time still to be announced.
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