10/23/2009 - Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke men’s basketball team opens the 2009-10 exhibition schedule on Saturday, Oct. 24 against Pfeiffer. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils return four starters and nine letterwinners from a team that finished 30-7, including an 11-5 mark in the ACC, a year ago. Duke won the 2009 ACC Tournament Championship as well as the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer Championship and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Junior Kyle Singler (16.5 ppg., 7.7 rpg.) and senior Jon Scheyer (14.9 ppg., 3.6 rpg.) return as All-America candidates, while junior Nolan Smith (8.4 ppg., 2.2 rpg.) has excelled in preseason workouts.

Smith starred in last Friday’s Countdown to Craziness, finished the two 12-minutes scrimmages with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor. He also had seven assists and zero turnovers on the night. Singler, Scheyer and Smith are joined on the perimeter by graduate student Jordan Davidson and freshman Andre Dawkins.

Seniors Brian Zoubek (4.1 ppg., 3.7 rpg.) and Lance Thomas (5.3 ppg., 3.6 rpg.) give head coach Mike Krzyzewski with an experience backline, while sophomores Miles Plumlee and Olek Czyz along with freshmen Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee provide depth and versatility.

Juniors Steve Johnson and Casey Peters also have the athleticism and skill level to challenge for playing time for the Blue Devils.

Duke will face also play Findlay in an exhibition game on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 7:00 p.m. A limited number of tickets still remain for the Findlay contest and can be purchase through the Duke Ticket Office at 919-681-BLUE. The Blue Devils open the regular season at home on Nov. 13 against UNC-Greensboro at 7:00 p.m.