Duke news roundup: football looks bounce back, top basketball recruit sets commitment date, McCain seeing minutes

Duke football is coming off of a crushing overtime loss at home versus #20 SMU this past Saturday. In a contest where the Blue Devil defense forced six turnovers, Duke was able to capitalize on none of them, and after a blocked field goal as time expired kept Duke out of the win column, the Blue Devils lost in overtime 28-27. Now, the Blue Devils look for a bounce back as the team will hit the road to take on #5 Miami. The Hurricanes sit at 8-0 behind Heisman trophy candidate quarterback Cam Ward. Miami boasts potentially the best offense in the country as it leads the nation in scoring offense at 46.8 points per game. With a Blue Devil defense that, despite the loss, held the Mustangs offense in the second half well, this will be a great opportunity for the Blue Devils to bounce back and put a signature win on its resume. After receiving AP Poll votes last week, Duke was held out after the loss. With a victory here, that could boost Duke back into the polls or at least the conversation to be ranked.

Five-star forward Shelton Henderson has set a commitment date for November 2nd, this coming Saturday. He will commit on the 247sports YouTube channel. Henderson is the #15 overall prospect in the class of 2025 at 247sports as a 6' 6" 220-pound small forward. He attends Bellaire High School (Texas) and is deciding between Duke, Texas, and Louisville. Henderson has already picked up three crystal ball predictions, all predicting Duke with medium confidence. As a versatile wing that can be flexible on defense, he complements the three guys that have already committed to Duke for 2025 well. Duke has two frontcourt guys in Cameron Boozer and Nikolas Khamenia, and a guard in Cayden Boozer. Already with the #1 overall 2025 recruiting class at 247sports, Henderson's commitment can bolster the 2025 freshmen unit even more.

Former Blue Devil basketball player Jared McCain is continuing to see more and more minutes for the Philadelphia 76ers as the season goes on. McCain is a rookie, drafted #16 overall by Philadelphia in the 2024 NBA Draft, and has been the talk of training camp and through the entirety of the preseason around Philadelphia. After seeing a total of eight minutes in Philadephia's first two games of the regular season, McCain played seventeen in the Sixers' most recent contest against the Indiana Pacers last night. He went 2-for-5 from the field and 0-for-2 from three point range, finishing with four points, two rebounds, and an assist. With the current injuries to 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Paul George, McCain should continue to see the opportunity to see playing time and cement a role for Philadelphia in his rookie year as the team looks to contend for a championship.