PRINTABLE 2009-10 DUKE BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
The 2009-10 schedule was released on Tuesday and the Blue Devils will play 31 regular-season games in 11 different states. Highlights of the schedule include the usual rigorous ACC matchups along with a possible three contests in Madison Square Garden, a trip to Chicago’s United Center, and 17 games in front of the Crazies in Cameron.
The team will compete on national television in 27 regular-season games — A total that not only leads all of college hoops by five games but also exceeds the national TV appearances of all NBA teams. The defending NBA champion Lakers, playing in one the most popular markets in the world in LA with Kobe leading the way, will have 25 regular-season national TV games.
The first game of the season is November 13th when UNC-G visits Cameron. The Spartans are led by Mike Dement, a former Duke assistant coach. On November 16th, the team will open play in the NIT Season Tip-Off with a matchup against Coastal Carolina. The NIT event features 16 teams with the Final Four scheduled for Madison Square Garden. Other host schools include Arizona State, UConn and LSU.
On December 2nd, the Blue Devils will look to remain the lone undefeated team all-time in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge with a trip to Wisconsin. Big East foe St. John’s will then visit Cameron on December 5th and the Blue Devils will return to NYC for a “home” game in the Garden against Gonzaga.
The ACC schedule picks up shortly after the new year with a January 3rd home matchup with Clemson. The month will also include two challenging non-league games with visits to Chicago to face Big 12-foe Iowa State and a trip to DC to wrestle with the Big East’s Georgetown Hoyas.
On January 23rd, the ESPN Gameday crew will be on the scene at Clemson promoting the Blue Devils/Tigers matchup. Duke is the only school that will have a pair of ESPN Gameday appearances as Jay Bilas and company will be in town hyping up the Duke-UNC game on March 6th as well.
The ACC Tournament will be held this year in Greensboro and we begin our defense of the conference crown beginning March 11th. The Big Dance gets going on March 16th.
The road to the NCAA Tournament begins officially on October 16th with our first-ever “Countdown to Craziness” held in Cameron. Be sure to mark your calendars as we kick off the new season in style!
With school starting this week, Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Casey Peters decided to pay a visit to East Campus to check in on our three freshmen. Andre Dawkins, Ryan Kelly, Mason Plumlee and the rest of Duke’s class of 2013 lives together on East.
Duke University Improv, a comedy group on campus, generates laughs and money to help in the fight against cancer. Since its inception in 1996, the group has raised over $100,000 through performances on campus and across the country. Over the years, numerous Duke Basketball players have made “celebrity” appearances in DUI’s shows and videos, including Shane Battier, Jason Williams, Mike Dunleavy, Chris Duhon, Nick Horvath, Reggie Love, Shavlik Randolph, Lee Melchionni, Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek, Greg Paulus, Lance Thomas, and Nolan Smith.
In the latest DUI video, “James Bond at Duke”, Coach K and four of his Blue Devils make cameo appearances. Can the Blue Devils bring down Bond?
Here’s another video DUI produced involving the team — This one features Jon Scheyer…
The Duke Athletics Department welcomed back all student-athletes on Monday evening to kick-off the start of the 2009-10 school year. Athletes, coaches and staff enjoyed a carnival-like atmosphere with games including a dunk tank, long drive, golf chipping, fast pitch, whiffle ball toss, and many others.
Coach Wojo joined several other Blue Devil coaches in taking a turn in the dunk tank. Olek Czyz showed that his affinity for dunking is not limited to the hoops court, as he quickly sent Coach Wojo plunging in the tank. Kyle Singler and Brian Zoubek were impressive on the fast pitch, both clocking close to 80 mph. On the long drive, Kyle led the squad with a solid 254 yard swing.
The evening concluded with dinner and a 2008-09 Duke Athletics highlight video in Cameron. The event provided a great opportunity for all Duke athletes and staff to connect at the start of the 2009-10 year.
PHOTOS: HOOPS TEAM AT DUKE ATHLETICS WELCOME NIGHT
Over the course of the summer, Gerald Henderson has spent a lot of time in Durham. First, he used the K Center to help him prepare for the NBA Draft. Then, he was back during the K Academy and the recent High Performance Camp. Lately, he has been playing pickup with our players and preparing for the start of the NBA season. He has also found time to satisfy his other sports passion, playing golf. The Washington Duke Golf Course is perhaps the finest course on a college campus in the nation and one of the best courses in the state. In the video below, G hits the links and shows off his smooth swing at the Washington Duke.
