The Devil's Den: A Duke Athletics Podcast

Josh, Dustin, and Raul start the episode by reacting to the commitment of Cayden and Cameron Boozer to Duke. They talk about whether Miami was ever truly the favorite, plus what it means for Jon Scheyer to land legacy recruits. They also look at how the Boozers will impact next year's Duke team. Then they get into the episode proper, featuring special guest John Watson of thedevilsden.com. First t...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Countdown to Craziness – the kickoff to the 2024-25 Duke Men's Basketball season. Topics discussed include: Favorite player intros The new scrimmage format The aggressive play of Caleb Foster Tyrese Proctor's shooting struggles The battle for the third wing spot between Knueppel, James, Evans, and Harris Cooper Flagg's quiet productivity Khaman Maluach and Maliq Bro...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by 247Sports National Basketball Analyst Travis Branham for a discussion on the national recruiting landscape as a whole and Duke recruiting specifically. Topics include: The impact of NIL and the transfer portal on the timing of player commitments How the top programs targeting smaller classes will impact the distribution of talent across college basketball Patte...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by Jordan Hofeditz of SMU Athletics and Jackson Moore of 247Sports to discuss the new additions to the ACC -- Cal, Stanford, and SMU. Jordan and Jackson give their perspective of what joining the ACC means to these teams. Topics discussed include: Recent coaching hires at all of these programs Strengths and weaknesses of incoming rosters Feelings about leaving pre...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to Pro Devils Weekend, which saw 20 Duke players return to campus. They break down the Duke Blue Planet footage from the weekend, which included Dereck Lively running post drills with Khaman Maluach, Coach Scheyer mic'd up for practice, and a 30-minute long team speech from Jay Bilas. They also talk about Cameron and Cayden Boozer visiting campus and where Duke stands...

Josh, Shoe, and Raul are joined by Josh Cox and Jamie Holt of the Section 17 Podcast. They discuss Duke Football's upcoming season before turning their attention back to basketball. Football topics discussed include: Duke Football's up-and-down 2023 season Where the victory over Clemson stacks up amongst the greatest wins in Duke Football history The Riley Leonard injury and its impact on the seas...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul speak with Jeff Goodman, College Basketball Analyst at The Field of 68, about all things Duke and college basketball. Topics discussed include: Assessing Duke's 2023-24 season relative to expectations Of the seven Duke players who entered the portal, who will be missed the most? Cooper Flagg's potential impact in 2025 The way Duke has built an experienced and versatile team...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by good friend Steven Shuffler for the second part of their 2014-15 season recap. In this episode, they focus on the NCAA Tournament with a brief pit stop at Duke's dominant win over NC State in the ACC Tournament. They break down each game of the tournament, focusing on standout players and plays, as well as the overall narrative of each game. Topics discussed in...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul look back on the 2014-15 season to celebrate the upcoming 10th anniversary of Duke's last championship team. They each pick a game from the regular season that made them believe Duke could win a title. They discuss Duke's early road win at #2 Wisconsin, the come-from-behind victory against St. John's for Coach K's 1000th career win, and the win at then-undefeated Virginia. T...

Josh and Raul are joined by Steve Clark of thedevilsden.com to talk about his recent experiences attending Peach Jam and the Adidas 3SSB Championship. While there, Steve was able to watch and interview multiple high-level recruits, many of them on Duke's radar. Topics discussed include: Cameron Boozer vs. AJ Dybantsa Koa Peat as a passer Acaden Lewis's feel in the pick and roll Jalen Haralson's fo...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by John Watson of thedevilsden.com as they sit down with Coach Jon Scheyer for the second consecutive offseason. Topics discussed include: Jayson Tatum's journey from Duke recruit to NBA champion The fickle nature of the NCAA Tournament How to define a successful season Having tough conversations with players in the offseason Building a competitive culture Evaluat...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to an NBA draft that saw Jared McCain drafted 16th by the Philadelphia 76ers and Kyle Filipowski taken 32nd by the Utah Jazz. They discuss how they see each player fitting on their new team. Can Jared McCain play with Tyrese Maxey, or is that backcourt too small? How will McCain play off of Joel Embiid? How will Jazz coach Will Hardy utilize Filipowski, and how much pl...

Josh and Raul are joined by Brian Geisinger of 247Sports and the Buzz Beat Podcast to do a deep dive on the NBA Draft. They focus on Duke's two potential 1st Round picks, Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski. They discuss best and worst team fits for each player as well as reasonable expectations for them at the NBA level. They wrap up by focusing on the draft as whole. Who will go #1? Who should go #...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul are back from an extended break to react to the Celtics winning the NBA title. Jayson Tatum becomes just the eighth Duke player to win an NBA championship, leading his team in points, rebounds, and assists in the playoffs. What does this do for his legacy? Were the voters right to award Finals MVP to Jaylen Brown, or was Tatum snubbed? Will Tatum and the Celtics win more rin...

Josh and Raul are joined by Dan Favale, NBA Staff Writer at Bleacher Report and host of the Hardwood Knocks podcast. They discuss various Duke players making a significant impact in the NBA. Topics include: The unfair criticism of Jayson Tatum from NBA fans and the media How a championship will alter that conversation Kyrie Irving's comfort level in Dallas Whether Dereck Lively is the perfect role...

Now that Duke's full roster is set, Josh, Dustin, and Raul are joined by Brian Geisinger of 247Sports to discuss the construction of the team. Brian gives his in-depth thoughts on the players added in the transfer portal. What do they say about Coach Scheyer's plans for this season? What kind of role will each play? They also look at the returning backcourt of Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor. How...

Josh and Raul are joined by Isaac Popper, ESPN+ Broadcast Statistician and President of Tulane Analytics. Isaac shares his insights into Duke's latest transfer portal commitment, Tulane guard Sion James. Isaac has known James since they were both freshmen and has watched him grow as a person and basketball player. He shares his thoughts on Sion's academic excellence, his off-court philanthropy, hi...

Josh and Raul are back with John Watson of thedevilsden.com to get his thoughts on Duke's wild offseason. Topics discussed include: The loss of seven player to the transfer portal The causes behind the mass exodus The additions of Mason Gillis and Maliq Brown A possible commitment from Sion James of Tulane What Duke is hoping to change about its culture Recruiting strategies and roster constructio...

Josh, Dustin, and Raul react to offseason which saw seven players from Duke's 2023-24 roster enter the transfer portal. They talk about the fits of Jeremy Roach and Mark Mitchell on Baylor and Missouri respectively, as well as what it means to lose promising players like TJ Power and Sean Stewart. They discuss the difficulties of maintaining fan engagement in an era of ludicrously high turnover. T...

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...

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 Proct...

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 dep...

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...

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 gr...

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...