Duke Basketball Roundup

We all knew that Duke would probably easily handle DII opponent Fayetteville State, but did we know it would be this dominating of a win? The DBR Podcast crew came away from their first look at Duke playing someone other than Duke extremely impressed with the defense and thrilled with how well Duke was sharing the basketball. Much time is spent in this episode talking about the athletic gifts and motor of Mark Mitchell and the smarts on display from Jacob Grandison. After the break, the guys also dive into the deeper end of the rotation, especially the surprising evolution of Jaylen Blakes' game. It sure feels like he is going to be a part of the rotation this season. This is the start of a super busy week for the podcast guys with special episodes leading up to the first games of the season, so tune in now and you won't miss a thing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shhhh, don't tell anyone but Duke played a secret scrimmage on Saturday against one of the best teams in the land, the Houston Cougars. Ok, ok, maybe it wasn't so secret but it was not shown on any TV. So, how can the DBR Podcast crew possibly break down what happened? They have poured over the boxscore and examined instagram photos with a microscope to being their loyal listeners every detail they could possibly want from this pre-season test. Who looked good and who struggled? What did Duke do well and what needs work? The podcast guys may not be completely certain of those answers, but they will give it their best shot. And then, after the break, they look ahead to the actual televised exhibition game coming up this week against Fayetteville State. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Basketball season, at long last, is upon us here at the DBR Podcast. We've now whet our appetites on 16 minutes of Blue-White game scrimmage during Countdown to Craziness, we've survived the collective horror at the small, elevated stage that all the players had to dance on Friday night, and we're ready to dive into all of it. On the game, we're most impressed with presumed redshirt big man Christian Reeves, but plenty of other new guys showed promise, including Kyle Filipowski, Tyrese Proctor, and Jacob Grandison. The crew is disappointed we didn't get to see stud freshmen Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead, but it sounds like they will be back sooner than later. After some analysis of the various dance moves on display at Countdown, we dive into the football game, which was a stunning display in forcing turnovers, both by punched-out fumbles and interceptions. Duke has recovered nicely from recent losses to get to the precipice of bowl eligibility with four games left on the schedule and a bye week up next. Donald doesn't love seeing Duke his other alma mater, but Jason and Sam are thoroughly enjoying the moment. Finally, we have to break down Duke's first commitment in the class of 2024, four-star guard Darren Harris. He continues Duke's strong pipeline from Virginia's Paul VI, alma mater of Jeremy Roach and Trevor Keels. Keep sending stats game topics to dbrpodcast at gmail.com, and we will see you again soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a jam-packed episode of the DBR podcast! The guys start by looking ahead to Friday's Countdown to Craziness with speculation about who has been tearing it up in practice lately. Will Countdown begin to show us some ways in which Jon Scheyer will be different from Coach K? Then, the podcast gang shifts their attention to the announcement of the pre-season All-ACC teams. They fire off some spicy hot takes about who from Duke will be there come post-season and engage in a little history less about Duke's legacy on the All-ACC First Team. And after the break, Jason, Sam, and Donald discuss the start of the NBA season and the staggering number of Dukies playing major, major roles in The League. And stick around for a couple minutes of amusing post-credit out-takes sure to bring a smile to your face. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Duke Blue Devils suffered another devastating defeat on the gridiron this weekend, this time to the North Carolina Tar Heels. It leads our discussion on Episode 449. Duke has a lot to be proud of in their effort against UNC, but it’s yet again another moral victory that fans have to have in place of an actual victory. The podcast crew discusses the good and the bad from the game. After the break, we get into basketball. ACC held its Media Day last week, and we discuss some comments from Duke head coach Jon Scheyer about how Duke will play this year. we also heard from ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, who is ready for expansion of the NCAA Tournament. We finally end with a quick thought on the NBA seemingly keeping its current NBA Draft eligibility rules in place. Countdown to Craziness is this weekend! We will be back later this week for a quick preview! