The Devil's Den: A Duke Athletics Podcast

Josh, Dustin, and Raul spend some time on general topics before previewing Tuesday's big matchup with Florida. Topics discussed include: More analysis of the Arkansas game How Duke has looked relative to preseason expectations Biggest positive surprises from the season so far Players they'd like to see more from Questions about Florida's backcourt How Florida will guard Cam Boozer Duke in the NBA To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh and Raul give their immediate, unfiltered thoughts on Duke's roller coaster 80-71 win over Arkansas in Chicago on Thanksgiving day. They talk Cam Boozer's monster performance, Caleb Foster's offensive aggression, and Coach Scheyer's great in-game adjustments. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's dominating wins over Niagara and Howard. Topics discussed include: The atmosphere in Cameron Indoor Stadium (where Dustin was on press row for the Howard game) Cam Boozer's outlet passing Pat Ngongba's big weekend Whether Isaiah Evans should shoot more Jon Scheyer's experimentation with ultra-big and ultra-small lineups Duke's increased offensive pace Nikolas Khamenia as Duke's 3rd string point guard Improved spot-up shooting from Khamenia and Cayden Boozer How Duke's defense can be just as dominant as last year's Then they turn their attention to this week's big matchup vs. Arkansas. They give their predictions and keys to the game. Lastly, they decide which classic Thanksgiving dish best represents each player in Duke's main rotation. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's workmanlike 78-66 victory over Kansas in Madison Square Garden. Topics discussed include: How Isaiah Evans is impacting the game in more ways than just his shooting Cam Boozer finding ways to be effective despite struggling with finishing Cayden Boozer's big second half Caleb Foster and Cayden Boozer closing the game together The evolving wing minutes from Dame Sarr, Nik Khamenia, and Darren Harris Pat Ngongba being productive despite foul trouble Maliq Brown, the deflection monster The impact Flory Bidunga's second foul had on the game The upcoming game against Niagara, and random memories of Greg Paulus in a Duke uniform To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by John Watson of thedevilsden.com to react to Duke's 100-62 win over Indiana State. They talk about Duke's slow start, which saw the team down 14-4, and what allowed them to turn it around. They also discuss Cam Boozer's dominant 35-point performance, where the freshman stuffed the stat sheet while going 13-16 from the field. Next they turn their attention to recruiting. Duke just landed a commitment from Cameron Williams, the #1 power forward in the 2026 class and the #4 player overall. What will he bring to Duke and how does he fit in with the players Duke will likely have returning? Who else will Duke add to round out the 2026 class? Lastly, they preview the big matchup against Kansas? Will Darryn Peterson play? If he doesn't, is this game a must-win for Duke? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 114-59 shellacking of the Army Black Knights on the road. Topics discussed include: The atmosphere and pageantry around this special Veterans Day occasion Coach K being honored The way Coach Scheyer has married the old era with the new A bounceback performance from wing players Isaiah Evans and Dame Sarr Evans as a game-breaking force Maliq Brown's defense Cam Boozer's outlet passing Duke's ability to create separation quickly The versatility of the nine-man rotation Experimenting with different frontcourt combinations The value of playing Cayden Boozer and Caleb Foster together The defensive and offensive ceiling of this team What to look for in the upcoming Indiana State matchup To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 95-54 win over Western Carolina. Topics discussed include: What you can take from games against lesser opponents Duke's hustle diving for loose balls Cam Boozer going 4-9 from three Cayden Boozer's excellent performance The keys to unlocking Cayden's strengths Why Caleb Foster vs. Cayden Boozer might be a false dichotomy The offensive struggles of Dame Sarr and Isaiah Evans The ball movement of reserves like Darren Harris, Nikolas Khamenia, and Maliq Brown The announcement that Sebastian Wilkins will be redshirting Duke's upcoming game at Army (and whether Coach K will be honored in some way) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's gritty 75-60 win over Texas in the first ever Dickie V Invitational. Topics discussed include: Dustin's experience watching the game from press row Isaiah Evans' diverse offensive attack Cameron Boozer's strong 2nd half after a scoreless 1st half Duke's excellent team defense Dame Sarr getting the start over Nik Khamenia Maliq Brown's return from injury Foul trouble from Brown and Patrick Ngongba