The Duke basketball program added two captains entering this season.
Jon Scheyer only had one captain in his first season as the head coach of the Duke basketball team and that player, Jeremy Roach, opted to return for his senior season in Durham.
However, Scheyer has made the decision to add two more captains of the Blue Devils this season to lead the squad next to Roach in veteran Ryan Young and Tyrese Proctor.
Young, in his final season of eligibility and second season at Duke, has been a natural leader since his arrival on campus from Northwestern last summer and it’s evident how other players on the team look up to him as the host of The Brotherhood Podcast.
Jon Scheyer has said this summer that Ryan Young only cares about winning and when the team was going to make the switch last season to move Dereck Lively II to the starting center position to replace Young, he was fully onboard and agreed with the head coach that it would be the best option for the team.
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It’s likely that Young will continue in his role as the backup center this season despite the departure of Lively II to the NBA as Kyle Filipowski will likely get the bulk of his minutes in the middle.
Duke basketball backcourt the official centerpiece of the team
The interesting move by Jon Scheyer was to make sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor a captain as well.
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Proctor, who is likely to be a first round draft pick in June, appeared shy and reserved for a majority of his freshman season at Duke but when he was moved from playing off-the-ball to the primary point guard role, it was evident that his confidence and leadership grew as well.
Duke having its starting backcourt of Jeremy Roach and Tyrese Proctor as captains should only enhance the level of accountability on the floor for the Blue Devils as the team enters the season with major championship aspirations.