Tag: Sion James

Duke offers 2025 CG Acaden Lewis

Duke offers 2025 CG Acaden Lewis.

2025 will be a massive year for Jon Scheyer, no matter what happens for him and his program in 2024. The hope is that, by this time next year, the Blue Devils will be figuring out how to repeat as national champions if we work under the assumption that their efforts to surround generational prospect Cooper Flagg with a championship-caliber team were indeed successful.

Even without that assumption, we know a few almost undoubtedly true things. Duke will lose at least four players from this year’s roster. Five, considering this will likely be junior Tyrese Proctor’s last year as a Duke Blue Devil.

With the departure of key players, Duke will again face a significant challenge in rebuilding the team to maintain its competitive edge next year.

Assuming Proctor leaves alongside Sion James, who only has one year of eligibility remaining, Duke will need actual ball handlers on next year’s team. It’s too far out to know who will be available via the transfer portal, so it makes sense why Duke recently offered 2025 combo guard Acaden Lewis.

Lewis is ranked as the 34th-best prospect in 247Sports player rankings for the class of 2025. He’s ranked nationally as the sixth-best combo guard and the number-one player from Washington, D.C.

 

In the film, you see a 6-foot-3 guard who thrives on using ball screens to get downhill, where he can finish with either hand. He is quite proficient in using mid-range jump shots or floaters to score. He uses pace to make defenders uneasy.

He has an effortless release and range. He also showcased the ability to be a proficient spot-up shooter. He has the versatility that Scheyer covets and could be a fit either playing on or off the ball in Durham.

He is being recruited heavily by UNC, Maryland, Georgetown, Kentucky, and Virginia Tech.

Duke basketball releases footage from first 2024-25 team scrimmage

The 2024-25 Duke basketball team finally got to practice this week, and the team dropped footage from the first scrimmage late on Friday.

There are still a few months before the Duke basketball team starts playing in front of the Cameron Crazies on campus, but Blue Devils fans can watch the 2024-25 team play basketball now.

The team posted two social media clips to X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) before revealing that they posted a six-minute video to their YouTube page.

Fans got their first look at Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 prospect in the country, and the four other healthy freshmen from the Class of 2024 (the team announced Darren Harris would miss time after he underwent surgery to repair a broken hand).

Khaman Maluach, the 7-footer from South Sudan and a presumed lottery pick in the 2025 NBA draft, threw down a lob from returning guard Tyrese Proctor at one point in the video. Tulane transfer guard Sion James, a presumed starter next season, also popped off the screen multiple times, and in-state talent Isaiah Evans nailed a deep jumper.

Flagg also knocked down a triple later in the video on a feed from Proctor.

Duke freshman guard Darren Harris out indefinitely with fractured hand

Incoming Duke basketball freshman Darren Harris is out indefinitely after fracturing non-shooting hand, the team announced on Friday.

Duke’s injury bug has been a well-documented occurrence in the Duke basketball program over the last decade or more. There have been some devastating injuries that some would even believe cost the Blue Devils’ chances at national titles.

Last year’s team experienced some significant injury issues, including injuries to starting point guard Tyrese Proctor, which forced him to miss more than ten games last year. Jeremy Roach missed a few games as well. Caleb Foster was lost for the remainder of the season after a stress fracture in his foot was aggravated in the road game against Wake Forest.

Proctor and Foster return as significant pieces for the 2024-25 Duke team that seems ready to go after the team’s first practices. Even with that said, an injury has already impacted this year’s team.

Darren Harris is the first Blue Devil on this year’s team to suffer a significant injury. The program announced that the freshman, one of six 2024 signees for head coach Jon Scheyer, fractured his non-shotting hand at some point over the summer.

This injury would explain Darren Harris’ noticeable absence from the team’s player-specific highlight videos released on social media this week showcasing every scholarship team member.

Harris had surgery on Tuesday, the team said, and he is expected to make a full recovery.

There is no official timetable for his return, but this type of injury typically requires a six-week recovery, meaning that Harris may miss the entire summer. The timeframe will put him on track to pick things back up as the team prepares for the season.

Harris came to Duke as the 2023-24 Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year and finished as the No. 37 player in the country, according to 247Sports. He led his high school, Fairfax (VA) Paul VI, to the national title game, where they faced off against his now-teammate Cooper Flagg and Montverde Academy. They finished with a 33-2 overall record, averaging 17.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.