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam and Jason are here to run down Duke's latest football game with Donald off in Europe, and shorthanded is sort of how the Blue Devils felt on Saturday at Georgia Tech. Jason was in attendance at Bobby Dodd Stadium to see Duke's 23-20 overtime loss from the press box, so we have a lot of first-hand account from this one. We walk through Duke's various miscues throughout the game, from play-calling to penalties, as well as Jason's review of the press box set up in Atlanta. After the break, we dive into Jeremy Roach's selection as the sole captain of the men's basketball team for the upcoming season. It's not entirely surprising, but we need to get into some of the alternatives and why we think this makes the most sense for Jon Scheyer and his team. Finally, we have to spend a few minutes on the amazing display that the presumptive top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft Victor Wenbanyama put on in Las Vegas a few days ago. If there was any chance of him coming to college, we would be stumbling over the potential that he attends Duke, but alas, it will not be so. Countdown to Craziness is in less than two weeks, so get ready for basketball season, Duke fans! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's something special. A loyal listener to The DBR Podcast attended a special private basketball practice inside Cameron Indoor Stadium last week and was allowed to videotape more than 20 minutes of the team scrimmaging. Though the video has not been released to the public, this listener did provide a copy of it to the DBR Podcast gang and they are here to break it all down for you. They saw a Duke team that loves to shoot 3-pointers and one that seems to have a lot of potential on defense. They saw flashes of really impressive play from youngsters Mark Mitchel, Kyle Filipowski, and Tyrese Proctor. But, they also saw a team that seemed very raw and which does not have any transcendent talent like Paolo Banchero or Zion Williamson. Still, this edition of the DBR Podcast gives us our best view yet of what the 2022-23 Blue Devils will be like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back with more Duke Football flavor than Duke Basketball this week, but alas, the Blue Devils were not able to continue their early season winning streak against Kansas. Jason is out but Sam and Donald are here to bring you positive vibes. Our collective take on the Kansas game is that while we are disappointed that Duke wasn't able to overcome the home favorites, we see Duke's progress so far and the performances across the rest of the ACC, and we don't think that Duke making a bowl game is entirely out of the question in the first year of the Mike Elko era. After the break, we bring you an interview that Jason did with Riley Leonard, Duke's sophomore quarterback who has been a revelation this season. We conducted the interview before the Kansas game, but we'll say that Leonard's answers still hold. We wrap with a quick discussion about Duke commit Jared McCain's NIL deal with Champs Sports. McCain appears to be getting a jump on his sponsorship deals even before he reaches Duke's campus, which is a pretty cool development. Stay in touch with us at dbrpodcast at gmail.com, and we'll be back soon to break down the new episode of Duke Blue Planet and start getting ready for basketball season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could the NBA once again let high school players bypass college and enter the NBA Draft? That’s the primary topic of discussion on Episode 445! The NBA and NBA Players Association are discussing potentially allowing 18 year olds to enter the NBA Draft beginning in 2024. Jason, Sam, and Donald discuss the ramifications of how that would affect Duke’s recruiting and whether it would alleviate the number of players that would leave college early to chase their NBA dreams. After the break, we say goodbye to Jason, but Sam and Donald stick around to discuss the 3-0 Duke Football Team, who pummeled NC A&T over the weekend. They also discuss the upcoming contest against Kansas, who are also 3-0. It has become a fairly significant game as Duke seeks to close out the non-conference portion of their schedule undefeated. Finally, the Point Gawd is once again a WNBA champion! Chelsea Gray won another ring as the Las Vegas Aces won their first title. In the process. Gray was named WNBA Finals MVP. She’s truly a special talent, and Sam and Donald discuss just how great she was for the Aces in the postseason. We end with Sam giving us a couple of favorite memories from his Paris travels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ACC released it full conference schedule this week and you can bet that the DBR Podcast gang spent a good bit of time pouring over the sked to see who got a break and who got a tough assignment from the scheduling gods. The analysis, of course, begins with Duke's schedule. The podcast tells us about the biggest hurdles along the way (hint: the UNC to Miami turnaround is going to be really tough) and which games may be a bit more relaxing. There's also the matter of 3 ACC games in the month of December, something we have not seen very often in the past. After the break, the podcast turns its gaze to the rest of the conference. They see one team projected in the middle of the ACC pack who got a phenomenally easy ACC schedule. And no analysis of the conference schedule would be complete without a look at what UNC faces this coming season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices