Duke did lose Cooper Flagg and Kon Kneuppel, but head coach Jon Scheyer reloaded the roster with another dynamic freshman class that is going to win a lot of games.
Duke is one of college basketball's true blue blood teams. There are Blue Devil fans all over the United States, not just in Durham, and the Duke name means something to recruits. Any time a recruit receives an offer from the Blue Devils, they usually secure the player. Since I have been following the sport, I can count on one hand the number of players who have turned down Duke to attend another school.
Why is this important? Well, it is how Duke stays at the top every season; the Blue Devils consistently get the best talent. The Blue Devils have decided that their program will be a destination for one-and-done players every season. The decision to attend Duke has been an easy one for most recruits, allowing Duke to reload every year.
Heading into the 2025-2026 season, Duke and head coach Jon Scheyer are going to be one of the best teams in the country again. They will be a favorite in the ACC and will be a favorite to get a one seed and hoist a trophy again. It is just what the Blue Devils do; they stack talent, and no one expects anything different.
The preview will introduce everyone to the new faces on the Duke roster, especially the top freshman. It will also delve into Duke's depth, preview the schedule, and provide an overall outlook for the top team in the ACC.
Starters:
Every season, it feels like it is the deepest team that head coach Jon Scheyer has had at Duke. The team is loaded with talent, and every player on the roster would start for most rosters in the country.
Cameron Boozer- Freshman- Forward
The son of former Duke star Carlos Boozer has a game that bears a resemblance to his father's. He is highly athletic, can score from all three levels, and is fantastic on the defensive end of the floor. It has been a long time since Duke had a player of Boozer's caliber, but they have a player with his skillset every year.
That wasn't a knock on the five-star freshman, more just a nod to the unbelievable ability of the Blue Devils to recruit. The big man was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American, and the number 1 player in Florida. His twin brother, Cayden, also plays for the Duke team.
Dame Sarr- Freshman- Forward
Yet another five-star freshman forward. The Italian big man has had a stellar career in the Euroleague and was one of the youngest players to ever play for FC Barcelona at the age of 16. Sarr is an efficient offensive player and a great shooter from deep; the only problem is that he hasn't been exposed much to competition in the United States.
The brief stint he did have was at the Nike Hoop Summit playing for the World team and against his new Duke teammates, the Boozer twins. He scored 17 points with four rebounds in that game. Coach Scheyer may start slowly, but once he gets up to speed, the possibilities are endless. He has immense talent.
Nikolas Khamenia- Freshman- Wing
Khamenia was a top-20 recruit overall and one of the best players in the state of California. He helped lead Harvard-Westlake High School to two consecutive State Championships and played for Team USA at the Nike Hoop Summit. Those events showcased the type of player that Duke is getting in Khamenia.
He is a jack of all trades on the court. He can score and rebound, and has shown at times that he can be an elite passer for his size. The wing isn't going to score in double figures this Year, but will make a ton of hustle plays and will be one of the reasons Duke wins the games they do. He is going to have a lot of 9-point, 6-rebound, 4-assist lines this Year.
Caleb Foster- Junior- Guard
Foster is one of only two players on the Duke roster to have started a game for the Blue Devils last Year. Foster wasn't a full-time starter last season, but will be this Year. The guard has the ceiling to be one of the best shooters in the country and finds himself on the Jerry West Award preseason watchlist.
Foster is one of the oldest players on the team and will be expected to lead, but he is also going ot be expected to fill his role and make threes. He won't lead the team in any categories, but can impact the game from beyond the arc and with his defensive ability. He can get very streaky from beyond the three-point line.
Cayden Boozer - Freshman- Guard
The other half of the Boozer brothers and the Boozer who was ranked lower than Cameron, but was still just as decorated. He gives Duke a distinct advantage on the offensive end because the best player on the floor happens to be his twin brother, with whom he grew up passing and playing.
Boozer hit a ton of huge shots in high school and at the showcase games. Don't suggest that Cayden is riding his brother Cameron's coattails; the guard can play and will make a significant impact on both ends of the floor. He has won a lot with his brother right by his side, and coach Scheyer hopes the same can continue at Duke.
