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Duke Blue Devils Announce Exciting News on Monday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Escarpio | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 3:21 PM ET

The Duke Blue Devils have been at the top of the college basketball world for years, now working under head coach Jon Scheyer.

Scheyer earned the keys to the program when legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski retired. He recently capped off his third season at Duke.

After leading Duke to a 35-4 record, with the help of consensus No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, the Blue Devils announced some exciting news for next season.

Duke will have three matchups, one against Howard and two against Niagara in their 2025-26 season schedule.

The Blue Devils will be going up against two former Duke players in the process. Kenny Blakeney, who played for the Blue Devils from 1991 to 1995, is currently the head coach at Howard.

Greg Paulus previously played for the Blue Devils from 2005 to 2009. Paulus is now the head coach at Niagara and has been since 2019.

"Brotherhood Run --> regular-season edition otw," posted the official social media account of the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team. "Got Howard (Kenny Blakeney - Duke '95) & Niagara (HC Greg Paulus - Duke '09) heading to Cameron!"

Brotherhood Run --> regular-season edition otw!

Got Howard (Kenny Blakeney - Duke '95) & Niagara (HC Greg Paulus - Duke '09) heading to Cameron! pic.twitter.com/7htKvE8aJK
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) June 23, 2025

Jon Scheyer announced the initial news, sharing high praise for both programs listed while revealing his excitement for the opportunity that lies ahead.

"I’m excited to announce the return of the brotherhood run," Scheyer said. "This season we’ll be playing Howard and Niagara for our MTE exception here in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Kenny Blakeney, Greg Paulus have done amazing jobs at Howard and Niagara… We’ll get them back here. Each team will play each other over the course of the couple days. It will be a great opportunity for our team. It will also be a great opportunity to honor each of them and bring them back home to Cameron Indoor Stadium. Really excited and can’t wait to bring them back here."

Duke will begin their matchups against the programs listed on Nov. 21. They're set to play Niagara on back-to-back days and follow that with a matchup against Howard on Nov. 23.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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