Spanish center Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje has committed to Duke.

Boumtje was graded as a five-star prospect. Since he is only 17, he will need to play two seasons in college before he can declare for the NBA Draft.

Boumtje is the son of former NBA player Ruben Boumtje Boumtje. He played for the Portland Trail Blazers from 2001 to 2004. He never played more than 10 minutes per game.

Last season, Duke had Cameron Boozer and Patrick Ngongba in their big man rotation. However, Boozer has declared for the 2026 NBA Draft. And Ifeanyi Ufochukwu will be graduating.

Even after picking up Boumtje, Duke is still looking for more centers. So far, the closest they’ve gotten is adding rising junior power forward Drew Scharnowski from Belmont. Although Scharnowski doesn’t normally play center, there’s no reason to believe he couldn’t if he had to. 

However, they’ve managed to address the center position with the incoming freshman class. Along with Boumtje, they also signed center Maxime Meyer from Bradenton, Florida. The four-star recruit got offers from eight teams, including Florida.

Along with Meyer, they also signed Cameron Williams from Arizona and Bryson Howard from Texas. Both are five-star prospects.

Boumtje, along with Deron Rippey Jr. from Blairstown, New Jersey, is listed as a hard commit. This means they have informed Duke of their intention to play for Duke, but haven’t officially signed yet. 

247 Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelson spoke very highly of Boumtje.

“The southpaw also has extremely soft natural touch and floor-spacing ability. He’s probably best described as a stretch-five who projects as being able to pick-and-pop, play out of various types of perimeter actions, and particularly valuable as a floor-spacing trailer,” Finkelson said. 

However, scouts believe his footspeed, conditioning and aggression need improvement to play in college, let alone the NBA. 

On March 15, the March Madness bracket was announced.

Sixty-eight teams are chosen to make March Madness through a combination of conference tournament winners and selections from the 12-person committee. From there, the teams are ranked 1-68. After teams are ranked, they are divided into four regions. The bottom eight teams play each other in the First Four games, which reduces the bracket from 68 to 64. This makes it so that each region has 16 teams. 

In the East region, Duke was named as the first seed. Duke went 32-2 in the regular season. They are led by freshman Cameron Boozer, who is averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds. Their offense is somewhat underwhelming, as they only have three double-digit scorers. 

In the Midwest region, Michigan was named the first seed. Michigan went 31-2 in the regular season. Michigan is led by senior Yaxel Lendeborg, who is averaging 14 points and seven rebounds. They are outside of the top 50 in fewest points allowed per game. 

In the South region, Florida was named the first seed. Florida lost seven games in the regular season but went 16-2 in a very strong SEC. Florida is led by junior Thomas Haugh, who averages 17 points and six rebounds. Florida has even bigger defensive questions than Michigan, as it ranks outside the top 100 in fewest points allowed per game. However, Florida won the championship last season.  

In the West region, Arizona was named the first seed. Arizona went 32-2 in the regular season. Arizona is led by freshman Brayden Burries, who averages 16 points and five rebounds. Just like Michigan, Arizona is outside of the top 50 in fewest points allowed per game. 

March Madness will begin on March 19, when TCU takes on Ohio State. The championship game will be on April 6. 

Duke standout freshman Cooper Flagg, who won the Wooden Award and is projected to go No. 1 overall in June, officially declared for the NBA Draft on Monday.

Flagg posted a video on social media.

“Duke fans, my teammates, the brotherhood, everybody that was along for the journey,” he said. “It was an incredible year, probably the best year of my life, and I have so much gratitude and I feel so blessed for all the opportunities that I was given. Duke has always been a dream for me, but I’m excited to announce that I’ll be entering my name into the 2025 NBA draft.

“Today is just the beginning, but I have the Brotherhood with me for life.”

Flagg, who reclassified in 2023, has been the consensus favorite to be selected with the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft after entering as the No. 1 high school prospect in the 2024 class.

In his one year at Duke, Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, helping the team to reach the Final Four with a 35-4 record.

“Really proud of Cooper for the special season that he had this year,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. “I think the accolades speak for itself, with what he did, winning every National Player of the Year award. His highlights, his statistics, the ways he impacted the game on both ends of the floor, really in every category, was off the charts. As good of a freshman season that a guy has had here.

“But to me, the separator and the joy of coaching Cooper is the person he was every day, the teammate that he was. Never about statistics or anything other than creating an environment and helping his team to win. And we won a lot of games and had a lot of success, and a lot of times that environment is created from your best player. And Cooper did an incredible job in every facet of our program, on and off the court, with what he’s done.”

A unanimous National Player of the Year, he became just the fourth freshman ever to receive the Wooden Award.

Duke star and likely first-round pick Khaman Maluach faces possible deportation after a new visa policy was announced by the Trump Administration.

Maluach, a South Sudanese national, could be affected by Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s promises to revoke the visas of South Sudanese nationals.

“I am taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders,” Rubio said on X.

Maluach, 18, was born in Rumbek, South Sudan. He represented South Sudan at the Olympics last year.

The swift action from Rubio comes from South Sudan’s transitional government’s refusal to accept U.S deportees in a “timely manner.”

Maluach had no comment regarding Rubio’s statement.

Maluach is one of 46 non-immigrant visas issued to South Sudanese nationals in January, according to State Department data. Unless the government in South Sudan is under “full cooperation,” these 46, with Maluach among them, would face the risk of being deported.

Maluach and Duke and coming off a 70-67 loss in the Final Four to Houston. Maluach, who averages 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, finished with six points and zero rebounds in 21 minutes.

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University’s men’s basketball head coach, is now set to retire after the 2022 season. Krzyzewski, who is nicknamed “Coach K”, has led the Duke program since 1980. He came to Duke from United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was a head coach for five years. He has the most wins out of any college basketball coach with 1,170. At Duke, he has won 1,097 games and has collected five national championships. This puts him at second on the all-time list for championships as a coach. Krzyzewski has also lead the USA National Basketball Team to three Olympic gold medals. Krzyzewski is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of fame.

Jon Scheyer has been tapped as the successor to Krzyzewski for the head coaching role at Duke. Scheyer previously served as the associate head coach under Coach K at Duke. Scheyer was a player at Duke from 2006-2010. He was named a captain in the 2010 season, in which the team claimed a national championship. Many have questioned this choice as Scheyer has no head coaching experience. However, Duke and Krzyzewski have expressed their confidence in Scheyer. “He represents our best path forward,” Krzyzewski said.

“This is absolutely humbling… Coach K has built the premier program in our sport thanks to his unwavering competitive edge,” Said Scheyer about the role.

“My family and I view today as a celebration,” stated Krzyzewski. “Our time at both West Point and Duke has been beyond amazing and we are thankful and honored to have led two college programs at world-class institutions for more than four decades. That, coupled with 11 unforgettable years as the United States National Team coach, has resulted in a remarkable journey. Certainly, I have been blessed to coach some of the finest young men and greatest players in basketball history as a direct result of these unique opportunities.”

Roy Williams, head coach at arch-rival University of North Carolina, praised Krzyzewski, saying “Mike’s been fantastic for the game of basketball.” He also called Krzyzewski “a good friend” and a “guy I’ve respected a great deal.”

Duke was notably absent from this past year’s NCAA tournament. The last time this happened was in 1995.

Scheyer will participate in a news conference on June 5 to discuss the future of the program.

New court documents bring light to alleged bribery done by Adidas involving New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson during his time at Duke University.

The documents are part of an ongoing civil lawsuit between Adidas and former college player Brian Bowen Jr., who alleges that he lost his NCAA eligibility in 2017 because of Adidas’ alleged money laundering, fraud and bribery, which came to light after an investigation by the FBI. Bowen attended Louisville and South Carolina, but never played college basketball because his father, without Bowen’s knowledge, accepted $100,000 from Adidas for his son to go to Louisville.

A sworn deposition taken on March 23 by attorneys for Bowen allege that in 2016, Daniel Cutler helped arrange flights and hotel accommodations for Williamson and his family. These accommodations apparently allowed the Williamson family to attend an Adidas event while Zion was still in high school. Cutler had worked with Chris Rivers, the former Adidas management official.

In a letter filed with the court last month, Adidas attorney William Taft wrote, “Rivers may have transferred $3,000 per month to the Williamson family for an unspecified period of time” and “Rivers may have transferred $1,000 to the Williamson family.”

“Adidas does not know the specific purpose of these transfers,” Taft wrote.

The letter, which was a part of the new filings obtained by The News & Observer, lists nine “potential transfers” made to Williamson’s stepfather from a company executive that totaled $5,474. Furthermore, a former consultant to Cutler, said in a sworn statement included in those filings that the company provided four airline tickets for Williamson’s family before he enrolled at Duke. In addition, the consultant alleges that hotel arrangements were made for the Williamson family.

Messages between Cutler and Olivia Guidera, then an Adidas marketing assistant manager, detailed purchasing flights for Williamson and his family in July 2016. “The only options for the young kid and mom are in Delta Comfort for both,” Guidera wrote to Cutler. “And for the dad and Zion, they only have middle seats, so you might need to put them all in Delta Comfort.”

The allegations that Williamson received payments from Adidas are not new. However, this is the first time that this evidence has surfaced.

Duke freshman and projected lottery pick Jalen Johnson is opting out of the rest of the college season and getting ready to declare for the NBA Draft.

An official press release from Duke confirmed that the forward would forgo the rest of the season to prepare for the NBA draft. “I appreciate everything about my time at Duke,” Johnson said in the press release. “My family, coach, and I have made the decision that I should not play the remainder of this season so I can be 100 percent healthy in preparation for the NBA Draft.”

Johnson played a great game during his college debut against Coppin State. In his first game with Duke, he posted 19 points, 19 rebounds and five assists. Two days after his debut game, he earned ACC Freshman of the Week honors for his debut performance. The young forward suffered a foot injury that sidelined him for three games. Once he returned, he was delegated to come off the bench and removed from the starting lineup. In the last three games, he came off the bench and played limited minutes. The forward only played a combined 23 minutes over the last two games. In his final game with the team, he scored just three points in eight minutes. In 13 games, Johnson averaged 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

This is not the first time that the forward did not complete a full season. The last time that Johnson played a full season was in his junior year of high school. In his senior year, he left IMG Academy before playing in a single game with the team before playing nine games with Nicolet High School.

The No. 4 ranked Duke Blue Devils lost in dramatic fashion to the unranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons in double ovetime on Tuesday night 113-101, tying the most points ever allowed by a Mike Krzyewski coached team. Coming into the game, Duke was an 11-point favorite, according to Caesar’s Sportsbook.

A visibly frustrated Krzyzewski spoke to the media after the game. “I’m disappointed in our group,” Krzyzewski told ESPN. “I didn’t think we came the way we should and the way we’ve practiced. We show our youth so much…. This is our 28th game. You’d hope that we’d be older by now, but we were not tonight.”

The Demon Deacons became the first team to score over 100 points against Duke since Maryland accomplished it in the 1989-90 season. “The second overtime, they just took over,” Krzyzewski said. “Obviously, the total game, they were the team that was deserving of winning, and they did.”

SLIDESHOW: 50 GREAT SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019

Senior Brandon Childress was the hero for Wake Forest. After missing his first ten shots of the game, Childress nailed a three with 15.5 seconds left to tie the game at 79-79, forcing the game to overtime. He followed that up with another three pointer to start the first overtime and went on to score 13 points combined in both overtime periods. In total, Childress finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.

When asked about his slow start, Childress responded, “I don’t care about percentages. I’m satisfied with the shots I take. I practice those. It might not have went as much as I’d like to. But I just wanted to find the right moment to take over the game, and I did that.”

At the final buzzer, Wake Forest fans bolted onto the court to celebrate their first win over Duke since 2014. Childress was hoisted up on his teammates’ shoulders and was very emotional in his post game press conference. “I was ready when my number was called,” Childress said. “I was 0-for-10 at first, but I stayed with it, and I hit shots when it mattered and we won the game.”

Wake Forest entered the game 11-15 and had lost four of their previous five games, but you could tell they were the hungrier team. Olivier Sarr had a career-high 25 points and the team shot 52% from the field and made 37 of 50 free throws.

Duke had three players foul out late in the fourth quarter including freshman sensation Vernon Carey Jr. who finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Other contributors included freshman Wendell Moore Jr. who scored a season-high 25 points and Tre Jones finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. This is the second game in a week where Duke has lost to an unranked opponent on the road. On February 19, they lost to NC State by 22 points. Not a good sign with the NCAA tournament just around the corner.

Former Florida State head coach and now Texas A&M frontman Jimbo Fisher acquired this week the first-ranked quarterback recruit Haynes King.

The top quarterback in the ESPN 300 announced his commitment to A&M on Wednesday, and remains the 19th-best prospect in the ESPN 300. King played high school football in East Texas at Longview High School.

“[Coach] Jimbo Fisher, he’s proven to develop quarterbacks and put them into the [NFL],” King told the News-Journal, according to ESPN. “He’s been very successful at that. He coaches you hard, and I’m used to that. He coaches you like you’re his son.”

The Aggies are bouncing back into the top of the SEC fold after acquiring multiple new recruits from the newest class. King led his high school team 16-0, and won the Texas 6A championship as a junior. He also played in the 2020 Under Armour All-American Game. In 2018, he threw for almost 4,000 yards for 42 touchdowns, rushed for over 650 yards and threw just four interceptions.

“When I was in elementary school I was always on the sideline with my dad so I pictured myself winning a state championship,” King said, according to 247 Sports. “Then as I grow older and got into high school I started watching college a little more and now I’m picturing myself winning a National Championship.”

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019 – IN MEMORIAM SLIDESHOW 

It was believed King favored heading to Tennessee before taking his visit to Texas A&M. He also visited Auburn and Duke before making his decision. He had the opportunity to talk to Fisher and the A&M offensive coordinator Darrell Dicky, and it’s undoubtable the elite coaching staff swayed King’s decision.

“I’ve always loved playing sports, competing. It’s not the fact you love to win, it’s kind of the fact you hate to lose,” he said, according to 247 Sports. “That’s what I think separates the good from the great is the willingness to pretty much do, you just hate to lose, you want to win because you hate to lose.”

No player like Zion Williamson has caused this much stir around the league since LeBron James entering the NBA back in 2003.

Williamson has it all: the size, the athleticism, the strength and the knack for scoring whenever he feels like it. The projected No. 1 pick in this year’s draft is one of the most talked-about players of his generation, immersed with talent and upside. Shoe endorsers will be fighting tooth and nail for this guys’ signature, and according to Fox Business, Williamson could be looking at a $100 million sneaker deal.

The legendary sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro says he thinks Adidas will win the race for Williamson. “They lost out to Nike on LeBron because they didn’t pay the money,” he said, according to Footwear News. “But if I’m Adidas, I’m going to [go all in this time].”

Williamson hasn’t given any hints, and has kept the media guessing too. In a workout on May 31, he was wearing Nike Kyrie 4s, but there may not be anything too much to look into there, as his former collegiate team Duke is endorsed by Nike. At the same time, Williamson has a hesitant relationship with Nike after he famously blew out a Nike shoe during a February 20 game against rivals North Carolina, during which he ended up spraining his knee.

According to CBS News, Nike stock fell $1 billion dollars after the incident, but has recovered since.

SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2019- TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

If Zion were to sign the supposed $100 million deal, he would exceed James’ rookie deal with Nike ($87 million) back in 2003.

The Duke star averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds a game in his freshman season at Duke, and seemed to step up for the big moments for Duke as he scored over 29 points a game in the ACC Tournament and over 23 in the NCAA Tournament.

If and when Williamson gets selected by the New Orleans Pelicans, he will be joining a young team with fruitful talent alongside Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Jrue Holiday, Josh Hart and Elfrid Payton. 

If there is one thing for certain, it’s that Zion Williamson will be going first overall in this year’s NBA Draft coming up on June 20.

