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I get why he went to Louisville. But it seems like this was an awful decision as Louisville is still a dumpster fire and he is ready to get out of there.

Going to throw this in a thread of its own; thanks @Easton1134 for bringing it up in "Conor's Corner."

To save anybody else a trip to that thread and to update what I know after driving back from NOLA: It's expected that Nolan Smith is going to join Kenny Payne's staff at Louisville.

I've heard he's going to have an "associate head coach" title and make $1 million/year, which is quite the bump for someone who's been an assistant for only one year.

I understand the shock in seeing a former Duke player leave to be an assistant elsewhere -- I estimated it's probably been 20 years since a Duke assistant left for another job that wasn't an upgrade? -- but I'm told Kenny Payne is really close to Nolan and his family. I think most of yall know Nolan was born in Louisville and his dad played there.

Not to speak for him ... but I'm guessing this was a tough decision for him to make.

Also, to tie in another area of interest: Nolan is G.G. Jackson's recruiter.

Now, all of this comes with the caveat that I've not confirmed with Nolan or anybody on Duke's staff. So I'd hold off on

Put the rivalry stuff aside for awhile, folks. At least until it is safe in Chapel Hill and the surrounding area.
OFC

Had the pleasure of chopping it up with National Champ Andre Dawkins. Check it out!

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Wanted to share that Coach K is speaking at a conference at the Charlotte Convention Center on Oct. 3:

Coach K Speaking at Charlotte Business Conference

Anyone see the bitch slap he put on Rasheed? Much respect to the young man. 🤣

We have one heck of a schedule this year and it is going to be hard to match our 9 win season from a year ago, much less, surpass it. Really love the energy change last year and our quarterback play was very good. We have 17 starters back (we are ranked 2nd in ACC on returning starters and their previous production) and are poised to give some really good teams all they can handle - and hopefully - AND THEN SOME!

Duke Vs. Clemson - I've got to pick Clemson here. BUT, we have 17 returning Starters that are bitter they did not get to that final ACC game with Clemson and offer us a little more returning experience than the ACC powerhouse. That gives us an outside chance. Clemson is not invulnerable and I'm hoping for the shocker.

Duke vs. Lafayette - Duke. Should be more of a practice game - and recovery if we got beat up at Clemson.

Duke Vs. Northwestern - Northwestern is desperately trying to recover. But this year they make their losing streak to Duke five in a row. Looking forward to their improvement and hope the new coach does well.

Duke vs. UCONN - Duke wins this one handily. UCONN just has not shown anything the last few seasons.

Duke vs. Notre Dame - I am going with my heart on this one. I think we pick up a couple of surprising wins at least and this is one of them. It is our second really big game at home. I think we pick up at least one of the two and just do not think Clemson will be it.

Duke vs. NC State - At home I give us the edge. I think we pull this one out.

Duke vs. Florida State - Florida State is IMO legit and they are also the only team in the ACC with a better returning starter/production rating than us. One fewer returning starters but better caliber of retrunees. Their offense should be clicking - and send us down there and it would be extremely tough to pull out a victory.

Duke vs. Louisville - A second away game in a row. We could pull this one out. It is certainly more likely than us winning against Florida State, but I think we come up short.

Duke vs. Wake Forest - We are not dropping 3 in a row IMO. Duke last year was resilient and had their way with the Wake defense outscoring them and their record setting quarterback. This year it will be a solid W in the win column.

Duke vs. UNC - Every Duke player from last year has probably been thinking about this loss the most. We felt screwed, it kept us from playing Clemson, it was the dagger that turned a stellar season into a really good one. Vengence is ours.

Duke Vs. UVA - UVA is decimated. They lost too much offense. I think this year is ours rather solidly.

Duke vs. Pitt - Pitt seems to find ways to win against us. They have a solid returning offense, our hope is their thin returning defense status. But I gotta give it to Pitt.

Duke 8-4 regular season.

