Duke University has carved a name for itself in the sports sector with the men’s basketball team that has continued to make the school renowned across the country. Its popularity is not worthless and has helped bring the school lots of revenue. So, how exactly do they do it and how much do they bring in every year? Let’s see.
TV Rights
On May 9, 2012, the Atlantic Coast Conference that Duke University is a member of, extended its TV rights with ESPN officially by renewing their contract. The old deal, worth 1.86 billion dollars lasted for 12 years and was to run through to the 2022-23 season. The new contract extended ESPN’s Rights to ACC’s broadcast until the 2026-27 season, but they also earned a few more perks including 30 more men’s basketball games every year.
Duke University, therefore, gets to have $17 million per year from these TV rights which is more than a 30% increase from the previous contract’s amount. In the former 12-year contract, Duke received $12.9 million. However, even before the signing of the ESPN contract in 2010, ACC still had a deal that raked in $72 million annually which therefore meant Duke had $6 million in TV rights annually.
Ticket sales
Duke’s men’s college basketball team is currently the top-ranked team in the country, and their tickets have always had more demand which could lead to their high price. For instance, in 2013, Duke Basketball tickets were the second most expensive in the country going at $409 mostly due to the small capacity of the Cameron Indoor Stadium where the game was being held. Consequently, the less than 500 tickets available drove the demand upwards. Its competitor’s, University of Carolina tickets, were going for $1,728.
This month, the rivalry between the two teams has only triggered the ticket price hike. Besides being this year’s first game between them, there is Zion Williamson, and both these factors have helped push the ticket prices so high that they are approaching the Super Bowl levels. However, the injury that Zion had on 21st February 2019 has resulted in the costs plummeting such that a ticket that was going for $1,400 against Miami became $1,000 cheaper.
Donations
Those who want to help sponsor the Duke student-athlete education cost do so by becoming Iron Duke members and making an annual donation. For the Men’s basketball season tickets, all the Iron Duke members who are at Stadium Level receive a season ticket application in their mail. Duke Athletics then uses the priority system to allocate the available seats, after collecting all applications. The system starts with the top of the priority list and works its way down, and for the 2018-19 season, the projected Stadium Level was $8000 per year for each pair for all the new season ticket holders, while those season ticket holders before 2015 had their projection set at $7,000.
However, these were just tentative amounts and if the demand exceeds supply, the new season ticket request changes depending on years of continuous membership, cumulative athletic giving and the value of annual gift presented to the Iron Dukes. However, for one to qualify for season ticket purchase rights, individuals should not contribute money from private foundations, charitable organizations, donor-advised funds, individual retirement accounts, and employer matching gift programs. The bottom line is you must donate $100 or more every year to become an Iron Duke member.
Licensing deals
Duke University has a licensing agreement with Nike with whom they have been in an exclusive relationship since 1992. In 2015, they renewed the contract to last for another 12 years until 2027. The terms of their deals include being the sole supplier of the Duke Blue Devils uniforms, equipment, merchandise, and footwear. Although the financial terms were not available, it is safe to assume that Duke is making good money seeing that Nike’s deal with Michigan University was quite profitable. Michigan University would receive $169 million in the 15 year period, which came to about $11.3 million annually. If they are making such a figure for only 15 years, Duke Basketball should be getting a considerable amount too.
Parting shot
Given these sources of revenue, the average for three years starting from 2015 to 2016 was $33,067,999, which was an increase from the 2013-14 in which the men’s basketball team had revenue of $27 million. In 2018, Duke University would be worth $190 million in the open market, depending on its expenses and income.
Garrett Parker
Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world.
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Which college basketball programs make the most money? Syracuse among top 5
The United States Department of Education recently released financial information submitted by every college athletic program in the country, including the amount of revenue generated at each school by basketball.
The amounts ranged from $45.6 million in basketball revenue generated by the University of Louisville to $7,759 made by St. Louis Christian College. Syracuse ranked fourth in the country in revenue generated by the basketball program.
Nineteen of the Top 20 schools were from Division I football schools, which earn significantly more money from television contracts than their peers. And, perhaps surprisingly, only one of this year's Final Four teams is on the list.
While North Carolina ranks 8th, the others sit outside the Top 35. Gonzaga ranks 28th with revenue generation of $12 million. South Carolina ranks 45th at $9.6 million and Oregon ranks 55th at $9 million from basketball.
The financial numbers for the Top 20 schools, located below, are for the 2015-16 academic year.
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1. Louisville, $45.6 million
Louisville has it all. The Cardinals have a brand-name coach in Rick Pitino and a powerhouse team that hasn't finished outside the AP Top 25 since 2009-10. The bottom line is boosted by one of the country's nicest arenas, which also happens to be one of the largest. Louisville is also a public school in a basketball-mad state. It all adds up to a significant gap between Louisville and everyone else.
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2. Duke, $31 million
Duke is probably the ultimate love or hate school in the sport, and there's enough love for a private school with a small gymnasium to land at No. 2 on this list. Cameron Indoor Stadium doesn't allow for major financial boosts in the form of attendance or luxury boxes but it barely matters.
The Blue Devils currently own the country's premier program with a national reputation for excellence and a coach, Mike Krzyzewski, who is the winningest coach in college basketball history and fresh off a stint coaching the United States Olympic team. The Blue Devils are either near-perfect or perfectly annoying.
