Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Countdown to Craziness on October 3, 2025 at 7 p.m.
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Photo by: Duke Athletics
Duke Hosts Preseason Media Day
9/24/2025 7:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke men's basketball held its annual preseason media day on Wednesday, Sept. 24. Along with selected players, head coach Jon Scheyer, associate head coaches Chris Carrawell and Emanuel Dildy, and assistant coaches Evan Bradds and Tyler Thornton all addressed the media.Â
The Blue Devils tip-off the 2025-26 campaign on Friday, Oct. 3, with their season-opening event, Countdown to Craziness, followed by exhibition games versus UCF in Durham on Tuesday, Oct. 21, and at Tennessee on Sunday, Oct. 26. The regular season begins on Tuesday, Nov. 4, with Duke facing Texas in the Dick Vitale Invitational at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
Opening statement:
"It's been an exciting time. The first day of practice is always special. I end up in a very bad mood, you know, that night, because you never feel like you're where you want to be. But that's why it's practice number one. I thought our guys did a great job yesterday, coming back and responding and doing the things we asked them to do. So, they've been a great group to coach. We've changed some things we've done during our practices. We've invested a lot with us having such a young team, in the player development aspect. We've studied best practices and the best ways we can get to max out this time period with our guys, and our coaching staff has done an incredible job. We call that time our 'Blueprint,' because we set out a blueprint for each of our guys, and that can change throughout the course of the season, but we dedicate time every day to do that."
On the challenging schedule:
"I think I set our guys up a little bit, really, to think we're going to go through the non-conference schedule and not get knocked back at certain times. Do I want to go and win every game? Of course I do. That's not the way we set our schedule up. We set our schedule up to be at our best at the end of the year and to learn as much as we can early in the season. Then, at the same time, when you think about the games these guys want to play. These games are the reasons why our guys chose to come to Duke. There's no question it's going to be challenging and exciting."
On how he has grown as a head coach and the lessons he's learned from Coach K:
"Decisions I make every day are based on what I've learned from Coach K. I think the biggest thing that I've learned and have always taken with me is the ability to look in the mirror and think about what I can do better. As demanding as he always was, and as tough on us as maybe he would come across, he was always tough on himself. And I can tell you, I'm wired the same way. Every year I try to get better. It's been a great chance of continuing to double down on the things that have worked and that we believe in. But, you want to always stay ahead in terms of what's next, with the evolution of where the game is going, and how can we really win in the margins. We had four losses last year - all four losses are a possession. So, the difference of gaining two more possessions, whether it's rebounding, whether it's foul situations, two-for-ones, it's a big deal. That's where our focus has been this this summer, just how to gain those margins, while still making sure we're not skipping over the basics of the fundamentals you need to be really good."
On how to achieve the same level of defensive efficiency as last season:
"You can't be good defensively if you don't have a toughness to you, if you're not competitive, if you don't guard the ball, if you don't play with physicality, if you don't rebound and finish possessions. So, for our team, that's the most important thing. The last three years we've had a top-20 defense each year, and I think the difference last year was just the versatility with our switching. I think our size this year allows us to be good at that. We've got a long way to go, but it's always going to be the backbone of who we are and what we do. Our guys will tell you, the first week of practice, there hasn't been much offense. It's been defense, and that's how we're going to win big games and have a successful season."
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
 Â
#GoDuke
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The Blue Devils tip-off the 2025-26 campaign on Friday, Oct. 3, with their season-opening event, Countdown to Craziness, followed by exhibition games versus UCF in Durham on Tuesday, Oct. 21, and at Tennessee on Sunday, Oct. 26. The regular season begins on Tuesday, Nov. 4, with Duke facing Texas in the Dick Vitale Invitational at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
Opening statement:
"It's been an exciting time. The first day of practice is always special. I end up in a very bad mood, you know, that night, because you never feel like you're where you want to be. But that's why it's practice number one. I thought our guys did a great job yesterday, coming back and responding and doing the things we asked them to do. So, they've been a great group to coach. We've changed some things we've done during our practices. We've invested a lot with us having such a young team, in the player development aspect. We've studied best practices and the best ways we can get to max out this time period with our guys, and our coaching staff has done an incredible job. We call that time our 'Blueprint,' because we set out a blueprint for each of our guys, and that can change throughout the course of the season, but we dedicate time every day to do that."
On the challenging schedule:
"I think I set our guys up a little bit, really, to think we're going to go through the non-conference schedule and not get knocked back at certain times. Do I want to go and win every game? Of course I do. That's not the way we set our schedule up. We set our schedule up to be at our best at the end of the year and to learn as much as we can early in the season. Then, at the same time, when you think about the games these guys want to play. These games are the reasons why our guys chose to come to Duke. There's no question it's going to be challenging and exciting."
On how he has grown as a head coach and the lessons he's learned from Coach K:
"Decisions I make every day are based on what I've learned from Coach K. I think the biggest thing that I've learned and have always taken with me is the ability to look in the mirror and think about what I can do better. As demanding as he always was, and as tough on us as maybe he would come across, he was always tough on himself. And I can tell you, I'm wired the same way. Every year I try to get better. It's been a great chance of continuing to double down on the things that have worked and that we believe in. But, you want to always stay ahead in terms of what's next, with the evolution of where the game is going, and how can we really win in the margins. We had four losses last year - all four losses are a possession. So, the difference of gaining two more possessions, whether it's rebounding, whether it's foul situations, two-for-ones, it's a big deal. That's where our focus has been this this summer, just how to gain those margins, while still making sure we're not skipping over the basics of the fundamentals you need to be really good."
On how to achieve the same level of defensive efficiency as last season:
"You can't be good defensively if you don't have a toughness to you, if you're not competitive, if you don't guard the ball, if you don't play with physicality, if you don't rebound and finish possessions. So, for our team, that's the most important thing. The last three years we've had a top-20 defense each year, and I think the difference last year was just the versatility with our switching. I think our size this year allows us to be good at that. We've got a long way to go, but it's always going to be the backbone of who we are and what we do. Our guys will tell you, the first week of practice, there hasn't been much offense. It's been defense, and that's how we're going to win big games and have a successful season."
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
 Â
#GoDuke
Â
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