With his injury, Duke’s potential rotation log jam somewhat clears up.

It’s hard to imagine early in the season without practice time that Harris will contribute early. Fellow freshmen Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel look to fit into reserve roles off the bench, most likely. It also means that the addition of Sion James solidifies him as the team’s third guard for the foreseeable future, assuming Proctor and Foster are starters.

Haris’s potential as a shooter will be missed, but since the injury is not season-ending, Duke is hopeful he can come back and be a contributor at some point.

Duke basketball transfer Sion James posts about his first days with the Blue Devils

Sion James, who joined the Blue Devils from Tulane this offseason, mentioned his excitement to play for Duke through social media on Wednesday.

Duke basketball fans will come to appreciate [autotag]Sion James[/autotag] very quickly during the 2024-25 basketball season.

After four years with the Tulane Green Wave, James transferred to the Blue Devils this offseason for his final year of eligibility. On Wednesday, the team social media account shared a short highlight reel from James’ first practice and the newest Duke player responded with a short, positive message about his new home.

“Glad to be part of such a special team,” James wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

On a Duke basketball team with 10 new faces for this coming season, James might be the most exciting non-freshman. The slashing athlete complements returning guards Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster really well, and Cameron Crazies can also see his ability to reach the rim in the brief highlight reel. The former Green Wave worked through some contact drills, dunking and throwing up layups through coaches holding pads.

James also knocked down a few jump shots in the video. After shooting 28.0% from 3-point range as a freshman, he knocked down 38.1% of his distance looks last season. He averaged 14.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 2023-24.

Duke basketball posts the first pictures of Cooper Flagg and the 2024-25 team practices

Duke basketball shared the first photos of the 2024-25 team practices on Tuesday, letting fans see Cooper Flagg and others in uniform.

Duke basketball fans can taste the 2024-25 season and its arrival.

On Tuesday, Blue Devils fans got their first looks at next season’s team. [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], the No. 1 prospect in the country, and his future teammates started practicing in Durham, finally getting to play and practice in Duke gear.

In a tweet from the team account, Duke fans can see Patrick Ngongba II, the Paul VI center who made the USA Basketball U18 team earlier this summer, during a team dribbling drill. Another photo of the team huddling up shows [autotag]Sion James[/autotag], the athletic guard from Tulane, and returning junior [autotag]Tyrese Proctor[/autotag] among the players putting their hands in.

Other photos shared show Flagg and classmate [autotag]Isaiah Evans[/autotag], a two-time North Carolina Mr. Basketball honoree, working through drills. [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], the South Sudanese 7-footer from NBA Academy Africa, also stopped through in Durham before he heads to the Olympics.

Between Duke’s hyped freshman class, which features six top-40 prospects, and four incoming transfers, the Blue Devils enter the 2024-25 season as one of the national championship favorites.

Flagg and his future teammates already spent some time on campus earlier this month for the K Academy.

An updated look at Duke basketball’s place on EvanMiya’s transfer class rankings

The Blue Devils brought in four transfers in the offseason, and they’re close to EvanMiya’s top 10 incoming classes.

The Duke basketball team lost seven players to the transfer portal this offseason, but they welcomed four more as head coach Jon Scheyer rebuilt the program around [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and the 2024 recruiting class. Popular basketball analytics site EvanMiya thinks Scheyer did a good job.

The site, founded by Evan Miyakawa, considered Duke’s four incoming transfers as the 12th-best class in the country with three of the four new Blue Devils given five-star grades.

Mason Gillis, who won Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year last season with Purdue, and Syracuse’s Maliq Brown ranked as the 24th and 25th overall players in the portal on EvanMiya’s big board, respectively. Sion James of Tulane came in 54th.

The Blue Devils have the second-best transfer portal class in the ACC, according to EvanMiya’s site rankings. The Louisville Cardinals, in the first season of a rebuild with new coach Pat Kelsey, sit in second.

Scheyer’s been efficient with his time, too. The Blue Devils are the only team within the top 24 of EvanMiya’s class rankings to sit below the top 300 in transfer portal activity.

Sion James transfers to Duke after withdrawing from 2024 NBA draft

Former Tulane guard Sion James has reportedly withdrawn from the 2024 NBA draft and will transfer to Duke.

