Episodes
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 86-35 blowout win over Wofford. Topics discussed include:
The debut of Patrick Ngongba
What he can bring to the team going forward
Improved backcourt play from Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor
Proctor's 3pt shooting and off-ball movement
Sion James's positive impact
A return to high 3pt volume
Cooper Flagg's struggles shooting from behind the arc
Ways for the team to generate more free throw attempts
Whether Isaiah Evans has earned more minutes
Then they preview Friday's big matchup against Arizona. They talk about the most interesting player matchups, such as Tyrese Proctor vs. Caleb Foster and Khaman Maluach vs. Tobe Awaka. They discuss the key factors to a Duke win (defensive rebounding, 3pt shooting, and keeping Arizona off the free throw line). How confident are they heading into this matchup?
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 77-72 loss to Kentucky in their first big test of the season. Topics discussed include:
What Duke did right to have a 46-37 lead at halftime
What went wrong in the 2nd half that led to Duke being outscored by 14 and shooting only 29%
Defensive miscommunications
The impact of the injuries to Sion James and Khaman Maluach
Whether Duke should have played Isaiah Evans or Darren Harris to help offset the injuries
Concerns about the play of the backcourt
The need to maintain good offensive process even in close games
What this loss means for Duke going forward
The importance of this season for Coach Scheyer
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul recap Duke's win over Army. Topics discussed include:
The cold 3pt shooting start
Army's multiple defensive looks
Cooper Flagg's cramping issues
The sustainability of Kon Knueppel's scoring
The unselfishness of Duke's elite recruits (particularly Flagg and Maluach)
Khaman Maluach's touch and rebounding
Tyrese Proctor's off-ball impact
Duke's stifling 1st half defense
The steadiness of Sion James
Then they preview Duke's matchup against Kentucky, and discuss key factors to the game. Who will win the 3pt shooting battle? How does Duke guard Kentucky's transition attack? They also look at the history of the Duke-Kentucky rivalry and discuss what this game would mean as a measuring stick for Duke going forward.
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by John Watson of thedevilsden.com to react to Duke's first official win of the season, a 96-62 victory over Maine. Topics discussed include:
Cooper Flagg's passing
Khaman Maluach's offensive improvements
The collective understanding of spacing and shooting gravity
The high IQ of the transfer portal players
The soft spot in the middle of the defense that drop coverage leave, and how a player like Maliq Brown can offset that
Concerns with the defensive rebounding and box out responsibilities
Kon Knueppel's footwork on drives
Sion James as a freight train in the lane
How the end-of-bench freshmen will handle smaller roles than in high school
Then they dive into recruiting news. They talk about the four commitments Duke has recently added to their 2025 class. They discuss possible additions still to come in the 2025 class, which is now ranked #1 overall, as well as some heavy Duke leans in 2026. They praise Jon Scheyer's adaptability to the changing landscape and assess how that will play out over next offseason. Who will return to Duke? Who will leave? What kind of contingency plans are in place? How much will high school recruiting be used to build rosters versus the portal?
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul prepare you for the Duke Men's Basketball 2024-25 season with the longest The Devil's Den podcast episode ever released. In part one of the pod, they get together with Brian Geisinger, writer for 247Sports and cohost of the Buzz Beat podcast. They talk about what Brian has seen over the first couple exhibitions. Topics include:
Screening actions for the teams multitude of shooters, especially Kon Knueppel
How Duke is creating 5-out offense by having their bigs camp outside the 3pt line
The value of Khaman's rim gravity in making this work
Maliq Brown's defensive versatility
The sustainability of the 3pt volume against better competition
The need for dribble penetration, and the best candidates to provide that
Whether Duke will be able play at a fast pace
How many players Duke will be playing by the end of the season
Biggest story lines Brian will be tracking
The matchups Brian is most looking forward to
Then in part two of the pod (timestamp - 1:10:59), Josh, Dustin, and Raul preview the season in more detail. They predict wins and losses, leaders in various stat categories, and make some over/under picks. They look at the schedule in detail and talk about the most difficult or exciting stretches. They also give their own story lines they'll be monitoring.