A score of reporters and analysts have little to no doubt that he will be the first name NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will be saying, and with good reason. Experts have been trying to find a comparison to the Duke power forward for some time, but to be fair, it’s tough to compare anyone to a player like this. The potential is limitless for Williamson. He has the size, the athleticism and the knack of getting himself to the rim whenever he wants. Williamson critics could say his range from deep is limited, but at Duke last season, he shot just under 34% from behind the arc, which is better than his Blue Devil teammates and certain lottery picks R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish.

The next two picks looked to be cemented as well. For instance, both CBS Sports analysts Gary Parrish and Kyle Boone have Murray State guard Ja Morant going to the Memphis Grizzlies for the second pick, and Barrett going to the New York Knicks for the third pick. According to CBS Sports, Lakers legend Jerry West has reportedly said that he thinks Morant is the best talent in the draft, despite breakout star Williamson and his incredible potential. Experts have compared Morant to the triple-double monster and former MVP Russell Westbrook of the Thunder. Barrett averaged 22.6 points a game, tied with his Blue Devil teammate Williamson, and scored more points than any other ACC freshman this season.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

For the other 27 first-round picks, however, other players have a certain range of where analysts think that they will be picked. The Los Angeles Lakers have the fourth overall pick, with several building options to help superstar LeBron James win a championship in L.A. The Lakers could take forward DeAndre Hunter from Virginia, who won the March Madness tournament this year. The Lakers could also go smaller and pick Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland. Garland played just five games for the Commodores last year, after a season-ending injury, but he displayed signs of immense potential. 

The Lakers could also be in pursuit of trading their pick for the likes of Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis, and potentially break up the Davis-Williamson duo that New Orleans is so excited about. James and the Lakers were pursuing Davis heavily last season, until the Pelicans turned it down. If not Davis, the Lakers could also potentially pursue Kawhi Leonard from Toronto, who is currently playing in the NBA Finals.

Texas Tech breakout star Jarret Culver climbed the boards after the NBA Combine, and could be a potential candidate for the fifth-pick Cleveland Cavaliers, after their signing of the former Michigan head coach, John Beilein. Reddish could fall as low as the eighth pick, to the Atlanta Hawks, to pair with Rookie of the Year candidate Trae Young. The Hawks also picked up the 10th pick from Dallas, where they could get the likes of the Texas power forward, Jaxson Hayes or North Carolina freshman Nassir Little.

Zion Wiliamson‘s stepfather revealed this week that the Duke standout would be eager to play for the New Orleans Pelicans should they choose him — as is expected — as the first overall pick in next month’s NBA draft.

“We’re excited [about coming to New Orleans],” Lee Anderson told the Off the Bench radio show Thursday on 104.5 ESPN Baton Rouge.

Rumors have been swirling recently that Williamson may not be as interested in joining the Pelicans as most people initially believed. The team is undergoing a rough patch after Anthony Davis requested a trade last season.

“And you said about returning to Duke … there has been a lot of speculation, but that is nothing that we have even considered,” Anderson added about speculation his 18-year-old stepson might remain with the Blue Devils for another season.

Anderson also said he talked to Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry recently and that their discussions went well.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW 

Some NBA fans have speculated that the New York Knicks — who are among the teams that have the best chance at winning this year’s draft lottery — could select Williamson as a top pick.

“One thing that Zion has always been taught, you accept the things you can’t change, you change the things that you can change, and this is one of the things that he had nothing to do with,” Anderson said. “It’s the process of the NBA.”

New Orleans finished last season 33-49 and missed the playoffs after placing 13th in the Western Conference.

According to an Instagram post on Father’s Day last June, Williamson is close with Anderson, whom he said has been in his life since he was four years old.

Duke freshman Cam Reddish announced his intent to declare for the NBA draft.  On an Instagram post on Thursday, he wrote: “This season was epic, and I am so thankful to have had Duke as a part of the foundation that prepared me to play at the next level. Never forget – I am a Blue Devil for life. Proud to announce that I will be entering the 2019 NBA Draft. #TheBrotherhood #CamFam #TGBTG ????”

Reddish, ranked the no. seven prospect in this class, averaged 13.5 points in just under 30 minutes a game. While a step below teammates Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett to most, Reddish provided a solid third option for Duke.

