Paolo Banchero didn’t leave much room for debate when asked about Duke’s place in the college basketball hierarchy. For recruits with NBA dreams, his message was direct: if that’s the goal, the Blue Devils are the program to beat.
Speaking to reporters recently about whether Duke remains the marquee program in the country, Banchero made the case in no uncertain terms. “If you wanna be what you say you wanna be, if you want to be the No. 1 pick, if you want to go to the NBA and accomplish what great players accomplish, there's nowhere else you should go, there's no one else you should play for,” Banchero said.
He also pointed to his own growth during his time in Durham. “I feel like when I left, I was 10 times the player I was when I got here.”
That kind of statement carries weight coming from Banchero, who is one of several Duke products to reach the NBA spotlight in recent years alongside Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum and Cooper Flagg. Duke’s track record has long made it a magnet for elite talent, and Banchero’s comments underscored why: players believe they can arrive with promise and leave better prepared for the next level.
Banchero said he developed a lot of his game at Duke, and his NBA play has backed that up. The bigger point from his remarks was simple - for players chasing the league, he sees Duke as the place that gives them the best chance to get there and thrive once they do.
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The challenge, as Scheyer sees it, is that the Blue Devils cannot simply assume last seasons formula will show up again in the same way. The pieces that made that group so difficult to copy are not easy to replace, and the next step is making sure this roster keeps strengthening its foundation while aiming to compete deep into the season. [Read more 🡒]