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3. Kentucky, $27.2 million
The Wildcats are another love them or hate them program, winners of eight national titles and regularly leading the country in attendance. Head coach John Calipari has developed a reputation as an elite collector of NBA talent and the Wildcats have thrived behind his one-and-done approach which, depending on your perspective, has benefitted a lot of talented teenagers or lowered the level of play in college basketball. Either way, there's no question it's been profitable.
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4. Syracuse, $26.9 million
The Carrier Dome hosts the biggest crowds in college basketball annually and has set the single-game record repeatedly with 35,446 people. Other than Kentucky, the Orange are the only team that has won an attendance championship since 1976. The Orange have a recognizable head coach in Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim and benefit from the lack of a strong public school presence, which allows the Orange to claim the title of New York's College Team.
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5. Indiana, $23.1 million
The passion of basketball fans in the state of Indiana rivals any state despite the fact that the Hoosiers haven't won a national title since Keith Smart 30 years ago. Despite the lack of titles, the tradition and passion of the Hoosier faithful still pays well, allowing Indiana to hire away Dayton's Archie Miller this offseason in an effort to try to correct that.
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6. Wisconsin, $22.8 million
Wisconsin's only national title came in 1941, when the NCAA Tournament was an eight-team field. Still, the Badgers have a huge public school fanbase and have excelled in recent years going to the Sweet 16 in four straight seasons. Wisconsin also hasn't missed the NCAA Tournament since 1998 despite being led by three head coaches over that period, a testament to Wisconsin's staying power.
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7. Arizona, $21.7 million
Arizona is the only team from the Pac-12 on this list and the only school west of Texas. The Wildcats have become the West Coast's dominant team, both on the court and financially under Sean Miller. Now, he needs to lead them to the Final Four for the first time since 2001.
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8. North Carolina, $21.3 million
The school that produced Michael Jordan produces plenty of wins and money. The Tar Heels have been to back-to-back Final Fours and own the record for most Final Four appearances with 20. With two wins this weekend, the Tar Heels would earn their sixth national title, breaking a tie for third on the all-time list.
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9. Ohio State, $19.9 million
Sure, Ohio State is a football school. But it's also an enormous state school with a fairly strong basketball tradition. The wins have fallen off lately but the cash flow hasn't. Expect the Buckeyes to bounce back before long.
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10. Tennessee, $19.9 million
The Volunteers haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 2014 and haven't escaped the first round since 2010. That hasn't kept Tennessee from cashing in on. Rick Barnes is tasked with getting them back on the right path. They are the first team on this list without a national title.
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11. Marquette, $18.3 million
The Musketeers are the top money-maker from outside the football leagues, part of the reason the program has managed to sustain its success despite being left behind during the breakup of the original Big East. There's a reason Marquette coaches Steve Wojciechowski, Buzz Williams, Tom Crean and Al Maguire have all found success in Milwaukee.
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12. Kansas, $18 million
The Jayhawks are the leading moneymakers in the Big 12 Conference and remain one of the country's handful of blueblood programs. Kansas has won at least a share of 13 consecutive Big 12 regular-season titles, tying for the all-time record. They haven't missed the NCAA Tournament since 1989, the longest streak in the country.
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13. Texas, $18 million
Annually one of the most profitable athletic department in the country, Texas even has its own television network. The powers of the Longhorn Network were meant for football but carry over to the world of basketball, helping Texas hire Shaka Smart away from VCU two years ago.
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14. Michigan State, $17.6 million
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has a reputation for doing more with less, but he's got plenty of financial firepower behind him. The Spartans out-earn their larger in-state rival Wolverines, although there's enough money in Michigan to place them both on the list.
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15. Maryland, $17.1 milion
It pays nicely to be a walking billboard for the Under Armour brand, particularly when you're the flagship program. Along with the sometimes-too-flashy uniforms, the Terrapins also own the country's best fan flash mob, which is frequently on display at Xfinity Center College Park.
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16. Michigan, $16.8 million
Both of Michigan's big state schools made the list with fairly similar revenue numbers. The combination of Michigan basketball and the school's flagship football program makes the Wolverines a financial terror. The basketball team does its part.
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17. Illinois, $16.7 million
Illinois took advantage of its wallet this offseason, hiring new coach Brad Underwood away from Oklahoma State after just one season with the Cowboys. Underwood's job will be to get the Fighting Illini back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013.
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18. Arkansas, $16 million
It's been a long time since the Hogs heyday back in the mid-90s. Even if they haven't yet repeated Nolan Richardson's success, Arkansas sports are the biggest sports attraction in the state, keeping the money rolling in.
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19. Pittsburgh, $15.8 million
It wasn't a lack of money that allowed former head coach Jamie Dixon to slip off to Texas Christian last season after 13 years leading the Panthers. Pittsburgh will now have to put its budget behind new coach Kevin Stallings, who had a difficult first year with the Panthers.
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20. Alabama, $14.4 million
The love and pride that the state of Alabama has for its football program apparently has some carryover to the hard-court. New coach Avery Johnson is still seeking the Crimson Tide's first NCAA Tournament win since 2006.
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How much is the smell of the Black Mamba?.
The past week has brought sorrow and joy to millions of NBA fans. The great magician of the orange ball, Kobe Bryant, ended his performances, but finally gave the world a mind-blowing match and allowed someone to earn extra money on the smell of their own sweat.