Former Tulane guard Sion James has reportedly withdrawn from the 2024 NBA draft and will transfer to Duke, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

James declared for the draft on April 9 while maintaining his final year of college eligibility. He participated in predraft workouts with the Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies before pulling his name from consideration.

The four-star prospect also entered the transfer portal last month after four years with the Green Wave. He was the No. 65 overall player and 11th-ranked shooting guard on the market, according to 247Sports. He signed with the Blue Devils on May 13.

James averaged 14 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals on 38.1% shooting from 3-point range. He registered six 20-point games, including a season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds on March 14 in a loss to North Texas in the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

The 21-year-old emerged as a vocal leader and a workhorse on the court, ranking 13th in the country in minutes per game (36.7). He will provide the Blue Devils with veteran experience and leadership, traits that were commended by head coach Jon Scheyer.

The Blue Devils have the top-ranked class in 2024, led by top-25 prospects Cooper Flagg (No. 1), Khaman Maluach (No. 4) and Isaiah Evans (No. 13). They also add Cameron Sheffield (Rice), Mason Gillis (Purdue) and Maliq Brown (Syracuse) via the transfer portal.

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Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer says there are no ‘guaranteed minutes’ for 2024-25 roster

Despite loads of star power, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said on Tuesday that no player got a guaranteed role on his 2024-25 locker room.

Between No. 1 overall prospect Cooper Flagg, five other top-50 freshmen, and a top-20 transfer class, there won’t be a shortage of star power in Durham next season.

However, just because guys like Flagg and five-star center Khaman Maluach seem like locks for the 2025 NBA draft lottery and transfers like Sion James and Mason Gillis have one year of eligibility left, head coach Jon Scheyer isn’t willing to dole out minutes out of obligation.

In a Tuesday article from The News & Observer’s Steve Wiseman, Scheyer said no player on the 2024-25 roster will get his spot handed to him.

“There wasn’t going to be promises or assurances for anybody in terms of guaranteed minutes or guaranteed starting,” Scheyer said in the story. “Our programs are built on competition. And we’re doubling down on that at a time where the environment makes you or puts you in a position to promise things.”

Entering his third season at the helm of the men’s basketball program, Scheyer has routinely praised his incoming class of players for their competitive nature. He talked up Flagg’s motor in an ACC Network segment earlier this month. It seems like every player on the Blue Devils knows the deal ahead of next season.

Duke basketball transfer Sion James withdraws from NBA draft, per report

After he declared for the NBA draft while retaining his eligibility, Duke transfer Sion James withdrew from consideration on Tuesday per a report.

Duke basketball transfer Sion James withdrew from the 2024 NBA draft on Tuesday, according to a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.

James spent the last four seasons with the Tulane Green Wave, but when he entered the transfer portal, he also declared for the draft while retaining eligibility. The distinction allowed him to showcase his talent to scouts while still getting the chance to play a fifth season of college ball.

Rothstein shared the report on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The 6-foot-6 guard’s decision won’t surprise anyone. Duke already announced what number James will wear next season when it shared the 2024-25 Blue Devils roster. However, the former Green Wave becomes the last member of the team to officially be locked in for next season.

James joins former Purdue sharpshooter Mason Gillis, former Syracuse forward Maliq Brown, and former Rice guard Cameron Sheffield in Duke’s incoming transfer class.

The Cameron Crazies will see James in his first games with a Duke jersey on this fall.

All four Duke basketball transfers choose new numbers with the Blue Devils

All four Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball transfers will switch jersey numbers as well as programs this offseason.

Duke basketball released its jersey numbers for the 2024-25 season, and all four new faces will wear a different number than they did at their old school.

Syracuse’s Maliq Brown and Tulane’s Sion James didn’t have much of a choice, in all fairness. They both wore No. 1 for their old programs, but returning guard Caleb Foster already called dibs on that number during his freshman season in 2023-24.

Brown will instead don No. 6, and James will wear No. 14.

By luck, the only two returning Blue Devils starters blocked three of the four incoming transfers from their old numbers. Rice transfer Cameron Sheffield ran wore No. 5 for the Owls, but junior Tyrese Proctor wore that number for the last two years and he’ll also be back. Sheffield swapped to No. 13.

Mason Gillis wore No. 0 when he played for Purdue. Even though the number is available (Jared McCain wore it as a freshman last season, but he’d headed to the NBA), Gillis instead switched to No. 18.

Check out a full list of Duke’s 2024-25 basketball roster with updated jersey numbers here.