The Devil's Den: A Duke Athletics Podcast The Devils Den Podcast, Duke, Duke basketball, Duke athletics, Duke Blue Devils

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 conference?
Then they turn their attention to the 2024-25 season. What do Tyrese Proctor's and Caleb Foster's returns mean for Duke? What kind of player(s) should Duke add in the portal? What will Duke's starting lineup next year be and what will the product look like on the court?

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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 entered the transfer portal and before Tyrese Proctor announced he'll return back to school for his junior season. Another podcast will be released next week discussion this and any other developments in the coming days.

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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 play, coaching)

Biggest disappointments

Potential departures and returnees for next season

Who Duke needs to return to be a contender



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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 battle

Avoiding live-ball turnovers when Houston blitzes the ball screen

Filipowski as a pressure release valve when the guards are blitzed

Houston's backside help principles and rim protection

Mark Mitchell as a baseline cutter

Tyrese Proctor's as a hit-ahead passer and movement shooter

Duke's baseline out-of-bounds and after-timeout plays

Jared McCain in flex action

Empty side ball screen with Jeremy Roach

Roach's ability to attack the middle of the paint

Other actions Duke can run (DHOs, split action, inverted pick and roll) to avoid the blitz altogether


Then Raul gives his prediction for the outcome and score of the game while Josh and Dustin dodge the question altogether.

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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-and-roll ball handler to take advantage of his gravity

Jeremy Roach's gritty performance despite a dislocated finger against James Madison

Mitchell's defense on Terrence Edwards

The overall play of the backcourt

Solid bench minutes vs. JMU from Ryan Young, Sean Stewart, and TJ Power


They also talk about the overall performance of the ACC in the tournament so far. Lastly, they briefly glance ahead to their Sweet Sixteen matchup. [Note: the winner of Houston/Texas A&M wasn't known at the time of this recording. There will be a more extensive preview of Duke-Houston later in the week.]

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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 Catamounts present? Do they expect Duke to advance? And if Duke does win, who will they face in the Round of 32? How do they match up with their potential opponents?
Then they zoom out to look at the tournament at large before each giving their Final Four and National Champion picks.
Lastly, they spend far too long assessing the 2024 season and Duke's looming offseason. Why did this team fall short of expectations? How deep a run would it take to make good on those expectations? Who will leave this offseason and who will stay? Will Duke hit the portal? If Duke experiences a mass exodus, does it mean they need to reexamine their developmental and recruiting model? Will the incoming freshmen provide something that the previous two classes have not?


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