On Thursday, Oct. 31, six Duke club pickleball members traveled to Dallas for their shot at national recognition and prize money upwards of $15,000. The idea for a club pickleball team started just under three years ago when Professor Janis Hampton noticed the sport’s rising popularity amongst students.
The benefit of that strong new mentality — as opposed to a spotless record — lies in longevity. Duke football’s unyielding spirit now has foundations that will last through future seasons, thanks to young classes fully invested in team culture.
To be a college athlete is to perform. But to perform such feats of athleticism also exposes oneself to risk. With the intensity of collegiate athletics comes an increase in injury risk. The cuts become quicker, the impacts harder, the stakes higher and the opponents larger and more imposing.
The foundation of Duke’s 2024 success was laid in the spring, where a new emphasis was placed on leadership, cohesion and communication. It was crucial for every player on the team to understand and be motivated to uphold the Blue Devil standards the coming year.
Koabel and Fournier played together at the U19 FIBA World Championships in Paris in July 2021 and won a bronze medal, becoming just the second Canadian team to reach the podium in the tournament. In their first season together at Duke, Koabel and Fournier will take on the court with similarly high aspirations.
For the first time since she got here, Kara Lawson finally has everything she needs. The numbers say that this group is geared up to be the best team Lawson has coached since she came to Durham, and the media seems to agree.
The Blue Devils’ leader had the opportunity to work with some of the country’s finest coaches, including WNBA coaching legend Cheryl Reeve. Duke fans can be sure that Lawson worked on her own coaching methodology and learned from the nation’s best.
Both Richardson and Jackson cherish the chemistry they have built with teammates both on and off the court. And between the two of them, they put an almost literal spin on The Sisterhood motto.
In 2017, the NBA launched academies in Africa, India and Australia; Mexico received one the following year. These new institutions provide an alternative to prep schools in Europe and the United States — previously the most common routes for top talent from the Global South. The NBA Global Academy directly removes barriers for its participants to reach their full potential, whether that be in college basketball, the G-league or even the NBA.
Wallace teaches a unique education elective called “Race, Sport & Education: Duke men’s basketball.” His class explores the nitty-gritty, sometimes ugly stories and facts that assisted the evolution of perhaps the most storied college basketball program in the country.
John Feinstein fostered a relationship with Mike Krzyzewski that allowed him to see stories that no one else could. While he usually writes neutrally on the Blue Devils, “Five Banners” allowed Feinstein to fully embrace his Duke roots and tell the story of one of the most impressive sports dynasties of all time.
Last season, an injury forced Caleb Foster out of play. Duke's sophomore guard has returned to the floor with the help of a podcast, a pool and a fresh perspective.
Mesalles balances on the precipice of his college career’s end, fast approaching the time of year when any game could be his last. He’s figuring out how to captain a team, which means raising his quiet voice. The one thing around which there exists no doubt is that he will never have a season like this — with Duke — again.
Duke football’s record aside, the Wade Wackos show up on gameday.
In the 23 years between his first team and his last team, Church has built Duke women’s soccer into a national powerhouse, inspired and encouraged dozens of young women and left his mark — not only on Duke but also on the women’s college and professional soccer world.
Many agree that the unique form of celebration is a special part of Duke’s history. Yet, the union of passionate students with blazing bonfires has also raised concerns of safety and fueled disputes with University administration and public safety officers over the years.
With ESPN and Bowden’s Florida State as Diaz’s first two employers, the young professional understood valuable lessons about attention to detail and what it takes to be great at the highest level, a key lesson for Diaz when he was “young and very malleable.”
There’s a reason Diaz wanted to make sure Feeley would stay when the new head coach took the job at Duke. It’s the same reason players constantly mention him when talking about their personal growth, and it’s a major part of the program’s transformation over the last two years. Feeley is the glue, the engine, the heart and the soul of Duke football.
Brewer looks to boost the Blue Devils’ hopes in 2024 with his form of play-calling: the tempo offense. This aggressive style revolves around the play clock. In this offense, plays are often run almost immediately after the clock begins, skipping the huddle and running straight up to the line of scrimmage. Not only does the tempo offense force a quick defensive response, it also disorients and even exhausts opposing defenses.
For three major contributors, every road led right back to Durham, giving new head coach Manny Diaz three cornerstones to work with in addition to the strong returning cast.