+3 Kobe Bryant, basketball player. Breathed in for $15,000
Black Mamba played a farewell match at the end of the 2015/16 regular season. His Lakers beat Utah 101-96). True old Bryant scored 60 points! Now consider American enterprise. First, during the game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, an all-time record for selling paraphernalia was set - $ 1.2 million in revenue per evening! Secondly, one savvy fan put up a sealed bag of "Bryant's farewell game air" for an online auction. The price of the souvenir has already reached $15,000.
+2 Alexander Ovechkin, hockey player.
Knocked out Couturier
The Russian super-forward of "Washington" became the best scorer of the NHL of the regular season for the fourth time in a row. Ovi has a brutal appetite for goals, but other predators are constantly stealing the most coveted prey from under his nose - the Stanley Cup! Last week, the Russian rushed to the coveted trophy with all his might. His activism helped the Capitals lead a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series against Philadelphia. His power moves turned opponents upside down. Pilots forward Sean Couturier was out for the remainder of the series after facing Ovechkin with an upper body injury. Who is next?
+1 Anastasia Yankova, MMA fighter. She shook her pigtails all over the world
The most famous Russian female martial artist, national champion in Thai boxing followed in the footsteps of Maria Sharapova. The long-haired Russian beauty made her chic debut in the prestigious Bellator World Series. At a tournament in Rome, Anastasia caught an American Angela Pink with a painful hold. Model appearance promises Yankova a bright future as the face and idol of Bellator. Her trademark tight braids will be as popular as Sharapova's smile. From Nastya, only further victories are required.
–3 Oleg Taktarov, boxer and MMA fighter. Fled from the Snowman in Hollywood
The fight between the cocky artist Taktarov and the Russian patriot Jeff Monson, nicknamed the Snowman, was the highlight of yesterday's MMA tournament "Battle on Sura - 5" in Penza. Three days before the fight evening, the “nail” disappeared. Quite unexpectedly, Taktarov announced that he was filming in Hollywood, had a strict contract and could not leave the film set. So do business with the actors! However, the disciplined Monson partially saved the situation. He entered the Penza arena and drew a duel against the local sambo wrestler Alexei Budimirov.
-2 Lionel Messi, football player.
Kicked Barça out of the Champions League
Winner of five Ballon d'Or scored his 500th professional goal too late. This prolonged pause cost Barcelona a relegation from the Champions League. Leo did not score five games in a row, and his missed free-kick at the end of the felling with Atlético Madrid involuntarily evoked the classic: “Aquela missed”. Neymar has been the most successful free-kick shooter at Barça lately, but Messi has decided to take charge. The ball flew over the crossbar. "Barcelona" "flew" past the semi-finals of the strongest European Cup.
-1 Karim Benzema, football player. Finished playing the blackmailer
The unlucky striker got too deep into the sensational story of blackmailing French teammate Mathieu Valbuena. Extortionists bred Valbuena for money, threatening to publish some kind of intimate video. Benzema is accused of complicity, as the criminals turned out to be his buddies. Although Karim denies the blame, the head coach of the French national team Didier Deschamps took drastic measures. Last week, Deschamps officially suspended Benzema from participation in the home Euro 2016. There is no place for persons under investigation in the ranks of the “tricolor”!
NewRoad2012. Duke Blue Devils - CollegeBasketballBlog
Mike Krzyszewski had a very productive year, winning another Olympic medal with Team USA and setting the record for the most wins as a coach for a Division I NCAA team. But in the collegiate league, his Blue Devils failed to find stability throughout the season, and this year, having had a bad experience, his last remaining from the championship season 09-10 players will try to become the first two-time champions with Duke since Christian Laitner, Grant Hill and company.
Last season
First of all, this program is known in Runet thanks to the ex-coach of the US national team, but in the world of student basketball it is a prestigious university that is in the top 5 most successful basketball universities in the country, which owns 4 championship banners, the penultimate to date case "back -to-back "wins in the league (90-91, 91-92), one of the best home supports and participation in the most principled derby. As tarnished as North Carolina's reputation in the NBA is, the region is brimming with history in college basketball. And a huge part of that story was written by Mike Krzyszewski, who is approaching his 1,000th career win after 31 years in office.
Last season was a "rebuild" season for Coach K, as the players who have long been the face of the team and defined its game, graduated and became pros - we are talking about Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler. Star freshman point guard Kyrie Irving, who delighted Durham fans in just a dozen games, decided to use his chance to become the first pick in the NBA draft and left for Cleveland, where, after a rather successful season, he became the Rookie of the Year. In total, we have the departure of the three main scorers of the team, which together brought 55 points on average per game! Not an easy task even for Mike Krzyszewski, because it was necessary to take a step forward from yesterday's role players and make them a single whole, plus fit into the schemes of a star rookie-defender in a team where the backcourt is already so rich and it is the back line that is the key in the schemes of the Devils.
After a successful Asian tour, where the team had no particular problems with local rivals, Duke had a great start to the season, and the pessimism of the fans slowly began to disappear. True, there were serious problems in the very first match of the season, where the Devils almost lost to the strong, but still mid-major Belmont on the home floor. But later they beat Michigan State at Madison Square Garden, which was a record victory for Coach Kay at number 903, and he overtook his mentor, Bobby Knight. After that, things went up - quite serious rivals were beaten - Davidson, Tennessee, and then also the seeded Michigan and Kansas - the victory over the latter, pulled out in the end, brought Duke a victory at the pre-season tournament in Maui, where the Blue Devils have an impressive unbeaten streak .
