iStock_000083515123_Full.jpg

BASKETBALL

Duke Got Off To Quick Start In The First Half! Paolo Banchero , AJ Griffin, Mark Williams Scored 21, 20, 28 Points As Duke Won On The Road Saturday At Syracuse 97-72

Duke got off to quick start in the first!

Why?

Duke hit 11 of their first 12 shots building a 30 point first half lead.

Paolo Banchero scored 21 points was 7-16 on field goals while collecting 9 rebounds, AJ Griffin scored 20 points was 7-11 on field goals 6-10 from 3 point range while he collected 2 rebounds , 2 assists. Mark Williams was 11-14 on field goals while he collected 12 rebounds 1 assists, scored 28 points as Duke won the road Saturday at Syracuse 97-72.

“according to espn.com”

Paolo Banchero had this to say about his performance on the road at Syracuse!

Just having fun, really,’’ I felt like the past few weeks,I had been putting unnecessary pressure on myself . Just overthinking especially on offense. That overthinking over -analyzing really affected my game so it was just realizing when I play free I play better.

Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski had this to say about his teams performance on the road at Syracuse!

I thought our offense was amazing for those first 17 minutes of the first half,’’

“according to Stephen Wiseman’s article on newsobserver.com”

Duke is now going to prepare for Mike Krzyzewski’s final Atlantic Coast Conference regular season road game as the Head Coach of Duke Tuesday at Pittsburgh because he is retiring after the 2021-2022 season!

Why?

Mike Krzyzewski had this to say about his decision!

You might ask, 'Why are you doing this right now?' Look, this is not about health. Mickie and I, whether we look it or not -- she does -- whether I look healthy ... I am. It's not about COVID or saying, 'Boy, that year was so bad.' It's not about that. It's certainly not about what's going on with college basketball. 'Boy, the game is changing.' All right. I've been in it for 46 years. You think the game has never changed?"

He later added: "Those aren't the reasons. ... The reason we're doing this is because Mickie and I have decided the journey is going to be over in a year. And we're going to go after it as hard as we possibly can."

“according to an article on espn.com by Myron Medcalf”

And Jon Scheyer who currently is Mike Krzyzewski’s Associate Head Coach is going to be the Head Coach of Duke beginning in April 2023!

In Mike Krzyzewski final road game of the regular season he is going to be opposing a former Duke player, coach in Jeff Capel!

As a player at Duke,

Jeff Capel made an immediate impact at Duke and was a four-year starter for Duke leading the team to 83 wins and a trip to the 1994 national championship game. He racked up 1,601 points, 433 assists and 220 three-point field goals, finishing among Duke’s career leaders in minutes played, three-point field goals made, three-point field goal percentage and assists.
As a coach,

Jeff Capel spent seven seasons at Duke (2011-18), including the final four seasons as associate head coach under Mike Krzyzewski. In that span, he helped guide the Blue Devils to a 200-55 (.784) record, seven NCAA Tournament appearances, the 2017 ACC Tournament championship and the 2015 National Championship. In that time, Capel also helped secure commitments from 19 McDonald’s All-Americans as Duke signed a top-two class in each of the past five years, including the top class in 2014, 2015 and 2018.

During the 2016-17 season, he served as acting head coach for seven games following Krzyzewski’s back surgery. Capel led Duke to a 4-3 record over that stretch, including consecutive road wins at Wake Forest and Notre Dame that sparked a seven-game winning streak in the midst of ACC play. Capel also led Duke to an 89-71 win over Wake Forest during the 2017-18 season when Krzyzewski was sidelined due to an illness.

Jeff Capel was instrumental in the development of that young talent as the Blue Devils produced 15 first-round picks in the NBA Draft during his tenure, including nine lottery picks. Duke had at least one first-round selection every season and multiple first-round picks in five of the seven years with Capel on staff. Eight of the 19 McDonald’s All-Americans Capel helped recruit to Duke were lottery picks.

He was crucial to the signing of the 2014 class that was ranked No. 1 in the nation and featured Grayson Allen, Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow. That class was the catalyst for Duke’s fifth national championship.

Jeff Capel’s close work with Jabari Parker (2014) and Okafor (2015) led to both being named All-Americans, earning National Freshman of the Year honors and being top-three picks in their respective NBA Drafts. Winslow and Jones were also taken 10th and 24th overall, respectively, in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Jeff Capel was vital to the rapid ascent of Brandon Ingram from elite recruit to NBA lottery pick, helping mold him into a Freshman All-American and the ACC Freshman of the Year in 2016 before the Lakers took him with the No. 2 overall pick in that year’s draft.

In 2016-17, Capel was a major influence on Jayson Tatum, an All-ACC selection and the No. 3 overall choice in the NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics.

In his final season at Duke, Jeff Capel mentored National Freshman of the Year and consensus first team All-America selection Marvin Bagley as well as All-ACC selections Wendell Carter, Jr. and Gary Trent, Jr.

“according to Jeff Capel’s biography on pittsburghpanthers.com”

Tip off for Duke’s game at Pittsburgh, Mike Krzyzewski’s final regular season game on the road against Jeff Capel, Pittsburgh is set for 8:00pm from Peterson Event Center!

The game is going to be televised on ACC Network!