You can find Brian Geisinger's work at: https://briangeisinger.substack.com/ or https://247sports.com/college/north-carolina-state/user/briangeisinger/.
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's dominant 103-47 exhibition win over Arizona State in the Brotherhood Run. Topics include:
Bobby Hurley's legacy
Duke's defense in the 1st half
Duke's efforts to involve Khaman Maluach early in the offense
Maliq Brown's foul trouble
The 2nd half three-point shooting barrage
Screening actions being run for Kon Knueppel and Duke's other shooters
Duke's improved ability to go on runs
Caleb Foster's increased aggression and pace of play
Mason Gillis as a high-level 3-and-D role player
Khaman Maluach's rebounding and rim deterrence
Duke's 3pt attempt rate
The place of Darren Harris and Isaiah Evans in the rotation
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by friend of the pod Kaleb Hilliard to react to Duke's 107-56 exhibition win over Lincoln. Topics discussed include:
Cooper Flagg's debut
An unexpected starting lineup
Some first half defensive issues that allowed Lincoln to stay close for 12 minutes
The high volume of spot-up 3pt attempts
The two-man game between Flagg and Kon Knueppel
Knueppel's deceptive athleticism
Tyrese Proctor's aggression
Areas for improvement in Caleb Foster's approach
Khaman Maluach's rebounding
Maliq Brown's grit and defensive versatility
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul start the episode by reacting to the commitment of Cayden and Cameron Boozer to Duke. They talk about whether Miami was ever truly the favorite, plus what it means for Jon Scheyer to land legacy recruits. They also look at how the Boozers will impact next year's Duke team.
Then they get into the episode proper, featuring special guest John Watson of thedevilsden.com. First they recap Dustin's experience at ACC Media Day. They listen to quotes from Jon Scheyer about 3pt shooting and Tyrese Proctor about the impact of Khaman Maluach.
Then John Watson shares his experiences attending a Duke Men's Basketball practice. He gives his thoughts on the team's overall ceiling, and the roles of various players. Who was running point guard between Foster and Proctor? What is impressing people so much about Knueppel? How does Cooper impact the game regardless of how much he scores?
After that, they touch base about various recruiting targets. Note: because this section of the podcast was recorded before the Boozers' commitment, their potential commitment is discussed in more hypothetical terms.
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Countdown to Craziness – the kickoff to the 2024-25 Duke Men's Basketball season. Topics discussed include:
Favorite player intros
The new scrimmage format
The aggressive play of Caleb Foster
Tyrese Proctor's shooting struggles
The battle for the third wing spot between Knueppel, James, Evans, and Harris
Cooper Flagg's quiet productivity
Khaman Maluach and Maliq Brown's role in a perimeter-focused offense
Maluach's room for growth as a screen setter
The need for the guards to recognize Maluach's presence as a rim protector
The overall emphasis on spot-up 3pt shooting
Starting lineup predictions
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by 247Sports National Basketball Analyst Travis Branham for a discussion on the national recruiting landscape as a whole and Duke recruiting specifically.
Topics include:
The impact of NIL and the transfer portal on the timing of player commitments
How the top programs targeting smaller classes will impact the distribution of talent across college basketball
Patterns in the type of players Coach Scheyer has chosen to recruit
The freshman outside of Cooper Flagg likely to have the most impact at Duke
Kon Knueppel's NBA draft stock and player comps
Cooper Flagg's potential impact at Duke
Flagg's best role on offense
Which school leads in the recruitment of the Boozer twins
Where Duke might pivot if they don't land the Boozers
How long Cayden Boozer will likely stay in college
Cam Boozer vs. Paolo Banchero
The fit of other Duke recruits alongside the Boozers
How to achieve greater roster stability in college basketball going forward
The possibility of multiyear NIL contracts for players
Travis Branham can be found on Twitter as @TravisBranham or on 247Sports at https://247sports.com/user/Travis%20Branham/
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by Jordan Hofeditz of SMU Athletics and Jackson Moore of 247Sports to discuss the new additions to the ACC -- Cal, Stanford, and SMU. Jordan and Jackson give their perspective of what joining the ACC means to these teams. Topics discussed include:
Recent coaching hires at all of these programs
Strengths and weaknesses of incoming rosters
Feelings about leaving previous conference
The dissolution of a historic conference like the Pac-12
SMU's longtime struggles to find conference stability
Loss of traditional rivalries
Impact of travel schedules, particularly on non-revenue sports
Potential new rivalries
Venues Jordan and Jackson are most excited to see the teams they cover visit
Impact of joining the ACC on athletic budgets and NIL funding
Jordan Hofeditz can be found on Twitter @jhofeditz. Jackson Moore's writing about various West Coast programs can be found here: https://247sports.com/college/fresno-state/user/JacksonMoore/
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Pro Devils Weekend, which saw 20 Duke players return to campus. They break down the Duke Blue Planet footage from the weekend, which included Dereck Lively running post drills with Khaman Maluach, Coach Scheyer mic'd up for practice, and a 30-minute long team speech from Jay Bilas.