Immediately after that, the first "crash test" followed - a trip to Columbus, on a visit to the local Buckeyes with Jared Sallinger. This matchup was a complete success for Ohio State, and the Devils received one of their two out-of-conference losses, the other coming later from Temple.
If we take individual ACC matches, then there are two news (or results) for Duke - good and bad. Good: Krzyszewski's men set a serious record by not losing a single away match in the conference, including the nerve-wracking thriller that beat the main enemies - Tar Heels - with a last-second throw. The minus is an interrupted record-breaking home series for the university, and 3 home matches in the season were lost at once, including the last one, where the title of the ACC regular season champion was decided.
Duke's game deserves separate words. Since the beginning of the year, it no longer looked as picturesque as against Kansas or Michigan teams, and if, in principle, everything is clear with the attack (scoring is based mainly on shots from a distance), then there were serious problems in defense, and in terms of efficiency rating The Blue Devils' defenses were in some of the worst positions during the Coach K era. There were visible rebounding problems and a distinct lack of athleticism and growth in the number three position. To shake things up, Krzyszewski regularly rotated the starting line-up, trying to find the perfect combination - 9 at once.(!) players at least once took to the floor from the first seconds, but all to no avail. Having lost a big man by the end of the season, due to their dependence on three-pointers, the team paid the price at the very beginning of the March Madness - a sensational defeat to the Patriot League champions - Lehigh University - ended the season for the Devils with a record of 27 wins and 7 losses.
The main thing is that the backbone of the team is there, as well as the strengthening of some problematic positions, so now Mike Krzyszewski has every chance to fix what he failed to do a year ago, because for almost all team leaders next season will be the last in the dark blue Devils jersey.
This year, Duke's losses are not as serious as in 2011, but not weak either. The main star of the team - Austin Rivers - expectedly spent only a year in Durham, and will soon begin his career with the New Orleans Hornets. Rivers was the team's best scorer and the most dangerous dribbler, and just about the only one who could consistently create a shot for himself. Of course, he also had his failures, but if you take him separately as an attacking option, then it will be quite difficult to replace Rivers here, because he held the ball in his hands a lot, so now many possessions and plays of attacks will be built by other people. Rivers hasn't always been successful on defense, that's a fact, but his talent as a scorer will no longer help Coach K.
An unexpected career turn awaited Miles Plumley. The player, who played 20 minutes on average, and scored 6.6 points and just over 7 rebounds, being a little bit in the shadow of his middle brother, who is valued higher by scouts, was able to impress many specialists on workouts, where he showed not only the well-known athleticism and jump, but also some offensive skills that he did not fully implement in Duke. Plumlee quickly soared to the brink of first and second round mock drafts, and even more unexpectedly was selected by Indiana in the 1st round, while some players who were predicted to be top 20 were available. Miles was one of the best rebounders in the ACC conference and collected 2.9offensive rebounds, which helped the Devils a lot since few of the team are strong stable rebounders. The NBA is unlikely to require more statistics from him than he had in college, but still have a lot of work to do in order to justify his peak in the future.
The departure of Virginia native Mike Gbinidge came as little surprise to many of the team's fans, who had been spreading transfer rumors during the season. But it happened in the off-season, and the Syracuse picked up this pretty capable player, who in the future will move to the ACC, and Gbinidzhe will be able to play against his former team in conference games. However, it is still not entirely clear why, when there were obvious problems in the position of the 3rd number, Mike played so little. Perhaps the point is in training, in which he did not suit Krzyszewski. Or maybe there simply wasn't enough minutes, which were distributed among more experienced defenders, due to the position of a light forward. Whatever it was, but Gbinidzhe will miss the last, farewell season of Orange in the Big East, and will be able to help his new team in a year.
Andre Dawkins is considered a one-season loss for the time being, but it is likely that he will not continue at Durham. At the end-of-season press conference, Coach K did not name Dawkins as one of the team's future seniors, and the previously circulated rumors that he had been expelled from the team resurfaced in the minds of the journalists. But the coach also revealed that Andre will miss next season as a redshirt because he "needs to get away from it all." The team's shooter himself had the most unstable season in his student career. He single-handedly won several games for the team, bombarding the Spartans in Madison Square, the Seminoles in Tallahassee, but these successes alternated with a number of obscure games in which he simply could not hit the basket. But just long-range shots are his "bread" as a player. Redshirt confirmed his son to Andre's father, saying that Dawkins Jr. is still dealing with the death of his sister, Lacey, who died in a car accident in 2009.year at the time when I was driving to the match Duke - St. John's. She was only 21 years old ... It's no wonder if Andre's game was really hampered by stress, because for a student athlete in the NCAA there is not much free time during the season to think a lot about things not related to study and training. It looks like Sniper Devils won't even be training with the team all year, but we still wish him to find the strength in himself and spend his senior season in the league already in 2013-14.
Mason Plumlee also considered the option of leaving for the NBA draft along with Rivers, but since the draft was very unpredictable (proven by his older brother), and there was no guarantee that he would be taken in the 1st round, he remained for the last season and would already be a senior team captain next season.
A former top recruit and participant in the McDonald's AA Game, Plumlee is quite physically gifted (all of the brothers are somewhat alike as players), jumping high and running fast. Attacking skills are not yet as developed as expected from school, but Mason brings something new to his game every year, for example, he added jump-hooks with both hands, passes well for a big man, can dribble well and is useful in pick-and-roll.
