Raul and Dustin are joined by friend of the pod, Rick Heidrick, to dissect the season so far. Topics discussed include: Duke's two early season losses being part of the learning process The maturity and poise Duke showed in later wins vs. Auburn and Louisville The elite defense and evolving offense Duke's strong statistical indicators Then they tur…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 68-47 win over George Mason. They talk about the continued slow offensive starts and poor 3pt shooting. Are these trends cause for concern? They also discuss Isaiah Evans' impact off the bench and how big a role he can realistically have. Next, they run through their holiday wish list for the team and individu…

Josh and Dustin react to Duke's 72-46 victory over Incarnate Word. Topics discussed include: Duke's sluggish offense that saw the team score 28 first half points against the #350 ranked defense The unexpectedly poor 3pt shooting from the team so far this season Isaiah Evans as a bright spot as a shooter Whether Evans needs more minutes and where th…

Josh and Dustin react to Duke's 76-65 road win over the Louisville Cardinals. Topics discussed include: The repeated slow starts that lead to Duke playing from behind Louisville's early hot shooting Possible ways to clarify Foster's role Isaiah Evans' quiet follow-up to his explosion versus Auburn Maliq Brown's ranking in best Duke defenders ever W…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 84-78 win over #2 Auburn. They analyze what it means for Duke's season as a whole before dissecting the game in detail. Topics discussed include: Dustin's experience in Cameron for the game The change to Duke's starting lineup The 13-2 hole Duke found themselves in early Caleb Foster's offensive aggression off…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 70-48 win over Seattle. They talk about the team's #1 rated defense and what's made it successful. Then they talk about the team's offensive struggles. Why is this team, with so much shooting and talent, rated only 23rd on offense? Why are they not drawing free throws? How can the team generate more rim pressu…

Josh and Dustin react to Duke's 75-72 loss to Kansas in Las Vegas. Topics discussed include: Dustin's perspective from having been in the building live The slow start for Duke that had them down double digits Tyrese Proctor finding his ideal role in his junior season Needing more from Caleb Foster Lack of a point guard who can either set teammates …

Josh and Raul react to Duke's impressive 69-55 road win over Arizona. Topics discussed include: Duke's suffocating defense, now ranked #1 in the country How Duke was able to take away Arizona's offensive rebounding, rim scoring, and transition game Whether this was Cooper Flagg's best defensive performance Why Cooper Flagg's shooting splits are a p…

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 st…

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 Kham…

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-ba…

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 sof…

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 includ…

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 K…

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 …

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 spec…

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…

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 dist…

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 weaknes…

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 Ca…

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 T…

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…

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 o…

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 care…

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 Lew…

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 th…

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 co…

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 t…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are back from an extended break to react to the Celtics winning the NBA title. Jayson Tatum becomes just the eighth Duke player to win an NBA championship, leading his team in points, rebounds, and assists in the playoffs. What does this do for his legacy? Were the voters right to award Finals MVP to Jaylen Brown, or was Tatu…

Josh and Raul are joined by Dan Favale, NBA Staff Writer at Bleacher Report and host of the Hardwood Knocks podcast. They discuss various Duke players making a significant impact in the NBA. Topics include: The unfair criticism of Jayson Tatum from NBA fans and the media How a championship will alter that conversation Kyrie Irving's comfort level i…

Now that Duke's full roster is set, Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by Brian Geisinger of 247Sports to discuss the construction of the team. Brian gives his in-depth thoughts on the players added in the transfer portal. What do they say about Coach Scheyer's plans for this season? What kind of role will each play? They also look at the returning …

Josh and Raul are joined by Isaac Popper, ESPN+ Broadcast Statistician and President of Tulane Analytics. Isaac shares his insights into Duke's latest transfer portal commitment, Tulane guard Sion James. Isaac has known James since they were both freshmen and has watched him grow as a person and basketball player. He shares his thoughts on Sion's a…

Josh and Raul are back with John Watson of thedevilsden.com to get his thoughts on Duke's wild offseason. Topics discussed include: The loss of seven player to the transfer portal The causes behind the mass exodus The additions of Mason Gillis and Maliq Brown A possible commitment from Sion James of Tulane What Duke is hoping to change about its cu…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to offseason which saw seven players from Duke's 2023-24 roster enter the transfer portal. They talk about the fits of Jeremy Roach and Mark Mitchell on Baylor and Missouri respectively, as well as what it means to lose promising players like TJ Power and Sean Stewart. They discuss the difficulties of maintaining fan en…