They also talk about Cameron and Cayden Boozer visiting campus and where Duke stands with them from a recruiting perspective.
Later, they get into some hypothetical questions inspired by DJ Steward's appearance on The Brotherhood podcast. Steward said he probably left school too early. Who are some other players who could have stayed, and how would their decision have impacted that next season's team?
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Josh, Shoe, and Raul are joined by Josh Cox and Jamie Holt of the Section 17 Podcast. They discuss Duke Football's upcoming season before turning their attention back to basketball.
Football topics discussed include:
Duke Football's up-and-down 2023 season
Where the victory over Clemson stacks up amongst the greatest wins in Duke Football history
The Riley Leonard injury and its impact on the season
Mike Elko's departure for Texas A&M
Riley Leonard's transfer to Notre Dame as well as other offseason departures
The Manny Diaz hire
Maalik Murphy being named starting quarterback
Expected changes to the Duke offense
The impact of retaining strength and conditioning coach, David Feeley
Biggest expected strengths and weaknesses of the team for the 2024 season
Predicting the team's record
Most anticipated games
Basketball topics include:
Assessing Duke's 2023-24 season
Is the program making reasonable progress under Coach Scheyer?
How does making the Elite Eight affect this assessment?
The offseason transfers: which player hurt the most to lose?
Expectations for the 2024-25 season
How Jon Scheyer addressed the weaknesses of last year's team
The hype around Kon Knueppel
Asking highly ranked players to buy into a limited role
Will the starting backcourt be productive enough?
Cooper Flagg as offensive initiator
Drafting current Duke Basketball players for the football team and vice versa
The Section 17 Podcast can be followed @DukeFBTalk on Twitter and on their website, https://dukefootballtalk.com.
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul speak with Jeff Goodman, College Basketball Analyst at The Field of 68, about all things Duke and college basketball.
Topics discussed include:
Assessing Duke's 2023-24 season relative to expectations
Of the seven Duke players who entered the portal, who will be missed the most?
Cooper Flagg's potential impact in 2025
The way Duke has built an experienced and versatile team around Flagg
The buzz around Kon Knueppel
Khaman Maluach's college readiness
The ceiling of Duke's starting backcourt
The pressure on Jon Scheyer for the 2024-25 season
Conference realignment and the newest additions to the ACC
Players who could win NPOY
The CBB games Jeff is looking forward to the most
The importance of tough scheduling
The charm of downtown Charleston, SC
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by good friend Steven Shuffler for the second part of their 2014-15 season recap. In this episode, they focus on the NCAA Tournament with a brief pit stop at Duke's dominant win over NC State in the ACC Tournament. They break down each game of the tournament, focusing on standout players and plays, as well as the overall narrative of each game. Topics discussed include:
The importance of role definition
Justise Winslow's versatility
Duke's ability to use multiple defensive schemes within the course of a game
Wisconsin vs. Kentucky as a championship game opponent
Grayson Allen's emergence
Tyus Jones in the high ball screen
Quinn Cook's banquet speech
Lastly, they rank the 2015 team in the pantheon of Duke title teams and debate whether Duke will be able to break the championship drought this season.
