2023-24

Season Overview

Jon Scheyer's second season was built on the foundation his first had laid — and this time, the pieces fit from the start. The unprecedented roster retention from 2022-23 gave Duke something it hadn't had in over a decade: continuity. Sophomore Kyle Filipowski returned as a preseason All-American, the first Duke player to come back after earning first-team All-ACC honors since Grayson Allen in 2017. Junior Jeremy Roach was the team's steadying veteran, entering his fourth year as a rotation player and his third as a starter. Sophomore Tyrese Proctor and sophomore Mark Mitchell both returned with refined games. And the incoming freshman class brought Jared McCain (#14 nationally, a 6-3 shooting guard from Centennial High School in Corona, California with an enormous social media following and an even bigger shot), Caleb Foster (#23 nationally, a point guard from Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga via the same Paul VI Catholic pipeline as Roach and Keels), TJ Power, and Sean Stewart.

The season began ranked #8 and Duke quickly established itself as a contender, beating Kentucky in the Champions Classic yet again and climbing into the top 10. But the team's rhythm took time. McCain averaged just 7.6 points over his first eight games, adjusting to the speed and physicality of college basketball. Then something clicked. From mid-December forward, McCain became one of the most dangerous perimeter shooters in the country — averaging 15.5 points the rest of the way, hitting 41.4% of his three-pointers on 5.8 attempts per game, and showing a fearless shot-making ability that would eventually produce historic results in March.

Filipowski was the constant. The 7-footer improved his efficiency across the board — shooting 50.5% from the field and 34.8% from three, nearly doubling his assists, and establishing himself as a consensus second-team All-American. He scored his 1,000th career point at Wake Forest, becoming just the 12th Blue Devil to reach that milestone in two seasons. His combination of scoring versatility, passing, and shot-blocking made him the most complete player in the ACC.

The rivalry with UNC produced two painful losses. At Chapel Hill on February 3, #3 North Carolina beat #7 Duke 93-84 — Harrison Ingram posted a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double with four steals, and the Tar Heels' physical defense forced 11 Duke turnovers. At Cameron on March 9 — Senior Night for the program — UNC returned and won again, 84-79, clinching the outright ACC regular-season title on Duke's home floor. Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 31 points, shooting 6-of-8 from three. After the final buzzer, UNC players gathered near the Cameron Crazies section and waved goodbye in a taunting farewell — prompting fans to throw water bottles and plastic cups. Scheyer apologized to the front row of Crazies afterward: 'I'm sorry. We're going to keep going, we're going to get this right.'

Retired Coach K, making a rare courtside appearance for the Senior Night game, watched from the stands as his former rival's program celebrated on his court.

The ACC Tournament brought a rematch with NC State in the quarterfinals, and it foreshadowed what was to come. Filipowski was brilliant — 28 points on 13-of-20 shooting with 14 rebounds — but Duke lost 74-69 as DJ Horne hit a late basket and the Wolfpack's defensive pressure overwhelmed Duke's guards. It was the start of NC State's remarkable eight-game winning streak that would carry them all the way to the Final Four.

Duke entered the NCAA Tournament as a #4 seed in the South Region, carrying some uncertainty after back-to-back losses. What followed was a March run that validated the entire season. Against Vermont in the Round of 64, Filipowski grabbed 12 rebounds despite attempting just one shot, and Duke advanced comfortably. Against James Madison in the Round of 32, Jared McCain erupted — shooting 8-of-14 from three-point range (breaking Duke's single-game NCAA Tournament three-point record) en route to 30 points in a 93-55 demolition. It was the first of two historic tournament performances.

The Sweet 16 brought #1-seed Houston at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Cougars were the regional favorites and one of the best defensive teams in the country. Duke matched their physicality. Graduate center Ryan Young — a player who had been an afterthought for much of the season — posted a remarkable +18 plus/minus and provided interior toughness that changed the game. Filipowski had 16 points. Duke won 54-51 in an absolute grind — the kind of defensive slugfest that Duke teams of the one-and-done era rarely won. It was the program's biggest tournament upset since beating #1 overall seed Gonzaga would have been — actually, it was just a phenomenal win against the tournament's #1 seed.

The Elite Eight brought NC State. Again. And this time, the Wolfpack were playing with destiny's hand on their shoulder. Duke led 27-21 at halftime behind another hot start from McCain (11 straight points early). But NC State's DJ Burns — the 275-pound senior who'd become March's most unlikely star — erupted for 29 points on 13-of-19 shooting. The Wolfpack outscored Duke 55-37 in the second half. Filipowski fouled out with 4:52 remaining. Proctor went scoreless on 0-of-9 shooting. The only Duke player who showed fight was McCain, who finished with 32 points — tying Zion Williamson's Duke freshman NCAA Tournament scoring record. He became the first Duke freshman to score 30+ twice in a single NCAA Tournament.

Final: NC State 76, Duke 64. The Wolfpack — an 11-seed that had been 17-14 before their magical run began — went on to the Final Four.

'This is not easy,' Scheyer said afterward. 'We never had a rhythm on offense.'

What followed in April was seismic. McCain and Filipowski declared for the NBA Draft (McCain went #16 to the Philadelphia 76ers; Filipowski went #32 to the Utah Jazz). Then came the transfer portal exodus: a program-record seven players entered the portal — Jeremy Roach (to Baylor), Mark Mitchell (to Missouri), Sean Stewart (to Ohio State), TJ Power (to Virginia), Jaylen Blakes (to Stanford), Christian Reeves (to Clemson), and Jaden Schutt (to Virginia Tech). Combined with Ryan Young's eligibility expiring, Duke was left with just two returning scholarship players who had scored a single point: Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster.

The exodus was unprecedented in Duke history and raised fundamental questions about the transfer portal era's impact on program continuity. The zero-portal-departure retention of 2022-23 — the story that had defined Scheyer's first year — was obliterated in his second. The roster that had reached the Elite Eight was scattered across nine different programs and two NBA teams within a month of the season ending.

But Scheyer had already planned for this. His 2024 recruiting class, headlined by the consensus #1 overall recruit Cooper Flagg, was ready. The Scheyer era was about to enter a new phase entirely.

Duke led 27-21 at halftime, holding NC State to its second-lowest first-half output of the season. McCain had 11 straight early points and the defense looked championship-caliber. Then DJ Burns happened. The 275-pound senior, who'd become March's most unlikely folk hero, scored 29 points on 13-of-19 shooting in a second-half demolition. NC State outscored Duke 55-37 after the break. Filipowski fouled out with 4:52 remaining. Proctor went scoreless on 0-of-9 shooting — the worst game of his Duke career, at the worst possible time. Only McCain fought: his 32 points tied Zion Williamson's Duke freshman NCAA Tournament scoring record. He became the first Duke freshman to post two 30-point games in a single tournament. But it wasn't enough. The Wolfpack — 17-14 before their magical run began — were headed to the Final Four. Duke was headed into the most dramatic offseason in program history.