Former Duke basketball forward Jaemyn Brakefield Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Former Duke Basketball Talent Gives Endearing Signal After Beating UNC

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Matt Giles | Last updated Mar 22, 2025 10:14 AM ET

Thanks in part to former one-year Duke basketball forward Jaemyn Brakefield's production off the bench, the No. 6 seed Ole Miss Rebels (23-11) advanced to the NCAA Tournament South Regional Round of 32 by recording a 71-64 victory over the No. 11 seed Tar Heels (23-14) in Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum on Friday.

And it appears that Brakefield, who was 0-2 versus the archrival Tar Heels while at Duke in 2020-21, found extra satisfaction in defeating UNC. With goggles on in the winning locker room afterward, the 24-year-old re-endeared himself to Blue Devil faithful by flashing the following "bull horns" hand signal (a symbol of the "Bull City" Durham and nowadays embraced as a secondary Duke logo):

Shoutout to JBrake! pic.twitter.com/ZjIOonQxmd
— Blue Devils (@BlueDevils) March 22, 2025

Across his 27 minutes of action versus the Tar Heels, Brakefield tallied 12 points, three rebounds, and four assists while shooting 3-for-8 from the field, 2-for-5 beyond the arc, and 4-for-6 at the foul line.

Through 34 outings this season, his fourth at Ole Miss, Brakefield is averaging 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. He's shooting 50.4 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three, and 72.2 percent at the charity stripe.

He and the Rebels next face the No. 3 seed Iowa State Cyclones (25-9) at 7:45 p.m. ET Sunday (truTV).

Meanwhile, third-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer and his No. 1 seed Blue Devils (32-3) are gearing up to face one of the program's former players in Jeremy Roach and the No. 9 seed Baylor Bears (20-14) at 2:40 p.m. Sunday (CBS).

This article first appeared on Duke Blue Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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