Duke Blue Devils News: JJ Redick gets a big new gig, Duke adds Hall of Famers, more

Here is a look at you Duke Blue Devils news for Friday, June 21, 2024.

JJ Redick hired as Los Angeles Lakers head coach

Thursday, it was reported that the Los Angeles Lakers have decided to hire former Duke guard JJ Redick as their next head coach. He replaces Darvin Ham who was fired after the Lakers were eliminated from this year's playoffs.

The 39-year-old Redick has been working as an NBA broadcaster for ESPN and ABC. He also had a successful podcast with Tommy Alter named "The Old Man and the Three".

From 2002-06, Redick averaged 19.9 points per game while shooting 40.6% from three-point range for the Blue Devils. Then, in his 15-year NBA career, he posted 12.8 points per game.

Of course, the Lakers initially targeted UCONN head coach Dan Hurley for their job. However, despite a reported lucrative contract offer, Hurley decided to remain with the Huskies. That opened the door for Redick in Los Angeles. It is being reported that his contract will be worth $8 million per year over four seasons.

Duke names nine new Hall of Fame members

This week, Duke announced that nine former Blue Devil athletes will be enshrined into the school's Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place on October 25, 2024.

Monique Currie, a former women's basketball player from 2001-06 is one of the inductees. She was the first player in Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball history to register 2,000 points, 800 rebounds, 400 assists, and 200 steals in a career and a two-time Associated Press All-American.

Head coach of the Duke men's lacrosse team, John Danowski is one of the new inductees as well. He's guided Duke to three National Championships (2010, 2013, 2014) and was the first Division I head coach to reach the 400-win plateau.

Also representing the lacrosse program is Matt Danowski. He was a three-time first-team All-American and two-time recipient of the USILA's Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award as the nation's top player during a career in which he concluded as the NCAA's all-time leader in scoring with 353 points on 170 goals and 183 assists.

Anna Grzebien Vanderlinde helped the Duke women's golf program capture three straight NCAA crowns from 2005-07. She also won the NCAA individual championship in 2005.

Former diver Abby Johnston McGrath was a four-time All-American for the Duke women's diving program from 2009-13. She captured five ACC gold medals along with the NCAA individual 3-meter springboard championship in 2011.

Quinton McCracken played both football and baseball for Duke from 1988-92. He was a three-year starter at corner who helped Duke capture the 1989 ACC title. He finished his football career with 158 tackles, five interceptions, and 24 pass breakups. On the diamond, he graduated as the program's career leader in hits (236), runs scored (187), walks (108), triples (22), stolen bases (98) and on-base percentage (.432).

Also a member of Duke's 1989 ACC championship team, Chris Port was a first-team All-American tackle. He was also a two-time first-team All-ACC honoree.

Fencing great Becca Ward is also being honored. She is already in the USA Fencing Hall of Fame (Class of 2015) . She compiled a career college record of 272-7 (.975) during her Duke tenure and she was the first sabre fencer to win three NCAA individual championships (2009, 2011 and 2012).

Finally, new L.A. Lakers head coach and former Duke men's basketball star JJ Redick is being enshrined. These nine new inductees will bring Duke's Hall of Fame to 163 members.

Florida State and ACC continue legal battle

Some fans may be growing fatigued by the legal maneuvering between some ACC schools and the conference itself. However, those battles could shape the future of the league as we know it.

This week, Florida State and the ACC were in court in Florida to try to decide whether FSU's lawsuit against the conference should be allowed to proceed. Much of this week's legal maneuvering deals with whether the lawsuit should be heard in Florida, as FSU would prefer, or in North Carolina where the ACC is headquartered.

Circuit Judge John Cooper said, “I have found that the complaint sufficiently alleges that the ACC operates a significant business in Florida, regarding exercise of FSU’s media rights, using those media rights as a source of programming for the ACC Network and/or licensing to ESPN to use for certain payments".

However, attorneys for both sides did not finish their arguments meaning that this ruling is still to come. This is an important step in the process to monitor because it will determine a critical aspect of a lawsuit that has the potential to potentially drive a nail in the ACC's coffin as Florida State looks to find greener pastures.