The 2025-26 Duke basketball season is officially here, and fans got their first look at the Blue Devils on Friday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium at Countdown to Craziness.
The evening featured the first public scrimmage for the Blue Devils ahead of the 2025-26 season. Fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer has a roster with returners like Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans along with the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class featuring twin brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer.
“I really like this group, it’s going to be a great journey we’re going to be on,” Scheyer said to the fans before the scrimmage.
Duke will play exhibitions vs. UCF (Oct. 21) and at Tennessee (Oct. 26) before officially starting its season on Nov. 4 against Texas as the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
The Blue Devils took part in a 12-minute scrimmage, splitting into the Blue and White teams on Friday. The Blue team consisted of Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evans, Sebastian Wilkins, Nik Khamenia, Patrick Ngongba II and Jack Scott. The White team consisted of Cameron Boozer, Dame Sarr, Darren Harris, Cayden Boozer, Cameron Sheffield, Ifeanyi Ufochukwu and Maliq Brown. The Blue team came out victorious, 34-24.
Here are some observations from the first look at the 2025-26 Blue Devils:
Isaiah Evans scores team high points, Caleb Foster leads assists
Isaiah Evans finished the night as Duke’s leading scorer with nine points, with all of his baskets being from deep (3-of-7 from 3). He added a block and a steal, the steal which he turned into a 3 on the other end. Caleb Foster added three points and finished with a team-high four assists along with four rebounds. Foster’s one basket was a 3, coming early in the scrimmage off a Sebastian Wilkins assist.
Boozer brothers’ Duke debut
Twin brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer made their long-awaited Duke debut on Friday night. Cameron finished with eight points, showing he can score in all three phases, going 3-of-6 from the field and 1-of-2 from 3. He added a rebound, two assists and two steals, turning one into a layup in transition. Cayden finished the night with three points, making his sole 3-point attempt which Cameron assisted early in the scrimmage.
Darren Harris’ role will increase
Harris received praise from coaches and players alike during preseason media day, and his performance on Friday night showed why. The 6-foot-5 sophomore scored the first five of the White team’s points with a pull-up jump shot and corner trey, finishing the night with eight points, shooting 2-of-4 from the field and 1-of-3 from 3. He added two rebounds and an assist. He also won the 3-point contest before the scrimmage began, making his last ten 3’s to finish with 27 points over Caleb Foster (23) and associate head coach Chris Carrawell (21).
Patrick Ngongba II will be a force
After a foot injury caused Ngongba II to miss the part of his freshman season, the 6-foot-11 center made his presence known for the Blue team, and not just around the rim but also from deep. Ngongba II made all of his baskets in Friday nights scrimmage to finish with eight points, going 3-of-3 from the field, 1-of-1 from 3 and 1-of-1 from the charity stripe. He added four rebounds, three assists and a team-high two blocked shots, one of his blocks coming on the ensuing possession after his trey.
Sebastian Wilkins made his presence known
Sebastian Wilkins, who reclassified from the 2026 class to join Duke’s top-rated 2025 class, did not show his age in Friday night’s scrimmage. He made the Blue team’s first basket and last basket, both 3’s, ending the night with six points and shooting 2-of-3 from deep. He added three rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.Â