I’m not a big Bill Self fan, but kudos to him and Illinois for making their private scrimmage an exhibition to raise money for Maui. I’d be thrilled to see Duke and other schools do the same thing. Maui has been the site of so many great games for Duke, and the launchpad for many successful seasons for Duke. Their tournament has always been my favorite non-NCAA tournament to watch, with the coaches and announcers in floral shirts, the high school-sized venue and the beautiful scenery shots between the action. My wife and I went there on on our honeymoon in 1994, and kept vowing to go back there one day for the tournament. It’s hard to accept that the place has been devastated and has suffered such a great loss of lives..

He would be a great addition to our team next year and is a great defensive player with an ability to finish around the rim

The next couple of weeks, and then months, will determine what Duke's roster looks like next season.

Here's the outlook (updated 5/16):

Out of eligibility
Jacob Grandison
Kale Catchings
Max Johns

Expected one-and-dones
Dariq Whitehead -- officially declared 3/29
Dereck Lively II -- officially declared 4/4

Explanations: They entered as one-and-done players and they'll exit as such.

Lively is a unique defensive talent; I've never seen someone change games defensively the way he did this season. Could he benefit from returning and honing his offensive game? Sure. But he's going to be a first-round pick and the plan was always for him to only spend one season at Duke.

Whitehead is going to be the latest "how did this guy only average x-amount (8.3 in this case) of points at Duke?" player in the NBA. Hopefully the narrative of that doesn't omit his injuries this season. He's shown enough when healthy, though, to make him a first-rounder and like Lively, it was always presumed this would be his only season at Duke.

Testing waters ... *and returning*
Jeremy Roach -- story with announcement on 4/10.

Returning as of 5/15.

To me, Roach is both a luxury and a necessity for Duke to retain. He's a luxury in that if Proctor returns, Duke's backcourt looks somewhat crowded with Proctor/Foster/McCain, and then whatever you might get from Blakes and Schutt (discussed below). But he's a necessity in his experience and leadership levels.

Returners
Jaylen Blakes
Jaden Schutt
Christian Reeves

Explanation: None of the three entered the transfer portal, which closed 5/11.

Returning
Ryan Young
Tyrese Proctor -- announced 3/27, breakdown is here.
Mark Mitchell -- announced 3/30, breakdown is here.
Kyle Filipowski -- announced 4/11, breakdown is here.

Incoming freshmen
Caleb Foster
Jared McCain
TJ Power
Sean Stewart

Walk-ons returning
Spencer Hubbard
Stanley Borden

I notice that ESPN's Borzella lists Duke as #1 in his "Way Too Early" top 25 poll. And projects this starting roster. What do you think?

The list of invitees is out for the CP3 camp. How come Proctor was not invited?

Have come in over the last 2 days for Cooper and Flory to commit to Duke. This 2024 recruiting class is about to become loaded and we all know who’s coming in 2025. Hoping over the these next 3-4 years that we add a couple championship banners to the rafters. Think the key will be being able to keep guys like TJ Power, Caleb Foster, Christian Reeves, Jaden Schutt, etc at Duke vs transferring after next season.

Kon Knueppel
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VJ Edgecombe
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Another outsider, we’re definitely mixing it up

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Athlon Sports is reporting the Big Ten (sorry, I still call them that) may be adding Oregon, Washington, Oregon, Florida State and Clemson this week. If true, it makes the timing of Mike Elko’s extension even more wise, as the ACC’s demise may be closer than originally thought. I hope it’s not true, but even if not, it is inevitable. https://athlonsports.com/college-fo...umors-clemson-florida-state-oregon-washington

Covering the Flory recruitment and predictions.

New coaching hire reactions.

Scrimmage video feedback.

Mark Mitchell preview.

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Thoughts

Guys we’ve released two episodes (one last night).

Here they are!
Talking recruiting and Tyrese proctor-
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Mailbag- taking our fans questions including who would you prefer Flagg or Cam Boozer. Who’s leading our team in scoring next year, and much more!
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I was listening to a podcast talking about this. Said Kyle stated his injury was from back before college and he just didn't have a six month window to takecare of it until now. Now, three months along, Kyle stated he already feels a ton better with more flexibility. If he did what he did last year and was never 100%, oh good lord... Makes even more sense he came back.

Players said Scheyer walks around more confident in himself this summer.

This could be a fun year...

Since we have a will they won’t they thread we need a portal thread..

Anyone know of potential players we may target?

A look here: