Versatile Duke Basketball Energy on Display in Preseason Debut Victory

It may take some time for the ultra-talented Blue Devils on Jon Scheyer's fifth Duke basketball team to carve out their go-to individual roles.

But as a unit, the early identity appears to center on extreme-energy size and versatility, as evidenced in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday night en route to a 102-62 preseason scrimmage victory over former Blue Devil assistant Evan Bradds and his visiting Belmont Bruins.

S/O Coach Bradds 🤝 pic.twitter.com/27WAmjgEub
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) October 8, 2026

Across the first four minutes of action, the Blue Devils built a 13-7 lead via a widespread attack that included the first board and putback points from 17-year-old starting freshman forward/center Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and, just moments later, a spashed three from the 7-foot-2, 250-pounder.

In his first seven minutes on the floor as a Blue Devil, Boumtje Boumtje poured in 10 points and grabbed four boards, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-3 from three during that stretch. And midway through the first half, Duke led the Bruins, 22-12.

LOCKSMITH 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/AvKWqnPwtJ
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) October 9, 2026

Sophomore wing Dame Sarr then enjoyed another flurry of his own, as the returning Italian starter headed into the locker room tied alongside Boumtje Boumtje with their game-high 14 points apiece at halftime. Senior transfer guard and fellow starter John Blackwell, who drained a three from the corner at the halftime buzzer to cap off a 10-run, ended up with 12 points for the Blue Devils across the first 20 minutes of action.

With guard Caleb Foster (ankle) and forward Drew Scharnowski (knee) out of commission for the time being, Scheyer employed a 10-deep rotation in the first half, and his group put together a 49-25 advantage. As a team before the break, Duke shot 16-for-33 from the field, 5-for-14 beyond the arc, and 12-13 at the charity stripe.

first half energy 🔋 pic.twitter.com/6GMGbHSGep
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) October 9, 2026

At that juncture, the jumbo-sized yet impressively uptempo Blue Devils had outrebounded undersized Belmont, 22-15, while tallying nine steals and four blocks.

Duke Basketball Continues to Overpower Bruins in Second Half

The Bruins played even with the Blue Devils across the first six minutes of the second half. However, after starting sophomore guard Cayden Boozer knocked down a three before immediately also coming up a steal and transition dunk to push the lead to 30 at 69-39 with 13:27 to play in the contest, Duke's firepower and strength once again began proving too much for Belmont to contain and counter anywhere near often enough to pose a significant threat.

missed this energy 🔋🔋🔋🔋🏰 pic.twitter.com/5bXHtxGRZA
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) October 9, 2026

In what was the squad's first preseason outing against an opponent, four Blue Devils reached double-digit points: Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje (19 points, 7-for-11 from the field, seven rebounds, two steals, two blocks), Dame Sarr (19 points, 2-for-3 from downtown, 9-for-10 at the foul line, six rebounds, three assists, two steals), John Blackwell (17 points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal), Cayden Boozer (12 points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals, one block), and freshman guard Deron Rippey Jr. (11 points, 4-for-6 from the field, two rebounds, two assists, one steal).

Next up on the Duke basketball preseason slate is a home exhibition game versus Tennessee on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. ET (ACC Network).

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