Barrett announced on Wednesday that he is declaring for the draft making Williamson, projected to go no. 1 overall, the only one of the big three not to declare. Guard Tre Jones announced on Monday that he’d return for his sophomore year. That choice is being praised by many.

Here are some of the best Tweets about Reddish:

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Duke Blue Devils star Zion Williamson won the AP Player of the Year. The soaring dunks, the open court moves, doing everything he did with a 6-foot-7, 285-pound build, it all was too much for the voters. Williamson won  59 of the 64 votes from AP Top 25 voters before the NCAA Tournament in results released Friday. His teammate RJ Barrett earned two votes as a fellow AP first-team All-American, while Virginia‘s De’Andre Hunter, Michigan State‘s Cassius Winston, and Murray State‘s Ja Morant each earned one vote.

When asking about the attention that comes with being a star, Zion said, “I was comfortable with it because you don’t really have a choice. I think if you try to force it out, then it’s going to bother you. … My mom just told me to look at it as a lot of kids would wish to be in my position, so if it does bother me, I just think about it like that.”

Williamson will likely go pro in the next few months. The 18-year-old averaged 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds while ranking second nationally by shooting 68%.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Prior to being named the AP Top Player, he also won the Atlantic Coast Conference’s player of the year as well rookie of the year. Williamson received 49 votes for the overall award and 47 for the rookie award out of 70.

NBA decision-makers have Williamson slotted as a can’t miss, no. 1 overall pick due to his game-changing ability on top of a team friendly personality. While he didn’t walk away with a national title, Williamson more than proved his skills.

Here’s some of the best tweets about Zion and award season:

What may have been the sweetest victory in this year’s NCAA Tournament might be the toughest one for coach Mike Krzyzewski to stomach.

At 72 years old and with the age of one-and-done coming to a close, Coach K blew his shot at a sixth NCAA Championship with what may have been his most talented team.

Michigan State To Face Texas Tech In NCAA Final Four

In March Madness, your best asset against the favorites tends to be a good defense. Offenses can sputter out. Defenses rarely do because of the nature of the player a good one needs. No. 2 Michigan State embodied that. On Sunday, they held tight on defense and blocked Duke from advancing to the Final Four with a 68-67 win over the No. 1 overall seed.

Despite coming into the tournament with all eyes on them, Duke had one too many close calls before their elimination. Single-possession wins over UCF and Virginia Tech might have brought the team back to earth. Despite this, they remained the favorites. In the end, the season was a failure.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

However, Michigan State seems to have disappeared in the aftermath. Coach Tom Izzo wasn’t simply pushing a Cinderella squad another day closer to April. He built a better team. For 40 minutes, the Spartans seemed in control and led for 22 minutes. Most importantly, they led at the final buzzer.

While Duke was powered by one-and-done stars Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish, Michigan State fell back on Junior guard Cassius Winston. Despite a lack of press surrounding him, the guard contributed 20 points and dished out 10 assists. Of course, it was the Big Ten Player of the Year who they entrusted with securing the win in the final seconds. Kenny Goins also made sure to hit a clutch shot to lock up the win.

While Williamson and Barrett contributed a combined 45 points and 20 rebounds, they showed the naivety of freshmen. Turnovers, bad shots and missed passes all came back to haunt them. The Spartans were able to score 15 more points than Duke off of turnovers, a large part of it due to the freshman who hadn’t ever gone deep into the playoffs. Now Duke faces the possibility that their team collapses, as Williamson hinted after the game.

The Spartans will appear in their 10th Final Four next week when they face No. 3 seed Texas Tech in Minneapolis.

Duke has definitely slipped up this season. That doesn’t mean that they can’t find their way back. On Monday, the Blue Devils reached the top spot in the AP Top 25 for the third time this season.

AP Top 25 College Basketball Rankings

The 23-2 Duke squad received 58 out of the 64 first-place votes to move up one spot and jump over Tennessee. Tennessee had previously held the spot for four weeks but fell to fifth following a loss to Kansas on Saturday. The highest-ranked team to hold its spot this week was No. 8 North Carolina.

Now, 16 weeks into the season, Duke has spent close to half of it at the top spot. This will be their seventh week. The team shows no signs of slowing down. When its core four freshmen, Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones start, they’ve been unbeatable except for falling to Gonzaga on November 21 in the title game of the Maui Invitational Tournament.