With more than 9 rebounds, he averaged third in the conference in this component, knows how to take position, uses his speed and athleticism. Like his brother, he took almost 3 rebounds on someone else's shield, however, he played more. The team's top blocker with 1.6 blocks per game is in the top four in Duke in steals.
Cons - no consistent shooting from range and free throw line (finished the season with 52.8% from the line, and then thanks to improvements in the second half of the season), a poor arsenal of post-moves, often acting too straightforward. Adds in power from year to year, but the additional addition of muscle mass obviously does not hurt. There are problems with busting fouls. In general, this player has the highest potential from the entire front line of the team, so his progress will be decisive for the future possible success of the Devils in the season.
The best sharp-shooter of the team started last season as a point guard, but, unlike Nolan Smith, John Shyer, who, by the will of fate, moved to a non-native position, the experiment with the brother of ex-Davidson star Steph Curry failed, and is unlikely to be repeated in the coming season. Still, Seth is an undersized shooting guard, and his skills match this position. He is a great catch-and-shooter, and from any distance (38% from behind the arc), he improved on almost all types of shots that year, but he did not play point guard. Curry lacks speed and concentration at the same time on dribbling and observing the movements of partners. If Rivers did not think for long what to do in the attack, then with Seth the speed was lost, and the attack stopped.
Once again, Seth will start the season as the "best returning scorer", so he will be one of the main scoring options. Pleasantly for Devils fans, Curry has diversified his game a bit and increased his pass rate, resulting in a 3. 5 free try average - at 87% he is a serious weapon. The team's game is built mainly on the perimeter, and the opponents know this, so there will be chances to go into the pass, and if not quit, then throw it off to someone from the "big". Thus Seth became the team's top assister with 2.4 assists. But this is not enough to become the second son of Della Curry in the strongest basketball league. His defense leaves much to be desired, and the pro level is developed only in the static attack of the basket. At the middle distance, he has already added, but the very end in the three-second zone and the game one-on-one has not yet succeeded very often, although, without Austin Rivers, he will be able to demonstrate these facets of his talent in more detail. Last season, he was one of only three players to start 30 or more times.
Seth Curry is one of the top breakout contenders and will play his senior season in Durham - that's almost a "contract year" in NBA parlance. He averaged 20 points when he had freedom at Liberty. Now he will have much more freedom in Duke, and I will be surprised if another player becomes the best scorer on the team.
Signor Ryan Kelly, along with middle brother Plumlee, are the last parts of the 2010 championship team (Seth Curry didn't play at the time due to a redshirt). Then they were green freshmen who replaced the experienced Lance Thomas and Brian Zubek, and now they are already in their place. Since then, the team has only won 2 March Madness matches in two years, and the duo of veteran big men, who were named team captains this summer, must be motivated like no other to ensure that the end of their college career is, if not as bright as the beginning (in in terms of results), then as close as possible to this. Kelly created a buzz against Asian teams and became the team's MVP on that tour, and also hit 18 consecutive field goals at the start of the New Year, but generally did not improve in those components with which he has the biggest problems - rebounding, defense , playing back. The coach, Mike Krzyszewski, also noticed this (or rather, he first noticed, removing Kelly from the starting five in the middle of the season, and then I), and began to release the Plumley brothers together more often, but no matter how "soft" Ryan was, he is always among leaders in productivity, as he is a classic example of Duke's big man - a thin, tall white guy with a three-point shot. By the way, Kelly was the only one of the main players who got over the 40% threshold for the implementation of long-range shots, and his injury at the end of the regular season may have been fatal - first, the Devils flew out of the conference playoffs in the semifinals, and then said goodbye to the season altogether .
In order to be part of the next draft and help the team perform well, Ryan needs to improve greatly in two things - post-moves and elemental aggression. He plays guard too often, spends a lot of time on the arc, and 44% from the field is a good result for a defender, but not for a 6-11 power forward with a soft hand. In addition, he increases the likelihood of an opponent picking up a rebound if he misses himself, so the recipe for progress in the game and statistics for Kelly is simple - play more often like a classic big man.
The talented point guard, who was supposed to be, if not a main player, then a key bencher, was tortured by several minor injuries in the season, but, in fairness, it is worth noting that he still could have performed better than he actually noted in his debut year. Pros: Cooke had one of the best assist-to-loss ratios in the conference, co-wrote several big hits in games that didn't go well, and averaged nearly 2 assists in under 12 minutes. Quinn is a small and nimble defender who can and knows how to score points, but this was one of his two main problems that year - when he had a game, he flirted, took on unnecessary and difficult shots, which is clearly not benefited the team. The second trouble, no less serious, is protection. Maybe, of course, a knee injury was to blame, and because of this, Quinn lost his sharpness and speed, but the opponent rarely strained, playing one on one with Cook. Therefore, the game of this point guard is one of the biggest intrigues of the offseason for the Blue Devils. In any case, Quinn will come out more experienced and simply better than he was before - this is also evidenced by his inspired play in the North Carolina summer league.
