Duke’s ‘Countdown to Craziness’ a showcase of basketball talent
“Countdown to Craziness” at Duke the past few years has had a different twist. It proved to be the countdown to championships.
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Both the Duke men’s and women’s basketball teams won ACC championships the past two seasons. There was much to celebrate, even if there were no nets to cut down at the end of the season.
A three-peat this season in the ACC? No one would be surprised, certainly not the plethora of prognosticators on podcasts and other social media platforms hawking their preseason predictions.
Those who came to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday for this year’s “Countdown” saw a lot of basketball talent on the floor. Jon Scheyer could have a hard time dividing up the minutes with this year’s men’s team, and women’s coach Kara Lawson could have a team capable of taking that next step and getting to a Final Four.
Both teams made grand entrances, introduced individually. There was a dunk contest, with 6-3 freshman guard Deron Rippey Jr. bringing some big cheers with a 360 slam, but Toby Fournier — a 6-2 junior and last year’s leading scorer for Lawson and the Blue Devils — cranking the volume even higher with a dunk.
Both teams scrimmaged and Scheyer was able to send out Blue and White teams that could contend in the ACC this season. That’s not hyperbole. The Blue Devils, who could be ranked No. 1 when the preseason poll is released, are that deep.
If this was a preview of what’s to come, the men’s scrimmage included:
– Transfer guard John Blackwell showing his strength with some power moves to the basket in scoring 10 points.
– Patrick Ngongba II with the perfect high-low pass to Caleb Foster for a reverse layup.
– Cayden Boozer with a well-timed lob pass to freshman Max Meyer for a slam.
– Freshman forward Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje handling the ball like a guard on the perimeter.
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— Sebastian Wilkins, who red-shirted last year, with a hustling steal and fast-break dunk.
– Rippey ending the scrimmage with a 3-pointer from the wing for the winner.
The Duke practices, which are closed, are said to have been ever intense with this group. There is no Cooper Flagg or Cameron Boozer to be the focal point of the offense and a dependable double-double guy. There are positions to be won, by young and old alike.
Rippey has that extra quickness and some explosiveness to his game. Boumtje Boumtje is 7-2 and can play all over the floor. Blackwell knows how to score. Ngongba looks leaner. Foster is ready to lead.
Both the men and women had their season end in the NCAA’s Elite Eight in 2025-26. The Duke women, who call themselves “The Sisterhood,” were 16-2 in the ACC and 27-9 overall.
Lawson recently coached Team USA to a gold medal in the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin. She’d like to play for another championship this season in the NCAA.
Scheyer’s team lost a heartbreaker to Connecticut in the regional final after reaching the Final Four in 2025. The Duke men will be after the school’s first NCAA title since 2015.
Judging by what was seen Saturday night at Cameron, there’s nothing crazy about thinking either could happen this season.
This story was originally published October 3, 2026 at 10:21 PM with the headline “Duke’s ‘Countdown to Craziness’ a showcase of basketball talent.”
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