Welcome to The Duke Basketball Project

Covering Duke Basketball past and present.

The Duke Basketball Project will cover Duke Basketball both past and present.  My main focus will be to re-watch classic games throughout Coach K’s career. I will also include content on the current season, the first for the Duke program under Coach Scheyer. Finally, I hope to post some bonus content including essays, stats, photos, and anything else I find noteworthy.   

I have loved Duke basketball for as long as I can remember.  The 2022-2023 season will be my 35th season as a Duke fan - the only reason that number isn’t higher is because I’ll turn 39 in June. 

As a kid, I would hang on every game, especially weekend afternoon games when I could watch with my dad.  As an adult, I never miss a game and if I do, I always watch via DVR or streaming replay before the next game on the schedule.  My wife and I have been members of the Iron Dukes for almost 10 years and were even fortunate enough to be season ticket holders one year, a dream come true. 

In thinking about Coach K’s retirement, his career, his wins, his championships - the thing I kept coming back to is just how great it was to watch almost his entire career (if only I was born a little earlier) and pull for Duke every game, every season, win or lose.  I also realized that the only thing I would change would be to enjoy every game more. The feeling of winning a National Championship is unbelievable - so good I can’t even describe it and, of course, I am just a fan - I can’t imagine actually being part of the Duke program. But championships are hard to come by, especially in the NCAA Tournament, and I’ve been thinking about how many great games Coach K was a part of and how lucky I was to get to experience them all.  In other words, of course I remember watching Duke beat Butler in 2010 but I also remember the home win over Miami in 2013, the Miracle Minute in 2001, the game winner at NC State in 1996, the comeback at Louisville in 2019. I think it’s a shame these awesome games get lost in history simply because they weren’t in the Final Four or ACC Championship. I want to remember them all, not just the championships (although I’ll cover plenty of those too).  

More than one thing can be true. I’m not revisiting the past because I wish Coach K would have stayed longer.  I’m so happy for him, Mrs. Krzyzewski, and his entire family.  I love Coach Scheyer and am so pumped to watch this season.  While I’m pulling for Duke in the present, I’ll also be reminiscing on the past and hopefully putting together some content Duke fans will enjoy.

Thanks for reading, Go Duke!