Josh and Raul are joined by Brendan Marks of The Athletic. First they discuss the 2023-24 season for Duke and for the ACC as a whole. How did Duke's season stack up against the lofty expectations? What led to UNC's turnaround from missing the tournament to a 1-seed? What do NC State and Clemson's tournament runs say about the health of the conferen…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul go through the over/under picks they made for various team and player stats at the beginning of the season. They react to their guesses and discuss why a player or the team fell short or exceed their predictions. A winner is announced and gets nothing but bragging rights. Note: this episode was recorded before Mark Mitchell e…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul look back at Duke's 2023-24 Season. Topics discussed include: What it means for Coach Scheyer to make the Elite Eight in his second season How much differently they would feel if Duke had made the Final Four Missed opportunities Favorite games and moments from the season Biggest pleasant surprises (players, aspect of team pla…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by Brian Geisinger of 247Sports to preview Duke's matchup with the Houston Cougars in the Sweet Sixteen. They talk about the keys to a Duke victory and pitfalls to avoid. Topics discussed include: Containing Jamal Shead's off-the-dribble game Limiting Houston's offensive rebounds and winning the field goal attempts…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul give their immediate, unfiltered reaction to Duke's wins over Vermont and James Madison to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Topics include: Kyle Filipowski's unselfish play against the double teams of Vermont Mark Mitchell's aggressiveness as the roll man Jared McCain's historic shooting versus James Madison Using McCain as pick…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by John Watson of thedevilsden.com to react to Sunday's NCAA Tournament bracket reveal. They talk about Duke receiving a 4-seed in the South. Was this a fair seeding by the committee or should Duke have been seeded higher? They react to Duke's 1st round draw of 13-seed Vermont. What are some challenges the Catamoun…

Josh and Dustin react to Duke's quarterfinal loss in the ACC Tournament to NC State. They talk about Duke's recent two-game skid and what it says about the team as a whole. They discuss Duke's struggles with late-game execution as well as the poor play of the backcourt. Lastly, they talk about this loss's impact on Duke's tournament seeding. Does t…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's demoralizing 84-79 loss to UNC on Senior Night. What does it mean for Duke to get swept by a UNC team that wasn't significantly better than them by metrics or record? Why did Duke fall so far behind in the first half yet again? How was a role player for UNC able to have a huge night in both games? Was the game…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by friend of the pod Kelly Rowe. They start by talking about the recent commitment to Duke of Khaman Maluach, a 7'2" center out of Africa in the class of 2024. They discuss what he'll bring to an already loaded team next season. Then they recap Duke's 79-64 road win over NC State. Topics include: Duke's composure a…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's decimation of Virginia in Cameron. They analyze the offensive and defensive game plan that allowed Duke to roll to a 73-48 victory. Topics discussed include Quick postups by Kyle Filipowski Big-to-big passing Virginia's decision to guard the 3pt line rather than double the post Mark Mitchell's tone-setting def…

Josh and Raul speak with Jonathan Levitan, Sports Editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume. They explore what it's like to cover Duke Athletics -- and more specifically, Duke Men's Basketball -- from the student perspective. Topics discussed include: Jonathan's roots as a Duke Basketball fan How he became involved in writing for The Chronicle Favorit…

Josh and Raul are joined by Jordan Mann and Conor O'Neill of The Big J and Little J Show to talk about Duke's 83-79 loss at Wake Forest. They discuss how Hunter Sallis was able to carve Duke up for 29 points on 11-13 shooting. They also break down the late-game execution. Was this a game that Wake Forest won or was this a game that Duke lost? Is Du…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's blowout road win of the Miami Hurricanes. They dissect what might have been Duke's most complete performance of the season, a 84-55 domination that saw five players score in double figures. They talk about Duke's stifling switching defense, impressive dunks from Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski, and how Roach'…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Duke's 76-67 win over Florida State. They talk about Jared McCain's offensive explosion. How was he able to take and make so many threes? They also highlight some other positive performances: 17 points from Jeremy Roach; steady ball-handling from Caleb Foster; solid defense from Mark Mitchell; and bench energy from J…

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by Brian Geisinger, writer for 247Sports and cohost of the Buzz Beat Podcast. They do a deep dive into the Wake Forest game -- which Brian was on press row for -- and also survey Duke's season as a whole. Topics include: Kyle Filipowski's versatile pick-and-roll coverage Drop defense vs. switching Mark Mitchell's o…

Josh and Raul give their immediate takes on Duke's 80-65 home win over Boston College. Topics include: The defensive gameplan to limit Quinten Post First half offensive lull Recent struggles with 3pt shooting Second half defensive dominance Mark Mitchell's offense A bounce-back performance from Kyle Filipowski Sean Stewart's increasing role Jared M…