It so happened that the best personal defender in the backcourt of the Devils is a fairly limited point guard in his abilities, and in order to strengthen the often collapsing defensive formations on the perimeter, Coach Kay interspersed Thornton for considerable segments of the game a year ago, which is to say about the 11-12 season. Tyler spent 19games in the starting five, entered the top three in steals and assists in the team, but is still more of a defensive player - 37.9% of field goals still brighten up the fact that Thornton only shoots on average 3 times per game, well, 35% from behind the arc - these are already more worthy numbers - this is Duke, so it is undesirable to leave at least someone on the arc unattended. It was this player who became the author of several key shots throughout the season, so the hardworking point guard deserved certain advances from Mike Krzyszewski. However, this coach has no guarantees for anyone - you can start for 3 years, but for the fourth year, as a senior, sit on the bench if your level of play does not suit him (like Greg Paulus in his time, for example) . So Thornton needs to keep working on the shot - even without Rivers and Dawkins, there are defenders on the roster ready to take your playing time.
Josh Hairston is one of the main veteran reservists, who also play an important role in the locker room. Last season, the forward earned two starts from Mike Krzyszewski with his hard work - in the ACC playoffs, he played a total of 38 minutes in two games, becoming a replacement for Ryan Kelly. Engaged in rough work, owns an average throw. Starting his third year of college, but unlikely to become a major player - lacking the height and offensive skills to play at number 4, and the mobility and shooting to play small forward. But he will get his minutes, every team needs such players.
Team Rookies
This year, Mike Krzyszewski's recruiting class consists of only 2 players (both have competed at McDonald's All-American), but there will be four newcomers. The reason for this is two redshirts last year, so some of last year's freshmen will only be able to debut this November.
Coach K has taken care of some problematic positions, so we'll soon see a very accurate replacement for Miles Plumley, more growth on number three and a talented addition to the backcourt in place of Austin Rivers.
Alex Murphy
Forward
Height 6-8
Weight 220
Redshirt Freshman
The younger brother of Florida forward Eric Murphy and the namesake of RoboCop's protagonist has had a productive offseason this year, taking part in the U20 European Championship as part of the Finnish national team, where he showed impressive statistics. The universal striker was compared with Mike Dunleavy at school, and after his commitment to Duke - also with the new Kyle Singler, so fate itself tells him to become a key player in the Devils. Alex can give the team what it lacked that year - missing rebounding, athleticism and aggression in the passes and defense against tall swingers. In addition, he has a good shot from a distance, which is great for the positional attack of Coach K.
By the way, in the 2011 pre-season tour in Asia, Murphy looked pretty good in most matches, although he still looked rather insecure. He later suffered an injury in training when he fell on his head after attempting to charge and then took a redshirt altogether. During the year he added in muscle mass, which was very necessary for him, and is physically ready for the battles of the ACC. Candidate for a place in the starting five.
Marshall Plumley
Center
Height 6-11
Weight 225
Redshirt Freshman
We have one Plumley in each section today, and the last of them is Marshall, who will make his debut with the Devils this coming season and restore the Plumley cycle in nature, that is, there will be two of them again on the team.
Like Mason, Marshall Plumley, or simply "MP3", played at McDonald's and even reached the finals of the slam dunk competition there. The distinctive features of all the brothers were transferred to him - this is high growth, good speed and athleticism. He is a more defensive player, and in attack the most "raw" of all Plumley, so the debut season as a backup for him is the best thing to add to his attacking game gradually, and not immediately fall into the crucible of fighting with the burden of responsibility. He will play mainly as a center, and will be the main replacement for his brother, since Mike Krzyszewski has enough candidates on the 4-rke to rotate for different playing styles. Marshall's task in the game will be rebounding, blocking and other attempts to prevent the opponent from scoring points, and in training - urgent improvement of post-moves and at least "hooks" from 2-3 meters. Lately, judging by numerous references, he has gained weight and has become more like a college center, plus a year of training with the team should have improved his game and made him ready for his debut in official matches. Although, as a player, he is still a "project", and will play much less than Miles, who left for Indiana.
Rashid Suleimon
Protector
Height 6-4
Weight 190
The Texas combo guard is one of the best freshmen in the league right now, and in light of the loss of Austin Rivers, Sulaimon will have to start making a difference from the opening game without wasting time building up.
Last season was a busy one for Rashid as he climbed higher and higher in the list of top students, and took part in almost all the school's all-star matches as well as for the US U18 team. What I like about this player is his desire to play defense, and at this stage he can already become a better personal defender than the same Rivers and Curry.
Sulaimon can play both number two and number one, for a defender he has decent size and physicality, although as a point guard he does not feel so confident, and his dribbling is not up to calling him a point guard, but if necessary, he can cover this position. In attack, he is primarily a sniper, he plays confidently without the ball, he can go through and beat one on one. He is always aggressive and charged for the game and almost never plays casually.
The most, in my opinion, the "ready" newcomer among the four debutants and has a chance to force out one of the veterans from the start.
Emil Jefferson
Forward
Height 6-8
Weight 195
Emil Jefferson is the latest addition to the Blue Devils roster and, along with Alex Murphy, will be a power upgrade in a position that has been safely covered by Kyle Singler for so long. Jefferson is an example of a "hybrid" number 3-4 that is larger than the average swingman but lighter than the standard power forward. Compared to Murphy, according to the latest data, the American Finn is heavier than Emil by 25 pounds, which is the MINIMUM need for a freshman to gain in order to become competitive in the NCAA three-second zone. As a small forward, he needs to hone his dribbling and three-point shooting, but in general, he can do almost everything offensively. Jefferson's anthropometry pairs well with his speed, making him dangerous close to the rim and quite reliable against taller defensive players. His main disadvantage was and is weight, but the potential of this guy is intriguing - usually tall swingers who could play the "four" took root well with Mike Krzyszewski.
