Duke Football Star 'Willing to Come Off the Bench' in Basketball

In an alternate universe, Darius Joiner is a beloved Duke basketball great.

Author:
Matt Giles
Oct 6, 2022 7:45 AM EDT

In this story:

Duke football grad senior Darius Joiner grew up a Duke basketball fan and even earned the nickname "Duke" from his uncle. In other words, it's in his blood.

But the 6-foot-2, 200-pound defensive back transferred to Duke from Western Illinois to play football in Durham this season for first-year head coach Mike Elko. And Joiner is performing exceptionally well at that, ranking No. 7 among all FBS players with his team-high 30 solo tackles (41 total) for the feel-good Blue Devils (4-1, 1-0 ACC).

Even so, because of his Duke basketball fandom and notable prep career years ago on both the gridiron and hardwood, the 24-year-old sometimes attracts questions these days about whether he could hold his own if hooping with Jon Scheyer's bunch in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

That was the case this week during the good-natured Joiner's highly entertaining appearance on the ACC Network's "ACC PM":

Darius Joiner firmly rejected any claim that sophomore starting quarterback Riley Leonard or sophomore receiver Jordan Moore might be the premier basketball player on the Duke football team, not to mention joking that he wouldn't even need to be a starter to put up lofty averages for Scheyer.

Oh, and he noted that his game is pretty much a mashup of three top-shelf NBA names.

"I think I'm a mixture of a little Kyrie with a little Kobe, a little Ray Allen kind of jumper," Joiner told the crew. "I feel like I got it all. I feel like I'm the full package...I'm a little biased, though."

Although the following hoops highlights are now more than five years old, it does appear Joiner was a zippy playmaker for Handley High School in Roanoke, Ala.:

Would Darius Joiner consider playing basketball for the Blue Devils after football season ends if a wave of injuries hit the Duke basketball backcourt? Yes, or so it sounds, but he'd be mindful not to get in the way of junior point guard and projected starter Jeremy Roach.

"I've done an interview, and somebody asked me about that," Joiner said. "I told them I'm willing to come off the bench, try to give them 35 and 10 off the bench, just let Mr. Roach do his thing; I know he's going to the league next year, but I don't want to overshadow or step on anybody's toes...I think you guys should tell [Scheyer] for me."

Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country for more Duke football and basketball content.