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul look back on the 2014-15 season to celebrate the upcoming 10th anniversary of Duke's last championship team. They each pick a game from the regular season that made them believe Duke could win a title. They discuss Duke's early road win at #2 Wisconsin, the come-from-behind victory against St. John's for Coach K's 1000th career win, and the win at then-undefeated Virginia. They break down each game in detail, discussing their favorite plays and moments as well as what each game said about the team.
Lastly, they talk about Olympic Basketball and the reasons the US team had several close games in the exhibition period. They assess Coach K's dominance as the US coach and the factors that made it possible. (Note: this episode was recorded before the US's first official game against Serbia, so there's no discussion of Jayson Tatum's benching or any other developments since the exhibition against Germany.)
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Josh and Raul are joined by Steve Clark of thedevilsden.com to talk about his recent experiences attending Peach Jam and the Adidas 3SSB Championship. While there, Steve was able to watch and interview multiple high-level recruits, many of them on Duke's radar. Topics discussed include:
Cameron Boozer vs. AJ Dybantsa
Koa Peat as a passer
Acaden Lewis's feel in the pick and roll
Jalen Haralson's foul-drawing
Nate Ament's growth as a prospect
Shelton Henderson's friendship with Ament and their desire to play together
The 2025 recruit Steve would most like to see Duke land
Who is most likely to end up at Duke
Other 2025 players to watch out for
Then they turn their attention to 2026 where they discuss:
Why Duke doesn't have any offers out to 2026 players yet
Who is most likely to get a Duke offer soon
How the portal and NIL have shifted Duke's recruiting philosophy
The possible upside of having more avenues to add players each offseason
The strength of the 2026 class compared to 2025, particularly at the top
Some names to watch out for in 2026 (Brandon McKoy, Caleb Holt, Jordan Smith, etc)
Lastly, they talk about the NBA buzz around Duke freshman Kon Knueppel. Steve relays what he's heard from multiple NBA scouts regarding Knueppel's game.
You can read Steve's interviews and articles here: https://247sports.com/college/duke/user/steveclark/
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by John Watson of thedevilsden.com as they sit down with Coach Jon Scheyer for the second consecutive offseason. Topics discussed include:
Jayson Tatum's journey from Duke recruit to NBA champion
The fickle nature of the NCAA Tournament
How to define a successful season
Having tough conversations with players in the offseason
Building a competitive culture
Evaluating players in the transfer portal on a short timeline
Using analytics services like Big League Advantage
What made each incoming transfer a good fit
Scheyer's philosophy on pace of play
The role of length and size in defensive versatility
Striking a balance between forcing turnovers and playing smart defense
The importance of shooting at every position
Managing player expectations and media hype
Duke being "disrespected" by opponents on their home floor
The responsibility and excitement of coaching a talent like Cooper Flagg
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Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to an NBA draft that saw Jared McCain drafted 16th by the Philadelphia 76ers and Kyle Filipowski taken 32nd by the Utah Jazz. They discuss how they see each player fitting on their new team. Can Jared McCain play with Tyrese Maxey, or is that backcourt too small? How will McCain play off of Joel Embiid? How will Jazz coach Will Hardy utilize Filipowski, and how much playing time can he expect in a crowded frontcourt? What is Filipowski's longterm position?
Then they turn their attention to the scrimmage video recently released by Duke's social media team, analyzing all six minutes of footage in way too much detail. Which players stood out? What were their favorite moments? What are the lingering questions?
Lastly, they cover a few other pieces of news. They talk about Cooper Flagg being selected to Team USA's Select Team, and what it means that he was the only college player to receive that honor. They also give their thoughts on JJ Redick becoming the LA Lakers new coach. What are his chances of success there?
Note: this episode was recorded before NBA free agency officially began. So certain relevant signings, like Paul George to the 76ers, were not mentioned.
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Josh and Raul are joined by Brian Geisinger of 247Sports and the Buzz Beat Podcast to do a deep dive on the NBA Draft. They focus on Duke's two potential 1st Round picks, Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski. They discuss best and worst team fits for each player as well as reasonable expectations for them at the NBA level.
They wrap up by focusing on the draft as whole. Who will go #1? Who should go #1? And who should Charlotte, a team that Brian covers, pick at #6? Are there any under-the-radar players Brian likes later in the draft? How will the importance of drafting well change under the new salary cap rules?
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