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Coach Mike Krzyzewski has convinced his players to buy into roles and develop as more than just scorers. Though Williamson and Barrett lead the Atlantic Coast Conference with 22.7 and 22.4 points per game, Jones has the second highest assists per game with 5.4 and is a glue guy defender that holds the team together.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Duke first spent two weeks at No. 1 in November but wouldn’t return to the top spot until Christmas Eve. They’d hold the title for four more weeks until a miracle overtime road win by an unranked Syracuse team knocked them down. Both Reddish and Jones missed all or most of that game.

After the news, Duke versus North Carolina ticket prices shot up. The average price for tickets is $46.70. Just to get in the door, you’d have to fork over at least $29.27. As the teams gear up for March Madness, expect to see Duke become even more of a must-see show. It’s only a few weeks before most, if not all of its core will leave for the NBA.

It seems that everyone in the NBA is tanking for Duke star Zion Williamson. There were even “Tank for Zion” chants at Madison Square Garden but nobody expected football teams to want a shot at the power forward.

Clemson‘s Dabo Swinney put out that he could use the 6-foot-7, 292-pound Duke star on his squad. The team is fresh off a national championship win over Alabama and hoping to repeat. In a conversation with Mike Krzyzewski, Duke basketball coach, Swinney said he’d put Williamson “wherever” on his team.

“I’d put Williamson at tight end or wideout or end or wherever he wanted to play,” said Swinney, in a clip released by Duke of the show that aired Thursday. “We might even put him at quarterback.”

“You’d run the Wildcat,” Coach K asked.

“Put in the Wildcat, no doubt,” Dabo replied.

Williamson’s father, Lateef, played football in college. However, the idea was never meant to be. “I didn’t get this size until my junior year of high school,” Williamson said. “And my [high] school doesn’t have a football team.”

Despite those two things, LSU was still willing to offer Williamson a football scholarship.

“I thought, ‘Hell, why not, he’s probably the best damn tight end to ever live,'” former LSU tight ends coach Eric Mateos said.

But to play a sport as physically imposing as football would be an awful mistake for Zion. He can only look to Lebron James for the right choice with sports. Williamson, often called the best prospect since James, has been offered an easy entry to an NFL career like the Lakers star. Most recently, New England Patriots star Tom Brady said James would be the best tight end in the NFL. But with a player-friendly league and guaranteed money, James hasn’t even looked at the NFL.

 Corey Maggette was accused of raping a woman 20 years ago at Duke University. The woman, Meredith Watson, said that school officials ignored the claim, according to The New York Times.

Corey Maggette Accused Of Rape

Nancy Erika Smith, Watson’s lawyer, said that Watson had been raped by a Duke basketball player during her sophomore year but at the time didn’t name the player in the statement. Smith also said that Watson had reported her rape to a dean  but that the dean had “discouraged her from pursuing the claim further.”

Maggette attended Duke for one year (1998-1999). During his time there, the Blue Devils reached the NCAA Championship game but ultimately lost to the University of Connecticut. Maggette, along with teammates Elton Brand and William Avery, became one of the first Duke players to leave before his eligibility was up. He was selected No. 13 in the 1999 NBA Draft and played in the NBA until 2013. The small forward became known off the court for his charity work around the league, winning the “NBA Player’s Best Camp Award” for his efforts. Since retiring, the Duke star has worked as an analyst for Fox Sports.

Maggette denied the accusations through a spokesman on Monday evening. “It has only been through media accounts and a statement from Meredith Watson’s lawyer that I first learned or heard of anything about these sexual assault allegations,” he said in a statement. “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my life and I completely and categorically deny any such charge.”

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A spokeswoman for Fox Sports said, ” Fox Sports takes allegations of misconduct seriously, and we are looking into the matter. We have no further comment at this time.” Duke is currently investigating an allegation that a player raped a woman but declined to comment further.

“We are in the process of gathering information to determine what policies and procedures were in place during the time period in which these events are alleged to have occurred, and whether they were activated and followed,” said Michael Schoenfeld, a spokesman for Duke. “We are not able to provide further information or comment on any individual at this time.”

