New Look Blue Devils Preview Their Hopes for Upcoming Season

CHARLOTTE, NC — The Atlantic Coastal Conference held its annual tipoff event for men’s college basketball on Wednesday, which featured coaches and players from all 15 conference schools in attendance.

Amongst the immense talent in the building, the Duke Blue Devils were the most anticipated team media members were looking to speak with, and rightfully so. The Blue Devils had the No. 1 ranked recruiting class coming into this season thanks to five-star recruits Dariq Whitehead, Dereck Lively, and Kyle Filipowski.

Duke looks to add these recruits to last year’s success following a Final Four run in Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final season at the helm after 42 years. The Blue Devils went 32-7 last season and finished 1st in the conference despite not bringing home the ACC tournament title.

“When you look at the new guys we brought in you notice how much they compliment each other,” Blue Devils Head Coach Jon Scheyer told the press. “Everyone we’ve brought in is a team first even though they have aspirations that go beyond just at Duke.

11 new Blue Devils will suit up in Cameron Indoor Stadium this year, and with that comes a new sense of motivation for returning players. One of those players who is aware he’ll need to take on a new role to replicate last season’s success is Junior guard Jeremy Roach.

“I’m gonna use that Final Four loss as motivation coming into this year,” Roach said. “I know we have an entirely new group of guys that haven’t been through an entire season at Duke yet, so me being that leader has got to tell guys what to do and what not to do and just set that example.”

Alongside Coach Scheyer and team captain Roach at the ACC tipoff was Grad transfer, Jacob Grandison. The California native is coming off of a season at Illinois where he averaged nearly 10 points a game while shooting over 40 percent from downtown in 25 minutes a game. Grandison is aware his presence as a veteran will bode this Duke team well this season and is ready for the challenge.

“At the end of the day, I really do this,” Grandison told reporters. “The beautiful thing is that our five-star freshmen are totally coachable and open to hearing from someone like me. There’s no ego barrier and I feel like they respect me. This is a great group of guys, I can’t say enough good things about them.”

The next events for the Blue Devils include Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Oct. 21 and an exhibition game against Fayetteville State on Nov. 2.

Duke will have their biggest game to start the year on Nov. 15 against the reigning NCAA champion Kansas Jayhawks at the Champions Classic in Indianapolis on ESPN.