Ball Durham
Fansided

Duke Basketball: Blue Devils Headed Up to Canada in August

By Kevin Connelly

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 06: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils reacts against the Florida Gators in the second half during the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 6, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 06: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils reacts against the Florida Gators in the second half during the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 6, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The 2018-19 season will be getting started a little earlier than expected for the Duke Basketball team as they will be taking a summer trip to up to Canada.

Are you having Duke Basketball withdrawals?

Don’t worry, the boys will be back in action in mid-August as they will be making the trip up to Canada to play three games.

This trip comes on the heels of a trip that was scheduled for last summer to the Dominican Republic but was canceled due to Coach K’s knee replacement surgery. The NCAA allows each program to go on one foreign trip every four years and with the cancellation last year, Duke is allowed to partake in a trip this season.

More from Ball Durham

The Blue Devils will play two games at Hershey Centre in Toronto against Ryerson University on August 15 and the University of Toronto on August 17. Duke will then travel to Bell Place in Montreal to face McGill University on August 19.

All three games will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks.

Incoming freshman and the No.1 player in the ESPN High School Basketball Rankings, R.J. Barrett, one of the best young players in the game, was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, approximately 30 minutes outside of Toronto.

Barrett isn’t afraid of the bright lights as he was named a McDonald’s All-American and has racked up the Gatorade National Player of the Year, the Naismith Player of the Year Awards. Barrett also led Canada to a gold medal in the 2017 FIBA U-19 World Cup as he took home the MVP Award.

Barrett also led Canada to a silver medal at the 2015 FIBA Americas U-16  Championships.

The trip will last one week as Duke will leave for Canada on August 13 and return on August 20.

With a very young and inexperienced team, this trip will be a great bonding experience for Duke as well as an opportunity to get some early practices in and play in some games with some of the best competition Canada has to offer.

Home/Duke Basketball