Reserves:
Maliq Brown- Senior- Forward
Brown is the oldest player on the roster and brings a ton of experience to ACC basketball. Those who enjoy scoring need not watch Brown much. He is one of the best defenders in the game, and when he enters the game, Duke, a team that already plays elite defense, becomes even better defensively.
The forward may get some more run this Year, but isn't going to score much. It isn't part of what makes Brown so good. His defense, rebounding, and energy are what make him a fan favorite in Durham.
Isaiah Evans-Sophomore- Wing
Evans got lost in the shuffle at Duke last Year with the talent they had, but the freshman quietly put together one of the best seasons in Duke history. Evans made 62 threes and shot 41% from deep last Year. Those numbers were good enough to rank among the top 10 for Duke freshmen all-time.
The sophomore guard can do a lot of damage in a short period of time with his ability to shoot the ball. He is a weapon that very few people outside the Duke fanbase discuss because he isn't one of the team's known superstars. He is one of the best shooters in the country.
Sebastian Wilkins- Freshman- Wing
The freshman guard is the one player in the freshman class who is not a 5-star recruit, but he is a 4-star player and still one of the top 25 players in the country, according to ESPN. Wilkins is also one of the youngest players in Division 1. He was initially a member of the 2026 class.
The forward was an elite scorer in high school and was arguably the best player to emerge from New England. The Boston native averaged over 16 per game at his New England prep school. I'm not sure if he will play a lot, but if he gets on the floor, he will score.
Patrick Ngongba II- Sophomore- Center
The big man was huge for Duke off the bench last Year when Maliq Brown was hurt and then continued to get minutes as the Year went on. Ngongba didn't score much and was never a significant part of the offense when he was in the game, but he shot 72% from the floor on the shots he did take.
Ngongba is another player who won't play a whole lot this Year but will likely play in every game. The big man played 30 games last Year but only played 10 minutes a night. I expect a similar deployment for the big man this season.
Schedule Outlook:
The top 5 teams typically play top 5 schedules, and when you are a program like Duke, arguably the most recognizable in the sport, there will be neutral-site games and National TV games aplenty every season. This Year is no exception to that rule, as Duke plays a lot of their non-conference games away from Durham. There are even two actual road games on the Blue Devils' schedule, which rarely happens in the non-conference.
The neutral site games are against Texas in Charlotte. Kansas and Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden. Finally, Arkansas at the United Center, plus actual road games at Army and at Michigan State. The Blue Devils also play a random game in Washington, D.C., against Michigan in February.
There is no other team in the country that will play as many good teams away from home. Duke does get the defending National Champs at Cameron in December, which is already shaping up to be the best game of the Year. There will obviously be the two games against North Carolina, but Duke also plays Louisville twice.
Outside of those rivalry games, there isn't much in the ACC that looks like a trap game or a game that Duke won't be favored to win. The Blue Devils have a schedule that is guaranteed to net them a one seed and another potential run to the Final Four.
Overall Outlook:
There was a bit of oversharing above. It is not a secret that Duke will be one of the best teams in the country this Year and has one of the most talented groups of freshmen in the country again. I say again because the Duke season preview can just be recycled every Year. There is never a rebuild in Durham; it is always a reload.
Duke isn't going to have Cooper Flagg of Kon Kneuppel, but that won't matter; Coach Scheyer still has the best roster in the ACC and is going to win a lot of games. Considering that Duke appears to be a team that will be playing until April and may be the last one standing when it is all said and done, 'a lot' is a significant number. For Duke, the answer to how many wins is a lot, upwards of 30.
That word again appears because it would be the second season in a row that the Blue Devils have won 30 games, which is no small feat. Coach Scheyer is going to win the ACC going away, earn a one seed in the NCAA Tournament, and play deep in the NCAA Tournament. I can't say they will make the Final Four without seeing the matchups, but I also won't know they won't make the Final Four. Duke goes 35-4 again.