Watson has also accused Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin E. Fairfax of raping her while they were both students at Duke. R. Stanton Jones, a childhood friend of Watson and a lawyer, claims that Watson told him about both incidents in the summer of 2001. “Meredith told me she had been raped twice at Duke,” Jones said. “And she told me that one of the men who raped her was the Duke basketball player Corey Maggette. That was a name I knew because I’m a basketball fan.”

Longtime Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said he had “no knowledge” of the situation. No Duke player was kicked off of the team until early 2015, when a player was dismissed for struggles to meet “necessary obligations.” The school newspaper reported that the player had been accused of sexual assault by two students and that the athletic department had been aware of the situation for ten months before removing him from the team.

Duke star Zion Williamson knows that there’s hype around him. In high school he was the subject of a Sports Illustrated story and had a viral highlight reel.

Duke’s Zion Williamson Likes Draft Rumors

Now he’s playing in front of 9,000 people every night. But even though he’s got any NBA team to choose from, he’s not playing favorites.

“My college classmates let me know a lot,” Williamson told reporters Monday. “They’re like, ‘Zion, the Bulls want you, man. Like, come here.’ I’m like, ‘You don’t know that. You’re in college.’ They’re like, ‘Come to Cleveland, come to L.A.’ I’m like, ‘Whoever wants me, that’s where I want to be at.'”

Williamson was asked if he had any destination in mind that he wanted to go to. He shut that down immediately, saying that he doesn’t really have time between school and the Blue Devils’ season to watch NBA games. But he’s not completely out of the loop. “I do see a lot of people on Twitter saying stuff like that,” Williamson said. “It just cracks me up.” No word on if he’s aware of the #tankforzion trend in Madison Square Garden or out in Chicago.

A handful of teams around the league have given up any hopes of winning and instead are bottoming out for the chance to draft him. Though he’s got no say in what team drafts him, it’s hard to imagine that he’d be selected by a team he explicitly says he doesn’t want to play for. Rather than becoming a chemistry issue, Zion showed wisdom beyond his ages and said that he’ll play for whoever drafts him.

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Already an amazing prospect, this diplomatic response from an 18-year-old with the world at his fingertips is just another reason for why he’s going to go No. 1 overall come June 20. He’s got an NBA-ready game and an unbelievably developed frame on top of that.

Duke will take on St. John’s on Saturday at noon EST. Williamson is averaging 22 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2 blocks,\ and 2 steals per game this season.

Duke men’s Basketball team had already received limited edition Kyrie5s in the past, but now they have again been gifted an exclusive color by way of one of their alums, NBA superstar Kyrie Irving. 

Blue Devils Get Kyrie Irving’s New Kicks

Even through Irving only played at Duke for one season, he still has a lot of love for his alma mater. Even through it was short, Irving always showed support for Duke, saying he’s a Blue Devil for life. He often refers to the team as a brotherhood even today.

Irving was also seen showing his love when top recruit and draft prospect Zion Williamson had committed. Duke is 15-2 with the third-best record overall and is ranked second in NCAA AP voting.

While the Blue Devils certainly don’t need any more help, the sneakers are a huge plus. The back of the shoe shows Duke’s signature logo. The sneakers will feature slogans that represent Duke Basketball and Irving, such as “humble,” which could be reflecting on Duke’s attitude after their losses.

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Some people thought Duke could go undefeated and possibly even contend against teams in the NBA. The first loss they suffered came at the hands of Gonzaga and was certainly a wake-up call for this group. Overconfidence can always get in the way of talent, especially when the talent happens to be the four out of the top 15 players in high school, all of whom are on the same team.

The other slogan featured on the shoe is “hungry.” This could reflect how Irving feels regarding his career and winning another championship. College playoff time winds down and we’re slowly approaching March Madness: every team wants to go into the postseason feeling hungry and determined.

The shoe’s design features also entail blue flames surrounding the sneaker, symbolizing the Blue Devils’ signature flames. Sadly, this sneaker will only be an exclusive to the men’s team so we won’t get to see any fans wearing it.