Next Up: Coastal Carolina
Duke will be heavily favored against Coastal, but don't write them off just yet.
Durham, North Carolina - November 2 saw Duke welcoming Coastal Carolina to Cameron Indoor Stadium. Coastal's coach, Justin Gray, is a former Wake Forest guard who has done well at Coastal, finishing with 19-13 records in his two seasons. Gray built his program on "the Coastal Edge," emphasizing effort, toughness, and hard work. Coastal picked up 12 new players in the offseason and pushes the tempo, attacking with dribble-drives and three-pointers.
Their star player is Trey Perry, who had a strong season at Miami of Ohio last year, putting up 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists against Eastern Michigan. Other players include Jaylen Cross, who played at Wake Forest last year, and Ashton Penny's son, Hardaway, who's familiar to Duke fans. The team has one player over 6-9, Caleb Middleton, but faces a major challenge against Duke's bigs like Pat Ngongba and JoJo Boumtje Boumtje.
Jon Scheyer's defense includes Drew Scharnowski, Cameron Williams, and Maxime Meyer. Coastal's perimeter defense has also improved with Cayden Boozer and John Blackwell. Freshman Deron Rippey made a jaw-dropping play against Army, running a follow-up dunk that left everyone in awe. While Duke is a sizeable team, Gray's coaching skills have been recognized, and he might bring a small ball team to challenge Duke's versatility.
An upset is possible, but it seems unlikely, as Duke's size and versatility are significant advantages.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
