Duke Basketball Roundup Duke Basketball Roundup

Sound the sirens! Sion James is headed to Duke, and we discuss it on Episode 627.
The 6’6” graduate transfer arrives in Durham after 4 years at Tulane, and Donald and Jason are excited about having him onboard. Besides him being built like a machine, he brings a lot of qualities to the table that will really help the Blue Devils next season, from strong play at the rim to sportsmanship. When it comes to transfer players, it’s about fit...and Sion James is a great fit for the Blue Devils.
After the break, Christian Reeves is headed to Clemson. We discuss his departure briefly and that leads into a continuation of our conversation on Duke players entering the portal. Donald focuses on some of the talk over Jeremy Roach leaving and he’s here to tell you that it’s not an indictment on the program that he has decided to graduate and leave his home for a new opportunity.
Make sure you’re following us! Head to our Linktree to get all our available social media and links to follow and subscribe to the show. That includes our affiliate partnerships, from Homefield Apparel (use the code DBRPODCAST to save 15% off your first order) and Fanatics to the NBA Store, NFL Shop, and even Fubo TV. And...we have some more coming! Save some cash on the latest gear or follow the Blue Devils on the go by hitting those affiliate links and it helps support the show as well. We are now on YouTube! Subscribe there, rate, and review our episodes on there and everywhere you get your podcasts. Also, follow us on Twitter ⁠@DukeRoundup⁠!
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/DUKEROUNDUP and get on your way to being your best self.
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We have all heard the rumors, guard Sion James from Tulane is thiiiis close to picking Duke as his next destination. On the latest episode of the Duke Basketball Roundup Jason and Donald do a deep dive on what the transfer portal has brought and what it has taken away. You will hear intel about how Jon Scheyer is building this roster and what it will take to complete it. The guys also talk about where some of our beloved former Dukies are headed and what their prospects are in those locations. Oh, and there is scheduling news that shows how excited Jon Scheyer is about the 2024-25 Blue Devils as Duke prepares to take on one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the land.
And, after the break, we have something really unusual. The DBR Podcast peels back the curtain on the decision players made to leave Duke. Jason got a chance to have a brutally honest conversation with a parent of one of the players who entered the portal and Jason tells you exactly what that player heard from the program that led him to choose to continue his playing days elsewhere. It is a raw summation of how some of the kids who are leaving Duke feel about how the program treated them and could be eye opening to some fans.
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/DUKEROUNDUP and get on your way to being your best self.
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We have a fun episode for you! On Episode 625, we discuss the history of the Duke Blue Devil mascot as we interview Bryan Reklis and welcome back Sam Klein!
Details of the Devil: The History of Duke’s Mascot is a documentary that covers the 102-year history of our beloved mascot and some of the moments that have made the Blue Devil so special to all of us. Sam Klein returns to help us discuss this topic as we welcome Bryan Reklis, Sr. Video Producer of Duke University’s office of Communications & Marketing to the show to discuss the documentary! Bryan helped write, direct, and edit this documentary, which is available on YouTube to watch.
With Bryan, we go through some of the parts of the film that were important in chronicling the history of the Blue Devil and we get into some stories that were not in the film. Sam Klein, who was the mascot while he attended Duke, also provides us with some info that did not make the film as we discuss why the Blue Devil is so lovable and some of the things that the mascots have to deal with in order to provide boundless energy to Duke sporting events. You won’t want to miss this interview!
Make sure you’re following us! Head to our Linktree to get all our available social media and links to follow and subscribe to the show. That includes our affiliate partnerships, from Homefield Apparel (use the code DBRPODCAST to save 15% off your first order) and Fanatics to the NBA Store, NFL Shop, and even Fubo TV. And...we have some more coming! Save some cash on the latest gear or follow the Blue Devils on the go by hitting those affiliate links and it helps support the show as well. We are now on YouTube! Subscribe there, rate, and review our episodes on there and everywhere you get your podcasts. Also, follow us on Twitter ⁠@DukeRoundup⁠!
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The latest episode of the Duke Basketball Roundup features a few minutes of several different topics. Jason and Donald begin by looking at Duke's recent activity in the transfer portal. While we don't know the name of the next player Jon Scheyer expects to sign, we are getting some interesting hints about what type of player it will be.
After that, the guys spend a few moments getting giddy over what they have seen in recent weeks from incoming freshman big man Khaman Maluach as he has faced off against the grown men of the Basketball Africa League. Whew, it has really been impressive.
The guys take a break and then get into a quick conversation about the fancy new scoreboard coming to Cameron.
And then they wrap it all up by talking about a major lawsuit that the NCAA wants to settle which could effectively end the private NIL era by making all teams actually pay the players a fair wage.
(Audio warning -- Jason had some technical difficulties in this episode and his audio is lower than we would like. the DBR Podcast apologizes for the lower than usual standard of quality in this episode).
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This episode of the Duke Basketball Roundup is all about the future of the program... both in terms of the transfer portal and incoming freshmen. First up, Jason and Donald welcome former Purdue wing Mason Gillis to Durham as the newest addition to the team. Gillis is a "dawg" who will not be out-toughed on the floor and will provide excellent defense to go with experienced leadership. He's also a dynamite outside shooter. If you had a machine to design the perfect fit for next year's Duke team, it would probably spit out Mason Gillis.
And the DBR Podcast also welcomes a special guest to this episode. Jeff Fedotin is a sportswriter for Forbes.com who attended this weekend's Jordan Brand Classic, featuring 5 of the 6 members of the incoming freshman class. You already knew Cooper Flagg was a star but wait until you hear Jeff talk about some of the other guys... especially Kon Knueppel.
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Another one! The Blue Devils have landed maybe their best player of the transfer portal era with the addition of Maliq Brown. Brown is a 6-8, long-armed elite defender in the post and the Duke Basketball Roundup gang are thrilled to be adding a guy who was voted to the All-ACC Defensive team. Jason and Donald spend some time breaking down Maliq's game and, more importantly, how his skill set will fit alongside the rest of the Duke roster.
But, the portal giveth and the portal taketh away. It is with a very heavy heart that Duke fans bid goodbye to Sean Stewart. More than anyone else to enter the portal, this one stung because we all saw glimpses of a truly elite athlete who has a path to be one of the most exciting players in all of college basketball. Sadly, that path has led him away from Duke. Listen in as Jason and Donald give their perspectives on Sean's decision and what lies ahead for Duke as the roster is still very much in flux.
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