Totals
Some experts say that Duke will be the same next season as he was last year - that is, a team that lost from Lehigh and survives only on three-pointers. I partly agree, but this is only part of the misleading impression left with the players who survived last season. The loss of Austin Rivers will play a huge role for the Blue Devils, and it can have a very drastic effect on the game. With all his plusses and minuses, this man played the longest, threw the most, lost the most - in a nutshell, was the defining pattern of the Devils' game and the chemistry in the locker room. To replace this person means a very serious change in the style of the game, because different players of the same type will come to his place. Mike Krzyszewski's team will still shoot a lot of 3's, not as often as they could, play the big ones, but I think the changes that will come with Rivers' departure will be positive and we won't see relegation this time around. in the first match of Madness. No, it's not going to be a championship-level team, but it's still going to be a very strong team that will get better rebounds, maybe improve their front line play, and definitely improve their perimeter defense. The key factors I would call the possible progress of Cook and one of the new forwards - Murphy or Jefferson. They can provide some missing puzzles in Coach K's drawing. And most importantly, Mike Krzyszewski knows how to play in the regular season. You can treat him and his team differently, but in almost any condition, Duke can achieve an acceptable result in the regular season, and will reveal the main problems only in Madness. Therefore, in view of the weakness or lack of teamwork of the main competitors, they are the main favorites of ACC for me at the moment. How far will they go in the postseason? This is intrigue. The league is now, as they say, "wide open".
Blitz
Team Leader: Mason Plumlee
Best Scorer: Seth Curry
Best Rebounder: Mason Plumlee
Best Assistant: Quinn Cooke
Surprise of the Season: Quinn Cooke
X-factor: Rashid Suleimon
Conference position: 1
Starting five
I will be too naive if I write the assumption that Mike Krzyszewski will play all the time with one starting five. No, there will definitely be replacements and rotations, besides, a lot depends on the progress of some people, such as Cook, Thornton, Murphy. The declarer position can have the most castling, so my starting five would be just one of Coach K's options.
Besides being this year’s first game between them, there is Zion Williamson, and both these factors have helped push the ticket prices so high that they are approaching the Super Bowl levels. However, the injury that Zion had on 21st February 2019 has resulted in the costs plummeting such that a ticket that was going for $1,400 against Miami became $1,000 cheaper.
Michigan University would receive $169 million in the 15 year period, which came to about $11.3 million annually. If they are making such a figure for only 15 years, Duke Basketball should be getting a considerable amount too.
The bottom line is boosted by one of the country's nicest arenas, which also happens to be one of the largest. Louisville is also a public school in a basketball-mad state. It all adds up to a significant gap between Louisville and everyone else.
Kentucky, $27.2 million
Arizona, $21.7 million
Kansas has won at least a share of 13 consecutive Big 12 regular-season titles, tying for the all-time record. They haven't missed the NCAA Tournament since 1989, the longest streak in the country.
Maryland, $17.1 milion
Knocked out Couturier 
At a tournament in Rome, Anastasia caught an American Angela Pink with a painful hold. Model appearance promises Yankova a bright future as the face and idol of Bellator. Her trademark tight braids will be as popular as Sharapova's smile. From Nastya, only further victories are required. 
Kicked Barça out of the Champions League 
Although Karim denies the blame, the head coach of the French national team Didier Deschamps took drastic measures. Last week, Deschamps officially suspended Benzema from participation in the home Euro 2016. There is no place for persons under investigation in the ranks of the “tricolor”! 
In total, we have the departure of the three main scorers of the team, which together brought 55 points on average per game! Not an easy task even for Mike Krzyszewski, because it was necessary to take a step forward from yesterday's role players and make them a single whole, plus fit into the schemes of a star rookie-defender in a team where the backcourt is already so rich and it is the back line that is the key in the schemes of the Devils. 
There were visible rebounding problems and a distinct lack of athleticism and growth in the number three position. To shake things up, Krzyszewski regularly rotated the starting line-up, trying to find the perfect combination - 9 at once.(!) players at least once took to the floor from the first seconds, but all to no avail. Having lost a big man by the end of the season, due to their dependence on three-pointers, the team paid the price at the very beginning of the March Madness - a sensational defeat to the Patriot League champions - Lehigh University - ended the season for the Devils with a record of 27 wins and 7 losses. 
5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 33.2 minutes 
7 points, 0.8 rebounds, 5.8 minutes 
Plumlee quickly soared to the brink of first and second round mock drafts, and even more unexpectedly was selected by Indiana in the 1st round, while some players who were predicted to be top 20 were available. Miles was one of the best rebounders in the ACC conference and collected 2.9offensive rebounds, which helped the Devils a lot since few of the team are strong stable rebounders. The NBA is unlikely to require more statistics from him than he had in college, but still have a lot of work to do in order to justify his peak in the future. 
Perhaps the point is in training, in which he did not suit Krzyszewski. Or maybe there simply wasn't enough minutes, which were distributed among more experienced defenders, due to the position of a light forward. Whatever it was, but Gbinidzhe will miss the last, farewell season of Orange in the Big East, and will be able to help his new team in a year. 
But just long-range shots are his "bread" as a player. Redshirt confirmed his son to Andre's father, saying that Dawkins Jr. is still dealing with the death of his sister, Lacey, who died in a car accident in 2009.year at the time when I was driving to the match Duke - St. John's. She was only 21 years old ... It's no wonder if Andre's game was really hampered by stress, because for a student athlete in the NCAA there is not much free time during the season to think a lot about things not related to study and training. It looks like Sniper Devils won't even be training with the team all year, but we still wish him to find the strength in himself and spend his senior season in the league already in 2013-14. 
1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 28.4 minutes 
The team's top blocker with 1.6 blocks per game is in the top four in Duke in steals. 
2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals, 30.2 minutes 
5 free try average - at 87% he is a serious weapon. The team's game is built mainly on the perimeter, and the opponents know this, so there will be chances to go into the pass, and if not quit, then throw it off to someone from the "big". Thus Seth became the team's top assister with 2.4 assists. But this is not enough to become the second son of Della Curry in the strongest basketball league. His defense leaves much to be desired, and the pro level is developed only in the static attack of the basket. At the middle distance, he has already added, but the very end in the three-second zone and the game one-on-one has not yet succeeded very often, although, without Austin Rivers, he will be able to demonstrate these facets of his talent in more detail. Last season, he was one of only three players to start 30 or more times. 
Now he will have much more freedom in Duke, and I will be surprised if another player becomes the best scorer on the team. 
Kelly created a buzz against Asian teams and became the team's MVP on that tour, and also hit 18 consecutive field goals at the start of the New Year, but generally did not improve in those components with which he has the biggest problems - rebounding, defense , playing back. The coach, Mike Krzyszewski, also noticed this (or rather, he first noticed, removing Kelly from the starting five in the middle of the season, and then I), and began to release the Plumley brothers together more often, but no matter how "soft" Ryan was, he is always among leaders in productivity, as he is a classic example of Duke's big man - a thin, tall white guy with a three-point shot. By the way, Kelly was the only one of the main players who got over the 40% threshold for the implementation of long-range shots, and his injury at the end of the regular season may have been fatal - first, the Devils flew out of the conference playoffs in the semifinals, and then said goodbye to the season altogether . 
He plays guard too often, spends a lot of time on the arc, and 44% from the field is a good result for a defender, but not for a 6-11 power forward with a soft hand. In addition, he increases the likelihood of an opponent picking up a rebound if he misses himself, so the recipe for progress in the game and statistics for Kelly is simple - play more often like a classic big man. 
Pros: Cooke had one of the best assist-to-loss ratios in the conference, co-wrote several big hits in games that didn't go well, and averaged nearly 2 assists in under 12 minutes. Quinn is a small and nimble defender who can and knows how to score points, but this was one of his two main problems that year - when he had a game, he flirted, took on unnecessary and difficult shots, which is clearly not benefited the team. The second trouble, no less serious, is protection. Maybe, of course, a knee injury was to blame, and because of this, Quinn lost his sharpness and speed, but the opponent rarely strained, playing one on one with Cook. Therefore, the game of this point guard is one of the biggest intrigues of the offseason for the Blue Devils. In any case, Quinn will come out more experienced and simply better than he was before - this is also evidenced by his inspired play in the North Carolina summer league. 
1 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.0 rebounds, 21.1 minutes 
So Thornton needs to keep working on the shot - even without Rivers and Dawkins, there are defenders on the roster ready to take your playing time. 
But he will get his minutes, every team needs such players. 
The universal striker was compared with Mike Dunleavy at school, and after his commitment to Duke - also with the new Kyle Singler, so fate itself tells him to become a key player in the Devils. Alex can give the team what it lacked that year - missing rebounding, athleticism and aggression in the passes and defense against tall swingers. In addition, he has a good shot from a distance, which is great for the positional attack of Coach K. 
Although, as a player, he is still a "project", and will play much less than Miles, who left for Indiana. 
In attack, he is primarily a sniper, he plays confidently without the ball, he can go through and beat one on one. He is always aggressive and charged for the game and almost never plays casually. 
As a small forward, he needs to hone his dribbling and three-point shooting, but in general, he can do almost everything offensively. Jefferson's anthropometry pairs well with his speed, making him dangerous close to the rim and quite reliable against taller defensive players. His main disadvantage was and is weight, but the potential of this guy is intriguing - usually tall swingers who could play the "four" took root well with Mike Krzyszewski. 
To replace this person means a very serious change in the style of the game, because different players of the same type will come to his place. Mike Krzyszewski's team will still shoot a lot of 3's, not as often as they could, play the big ones, but I think the changes that will come with Rivers' departure will be positive and we won't see relegation this time around. in the first match of Madness. No, it's not going to be a championship-level team, but it's still going to be a very strong team that will get better rebounds, maybe improve their front line play, and definitely improve their perimeter defense. The key factors I would call the possible progress of Cook and one of the new forwards - Murphy or Jefferson. They can provide some missing puzzles in Coach K's drawing. And most importantly, Mike Krzyszewski knows how to play in the regular season. You can treat him and his team differently, but in almost any condition, Duke can achieve an acceptable result in the regular season, and will reveal the main problems only in Madness.
Therefore, in view of the weakness or lack of teamwork of the main competitors, they are the main favorites of ACC for me at the moment. How far will they go in the postseason? This is intrigue. The league is now, as they say, "wide open". 
