Duke Blue Devils news and notes from the weekend that was.
Duke hosts annual Countdown to Craziness event
Duke men's and women's basketball hosted the Countdown to Craziness event on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor, giving everyone their first glimpse of the 2026-27 Blue Devils.
It was hard not to be blown away by 5-star freshman guard Deron Rippey, who looked every bit as good as he was billed to be during the recruiting process. Jon Scheyer will have a difficult time keeping him on the bench, even with a stable of veteran guards ahead of him in the pecking order right now. He is a difference-maker.
He wasn't the only standout, though. Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell looked like the professional scorer that the Blue Devils expected out of the portal. He remains a safe bet to lead the team in scoring.
Patrick Ngongba flashed a more confident three-point shot, which will be massive for Duke's ability to stretch the floor on offense.
Freshmen Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Cameron Williams looked a bit overwhelmed. The game was moving fast for them, and it's going to take some time for them to transition.
You can read all of our takeaways from the event here.
Duke picks up two crystal ball predictions to land 5-star SF Asa Montgomery
5-star forward Asa Montgomery was in town for his official visit over the weekend. He was in attendance for the Countdown to Craziness event, and the Cameron Crazies made their pitch to the elite Georgia native.
In the aftermath of the CTC, Duke picked up two crystal predictions on 247 to ultimately land Montgomery. The Blue Devils should be seen as the heavy favorite for Montgomery at this point, but the visit high is a real thing. We'll see how things stand in the coming days.
Montgomery currently has visits scheduled to Arizona and Louisville later this month. Duke would prefer that those didn't happen and that he came on board the 2027 class, joining Kager Knueppel and Luke Paul.
Other Duke sports in action over the weekend:
- Duke swimming and diving opened their season with a road win over Davidson on Friday night.
- Women's soccer earned a 1-1 draw with Cal, their third draw of ACC play so far.
- Field hockey knocked off Saint Joseph's 2-1 on an overtime game-winner from Alaina McVeigh.
- Volleyball sweeps Clemson, 3-0 in straight sets. The Blue Devils kept the Tigers winless in ACC play this season.
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