Duke basketball freshman grew up rooting for the Blue Devils and shares childhood story

Duke basketball freshman Darren Harris, who grew up cheering for the Duke Blue Devils, shared a childhood memory involving Coach K Court.

Six freshman faces help make up the 2024-25 Duke men’s basketball roster, but for several of them, the Blue Devils have been part of their lives for a long time.

Darren Harris, a four-star sharpshooter from St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Virginia, said he grew up a Duke fan his entire life. He even shared a story from when he was in elementary school during Friday’s team media day to detail how much the program meant to him.

“It was K Academy, I was in fourth grade I think, and my family snuck in because the door was open, and I took a picture at the Coach K Court piece right there,” Harris said.

Duke honored legendary head coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] by branding the floor of Cameron Indoor Stadium as ‘Coach K Court’ during the 2000-01 season. The longtime Blue Devils coach retired in 2022 with 13 Final Four appearances, the most in NCAA history, and five national championships.

“It was a dream of mine to come here,” Harris concluded. “So it kind of made the decision easy.”

Harris could contribute in a big way this season as well. CBS Sports reporter Jon Rothstein said the first-year Blue Devil shot exceptionally well from distance during a practice he watched earlier this week, and Harris showed off that microwave ability on offense with a 36-point game against IMG Academy during Chipotle Nationals.