This season, Duke will be led from the sidelines by new head coach Jon Scheyer. On the court, it will be led by junior point guard Jeremy Roach.
Roach was voted as the Blue Devils’ team captain by his teammates and coaches, the program announced Thursday afternoon. The lone returning starter from Duke’s Final Four team in 2021-22 will serve as the program’s first solo captain since Grayson Allen took up the mantle in 2018 and just the seventh solo captain since former head coach Mike Krzyzewski began his tenure in 1980.
"I've been watching Duke for a long time, so to be named captain of this program, it means a lot to me," Roach said in a team release Thursday. "To know that I'm a part of the Brotherhood and to know that my coaches and teammates have the utmost confidence in me to help lead this group is very meaningful."
In April, Roach announced he would return for a third season in Durham to headline a roster featuring the nation’s top-ranked incoming recruiting class and four graduate transfers. Through two years in Durham, the Leesburg, Va., native has 45 starts to his name and career averages of 8.7 points and 3.0 assists per game.
Along Duke’s road to the national semifinal a season ago, Roach found new life in the postseason, breaking out for a season-high 19 points against Syracuse in the ACC tournament before earning NCAA West Region All-Tournament Team honors after the Blue Devils defeated Arkansas in the Elite Eight in San Francisco.
Roach, along with graduate teammate Jacob Grandison, will accompany Scheyer to Charlotte for ACC Basketball Tipoff Oct. 12 for his first appearance as team captain.
"Jeremy's had great experience in his time at Duke and he knows what it takes to get to the highest level in guiding us to the Final Four," Scheyer said in Thursday's release. "He's the guy we want leading us and we're proud of him and the strides he's made in the two-and-a-half years here. He shows up everyday and he's as hard of a worker as we have. He leads by example, and that's what's most important. Player-led teams can put us in position to have a successful season, and I know Jeremy is ready for the opportunity."
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Jonathan Levitan is a Trinity senior and was previously sports editor of The Chronicle's 118th volume.