Difficulties with defensive rebounding Darren Harris as part of the nine-man rotation What Caleb Foster brings defensively vs. Cayden Boozer as a passer Areas to improve on in the next game vs. Western Carolina To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul preview the 2025-26 Duke Men's Basketball season. Topics discussed include: The Texas game to open the season Toughest non-conference matchup Predicted non-conference record Which game, if any, we wish was being played in a different location Predicted ACC finish Whether Duke can win the ACCT for the third time in four years Predicted NCAA Tournament seeding Whether Duke can make it back to the Final Four Random grab bag questions To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 83-76 exhibition win over Tennessee. Topics discussed include: Cameron Boozer's dominant 24 pt and 23 rebound performance Isaiah Evans' diverse offensive attack First impressions of Dame Sarr Patrick Ngongba and Cam Boozer figuring out how to play together Caleb Foster's defense vs. Cayden Boozer's Whether Cam Boozer's playmaking mitigates the need for a point guard Halftime adjustments General takeaways after two exhibition games To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by John Watson of The Devil's Den to react to Duke's 96-71 exhibition win over University of Central Florida in The Brotherhood Run. They discuss Cam Boozer's dominant performance, Isaiah Evans' shot diet, Nikolas Khamenia's fearlessness, Darren Harris as a "program guy," and whether playing Boozer and Ngongba together will work longterm. Then they get John's insight on the developing 2026-27 recruiting class. Duke just landed a commitment from #12 ranked wing, Bryson Howard. What can he add to the team and who else might join him? How is this impacted by potential returning players from this year's team? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh and Raul are joined by Brendan Marks of The Athletic to talk about what to expect from the 2025-26 Duke Blue Devils. Topics discussed include: Why Duke can get back to the Final Four Biggest areas of concern for the team Possible surprise "leaps" from returning players The importance of Darren Harris as an off-ball shooter The battle for minutes at the 3 position Jon Scheyer's evolution as an offensive coach How Scheyer will approach the difficult early season schedule The need to be better than last year in clutch situations Duke's position in the ACC hierarchy You can find Brendan's writing, including articles mentioned in this podcast, here: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/brendan-marks/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to this year's Countdown to Craziness. Topics discussed include: Jayson Tatum being in attendance and what Coach Scheyer means when he says Tatum is going to be "helping out" with the team this season Best player intros The inclusion of a 3pt contest The move to an Elam ending in the scrimmage Overall takeaways in terms of pace and style of play The potential to space the floor from all five positions Caleb Foster as lead guard Darren Harris as high level rotation player The quiet production of Cameron Boozer The passing of the frontcourt Dame Sarr's best role on offense Nikolas Khamenia's intensity Recruits in attendance To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul ramp up for this year's Countdown to Craziness, Duke's annual variety event that kicks off the season. They discuss who will have the best player intro, who will be the scrimmage's leading scorer, and who will be this year's surprise performer. After that, they answer some questions about the 2025-26 regular season. Topics include: Reasons why Duke will win the national championship The team's biggest weakness or need Duke's most consistent eight-man rotation Weirdo lineup you'd like to see Biggest X-factor One off-the-wall prediction Player most likely to overachieve relative to expectations, a la Jared McCain or Kon Knueppel in previous seasons [Closing music courtesy of Leo Moracchioli ] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul cover the second half of the tough marquee games on Duke's non-conference schedule. Will Duke be able to protect homecourt against the defending national champions, the Florida Gators? Will they be able to add to Duke's 15-3 winning margin over the Michigan State Spartans, or will a hostile road environment be too much to overcome? Does Texas Tech have the best roster to threaten Duke? How will Cameron Boozer match up with NPOY candidate J.T. Toppin? Will Elliott Cadeau, now of the Michigan Wolverines, continue his beef with Patrick Ngongba? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first of two episodes, Josh, Dustin, and Raul review Duke's loaded slate of non-conference games. They start by looking at the exhibition matchup at Tennessee before discussing Duke's first game of the season vs. Texas, a tough battle vs. Kansas, and a Thanksgiving game against Arkansas in Scheyer's home area of Chicago. Can Duke go 4-0 across these games? How much will Scheyer use the exhibition game to test out lineups and tinker? Who guards Nate Ament? How will Duke's backcourt fare against a tough slate of guards? Can Scheyer get his first win over Bill Self? How does Duke contain Darryn Peterson? Can Duke get revenge for the loss at Arkansas in Scheyer's first season? Does playing on the friendly neutral courts of Charlotte, NYC, and Chicago help Duke? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by legendary referee Jamie Luckie to discuss the ins and outs of officiating DI college basketball. While Luckie has retired as a referee, he still maintains an active role in college officiating through his position of Director of Training & Development for the ACC MBB Officiating Alliance. Topics discussed include: How an aspiring referee can rise up the ranks to officiate DI games How referees are graded internally on their performance Whether "makeup calls" really exist How much officiating differs from game to game The impact of crowd noise on officiating Managing the flow of the game How much social media has changed the discussion around officiating The personality types and skillsets that make a good ref Coming rule changes to the sport The possible impact of AI on officiating Luckie's most memorable games as a ref To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by Brian Geisinger, writer for 247Sports and cohost of the Buzz Beat Podcast. First they discuss the recent NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, which saw them selecting former Duke players Kon Knueppel and Sion James. Topics include: Knueppel leading Charlotte to its first ever Summer League Championship Whether the completeness of Knueppel's game is properly appreciated by the national media What role Knueppel will have in Charlotte's deep guard rotation How Knueppel will function as a playmaker without a true lob threat Sion James' need to be more aggressive on offense in order to stick in the rotation Then they turn their attention to Jordan Smith Jr., the #2 prospect in the 2026 class. What qualities would Smith Jr. bring to Duke if they were to land him? Is he deserving of the #2 ranking? Is his best offensive role as an on-ball creator or off ball? How would he pair with Cayden Boozer if Boozer were to return? How does Smith Jr. fit into Jon Scheyer's defensive scheme? Who is his best player comp? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeff Goodman, longtime college basketball analyst and founder of The Field of 68, is back on the pod for the third straight summer. Topics discussed include: Whether Duke could have used a true point in tight moments last season The lessons Jon Scheyer took from the loss to Houston The job Scheyer has done reassembling the roster The importance of landing Dame Sarr after losing Cedric Coward to the draft How Sarr will adjust from international play The Boozer twins as consummate winners Cameron Boozer as a model of consistent production Cayden Boozer as a decision maker and organizer Whether Scheyer should give the ball to Cayden from day one Caleb Foster's role if he's not on the ball How impressive it was that Duke was able to retain Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans Why Goodman thinks Duke is underrated nationally How the field compares to last season Jordan Smith as a prospect, and the relative weakness of the 2026 class To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh, Dustin, and Raul start the episode by discussing Duke's recent open practice. Raul was in attendance and gives his observations on the three eight-minute scrimmages Duke played. They discuss the battle for starting point guard between Cayden Boozer and Caleb Foster, the improvements of Darren Harris, and how the offense looked different from last year now that Duke's best weapons are in the frontcourt. After that, they dive into the frontcourt itself, taking an in-depth look at the trio of Cameron Boozer, Patrick Ngongba, and Maliq Brown. Topics discussed include: Cameron Boozer's winning pedigree Whether comparing Cameron Boozer to Paolo Banchero is accurate, and how the two players differ What an expanded role for Patrick Ngongba might look like How Boozer and Ngongba will function together defensively Patrick Ngongba showcasing a new pick-and-pop game How injuries derailed Maliq Brown's season Why Brown might be best in an off-the-bench role The need for Brown to be more aggressive as a scorer Whether this is the best passing frontcourt in DMBB history, and how that will shape the offense They also pick over/unders for each player including rebounds per game for Boozer, assists per game for Ngongba, and steals per game for Brown. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices