Listen to The Devil's Den Podcast for all the latest news and notes surrounding Duke Basketball and Football.

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 ]

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The Devil's Den: A Duke Athletics Podcast

Episode 322 - Countdown to Countdown 

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? 

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Episode 321 - Non-Conference Preview, Pt. 2

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? 

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Episode 320 - Non-Conference Preview, Pt. 1 

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 

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Episode 319 - Jamie Luckie (Retired Men's Basketball Official)

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? 

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Episode 318 - Brian Geisinger Talks Kon Knueppel and Jordan Smith Jr. 

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 

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The Devil's Den: A Duke Athletics Podcast

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