The recently approved NCAA vs. House settlement shook the college athletics world this past week, as universities are now allowed to pay their athletes directly from their own funding. But beyond that massive storyline, there’s been plenty of news around the Duke Blue Devils besides that, so we’re here to keep you caught up.
Here’s your latest round-up of Duke news.
Men’s basketball to open up at Dick Vitale Invitational
The Duke men’s basketball program announced in early May that it would face off against the Texas Longhorns on November 4th in what would likely be the Blue Devils’ 2025-26 season opener. It was recently reported that the event the two programs will play in will be the inaugural Dick Vitale Invitational in honor of the legendary broadcaster. The contest will be played at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC, on Vitale’s 86th birthday. It’s technically a neutral court game, but it will be close to home for the Blue Devils as Charlotte is only about a two-hour drive from Durham. This will be a massive opportunity for this young Duke squad to open up its gauntlet of a non-con slate with a win over a team that could be a top five or six squad in the SEC next season. After bringing in Sean Miller from Xavier as the next head coach of the Longhorns, Texas reeled in the No. 1 overall transfer class per the On3 Transfer Portal Team Industry Rankings. Duke’s incoming freshmen won’t have any time to acclimate to the college game before a marquee matchup in early November.
Cam Reddish invited to free agent camp
Former Duke basketball guard and six-year NBA vet Cam Reddish has been invited to a free agent mini camp with the Dallas Mavericks this week as the wing looks to keep his pro career alive. Reddish spent the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, appearing in 33 games for the franchise in 2024-25, but was waived in March. Coming into his freshman year at Duke regarded as the best shooter in the class, Reddish had a bit of an up-and-down rookie year with the Blue Devils. But after being a big piece of the 2019 squad that earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and made it to the Elite 8, Reddish decided to enter the 2019 NBA Draft. After being selected tenth overall by the Atlanta Hawks, Reddish became the third Blue Devil taken in the top ten in that draft, as Zion Williamson was selected No. 1 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans and RJ Barrett went third to the New York Knicks. In his third season in the NBA, Reddish was shipped to New York and then later traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. He’s yet to find his footing in the NBA, never eclipsing 40% or better shooting from three in a season. Now searching for his fifth team in seven seasons, Reddish is looking for a new home to remain in the NBA.
Duke football disrespected based on ESPN FPI
ESPN calculated its first edition of next season’s college football Football Power Index (FPI), and the Duke Blue Devils are regarded as a middle-of-the-pack program based on it. Here’s how the preseason FPI is determined by ESPN: “Each team’s FPI rating is composed of a predicted offensive, defensive and special teams component. These ratings represent the number of points each unit is expected to contribute to the team’s net scoring margin on a neutral field against an average FBS opponent. In the preseason, these components are made up entirely of data from previous seasons, such as returning starters, past performance, recruiting rankings and coaching tenure.” According to this algorithm, Duke is seen as the 10th-best team in the ACC, nowhere near the heights Manny Diaz is looking to take the program after securing its third nine-win season since joining the ACC in 1953 this past campaign. Pressure is mounting on the Blue Devils after the heavy investment they made in quarterback Darian Mensah, but it looks like Duke football will be heavily underrated heading into the 2025 season.