Cameron Indoor Stadium is back. And for once, not much has changed.
After a year marked by its newness — a new head coach, nearly all new starters — Duke basketball seems to be embracing continuity. Less than an hour before Countdown to Craziness kicked off, the news dropped that Jon Scheyer will be officially extending his tenure as head coach until the 2028-29 season. So when his blue and white Nike Air Force sneakers stepped onto the Coach K Court, they walked into their second year in what looks to be a comfortable duration in Durham.
“I’m committed to Duke. To know that [it’s] committed to me … is great,” Scheyer said in a press conference after the event.
Holding onto tradition
Like always, Cascada’s “Everytime We Touch” blared from the loudspeakers, the Dancing Devils were the first act on deck and every basketball player busted a move to a walkout song of his or her choice. Except Stanley Borden, who took a different approach and actually performed his own rendition of Ceelo Green’s “Forget You” for the crowd.
All of it, the light show and the singing and the dancing on the press table, was for the Cameron Crazies. That’s the biggest consistency in Cameron Indoor: An overcrowded student section, plastic light-up devil horns, loud traditional songs from the bleachers. It was the first thing to come out of Kara Lawson’s mouth when she took hold of a microphone to welcome the crowd to Countdown.
“It’s the Cameron Crazies that make [Duke] special,” Lawson said to the stands.
Women’s team takes the floor
The basketball part of Countdown got going with a quick scrimmage between two halves of the women’s team. It was the first opportunity for the Blue Devil faithful to see a program that has undergone a rocky road of changes in the offseason in action, and it was more promising than some might have expected.
The Blue Devil women have added some significant height to their roster this season. Their scrimmage, a new addition to Countdown, was all about defense, headed by senior center Kennedy Brown and her new counterpart in graduate transfer Camilla Emsbo — who was also the first player to put points on the board in a nice jumper from right within the arc.
The loss of Celeste Taylor to Ohio State at the end of last season meant a heavy defensive blow to Duke — in 2023, she was ACC Defensive Player of the Year. A strong defensive showing from so many players in the scrimmage, then, indicated the power that this team might still have in that area, despite a slim roster that has been victim to a number of curveballs over the past few months.
Offensive power was less visible from the Blue Devils, especially at the start of the scrimmage. They found their footing eventually, however, and ended the matchup with a barrage of pretty shots from deep. Junior guard Reigan Richardson took one, as did anticipated newbie guard Taina Mair. The last downtown number came from sophomore guard Emma Koabel. Sharing a locker room with Taylor, Shayeann Day-Wilson and Vanessa de Jesus meant the Canadian Blue Devil rarely saw the court last year. This season, however, with de Jesus out with an injury and the other two gone via transfer portal, Koabel might just make a Devilish debut — especially if she plays the season like she played at Countdown.
The boys are back
They danced, then they played. The first points came from senior captain Jeremy Roach, an elbow three off a Tyrese Proctor assist. In some ways, Roach and Proctor are like a new generation of the Jones brothers, clad in jersey numbers three and five just like Tre and Tyus wore. Proctor is now firmly rooted in the point guard role, while Roach takes advantage of his newfound mobility to find open pockets of space and turn Proctor’s plays into points. Their chemistry was evident Friday night.
“I thought they just had such great control over their team today,” said Scheyer. “They've fed off one another really well.”
Again, things weren’t much different from last year, especially for the White team. Proctor and Roach kept control of the ball for most of the game en route to a declarative 33-18 victory over the Blue team.
With Kyle Filipowski, Roach and Proctor concentrated together in the White team, the Blue team was all about new talent taking the chance to get comfortable in Cameron. That doesn’t mean it was all about the freshmen — sophomore guard Jaden Schutt, who saw limited minutes in last year’s schedule but made a number of significant appearances towards the end of the season, played most of the scrimmage. More confident now without his rookie status, Schutt held onto the ball for the Blue team and exercised some tight defense, sticking like glue to Roach. Duke’s guard room is loaded, but early indications from Countdown to Craziness won’t be his only moment of stardom in his sophomore season.
On the freshman front, there was a bit of division. Sean Stewart, Caleb Foster and Jared McCain played together in blue, while TJ Power joined the more veteran team in white. The latter stuck out most. Power carried himself with confidence on the court, fitting into an easy rhythm with his older teammates. The Worcester Academy product was part of the effort that passed the ball sharply around the court to set Filipowski up for a slam dunk in the final minutes of the scrimmage.
“I didn't see many nerves tonight overall,” Scheyer said. “They’ve been waiting for this, to play in front of a crowd.”
Speaking of crowds — while his team was busy dunking, Scheyer was busy in the student section. Persistent chants of “Jon Scheyer, sit with us!” from the crowd summoned the head coach to section 17, where he was consumed into the crowd and handed the famous baby “Cammy,” a doll in shared custody of the Line Monitors.
“They’re the best,” Scheyer said of the Cameron Crazies. “To fill up that entire section is not an easy thing. The turnout and the support is special.”
Brotherhood
Roach dribbled the ball down the court and passed it off to Proctor with a grin on his face. It was mid-scrimmage, his forehead glistened with sweat and the Blue team had just scored. And Roach was smiling.
Friday’s event had so much to do with tradition. It started with a video tribute to the history of Duke basketball: Flashes of Mike Krzyzewski hugging his players, film reels of Blue Devil legends dunking the ball, Scheyer cutting the net to take home after winning the ACC Championship in his first year as head coach. At the end of the day, Countdown is a stakes-free event, with no bearing on the team’s season success. Still, every year, students and Durhamites pack the showpiece, eager to watch this tribute to Duke basketball, just like the Brotherhood is eager to play it.
“You can’t put into words the energy you feel when you’re playing in Cameron,” junior Jaylen Blakes said in the locker room afterward.
Scheyer has strong feelings about the Blue Devil brotherhood. “I was a little bit emotional just watching them out there,” he said. “Because all 12 of them are being recruited by other places — they could go pro, they could have done other things.”
He’s right. McCain might make more NIL money at a school in California. Filipowski could be an NBA rookie right now. Schutt could have transferred to get more minutes.
They all stayed at Duke.
“For me, really, it's about relationships,” Scheyer said. It’s a sentiment he shares with his players.
Schutt said he’s “just happy to be back out there playing with [his] buddies.”
Even the newcomers feel the love after just one game — not even a real game — in Cameron Indoor. “I loved playing with my freshmen,” freshman Caleb Foster said. “They’re great guys.”
“Duke will forever be a lifetime decision,” Scheyer said. For him, it certainly is: He played, he assisted, now he’s coaching and he’s here for the long run.
As Friday night showed, so are the Crazies, and so are the players.
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Sophie Levenson is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.