Why Duke Basketball Players ‘Take So Much Joy in Each Other’s Success’

As Duke basketball sophomore guard Cayden Boozer mentioned recently on The Brotherhood Podcast when assessing a 102-62 home exhibit win over the Belmont Bruins previously this month, the talent-rich 2026-27 Blue Devils are “not a team that has bad blood for each other.” Well, that style of sharing genuine pleasure in each other’s success once again appeared clear as day in their next preseason getaway, Tuesday night’s 103-64 home blowout over the Tennessee Volunteers.Wild bench events. Fist bumps all over the court. High fives. Pats on the back. Favorable finger pointing galore. You call it, the Duke basketball gamers showed it while 11 of the 13 who saw action in the contest wound up tallying a minimum of a number of points, with 6 reaching double digits in the scoring column.

every pail pic.twitter.com/KMHRJoypgY– Duke Men’s Basketball(@DukeMBB )October 21, 2026

How has fifth-year Blue Devil head coach Jon Scheyer and his personnel handled to establish the present lot into such an unselfish, unified system this early in the procedure?”We preach it, but at the end of the day, you can’t force that,” Scheyer discussed to Duke Blue Devils On SI throughout his interview following the triumph over the Volunteers. “That’s something that has to come from within. And I think our vets set the tone. I mentioned the example of Cayden and John . I could say the same thing for Dame . I could say the same thing for Pat . You know, as a young guy with that group.

“None of those guys required shots. They were all effective. And I believe that sets the tone. I enjoy how that is. We’ve got to be that method when we’re not winning too. We’ve got to be that method when things aren’t going our method. The truth that we have it in us is terrific.”

Duke Basketball Senior on Foundation of Blue Devils’ Shared Joy

John Blackwell, one of the top transfer portal prizes in the country after averaging 19.1 points per game as a junior for the Wisconsin Badgers last season, has totaled 35 points across only 47 minutes as a starter in the exhibition wins over Belmont and Tennessee. Between those two games, he boasts a team-high plus/minus of +62, meaning Duke has outscored its preseason opponents by an average of 1.3 points per minute when the 6-foot-5, 205-pound Michigan native has been on the floor.

However, in the locker room following his latest veteran performance, Blackwell was more than happy to shift the attention to teammates and talk about the roots of the Blue Devils’ impressive early camaraderie.

“I believe it simply began in the offseason– with us hanging out, us kicking it, doing things together,” Blackwell recounted to Duke Blue Devils On SI, later citing a team trip to Wilmington in September, his workouts alongside freshman guard Deron Rippey Jr. in Los Angeles earlier in the offseason, and a few more bonding times in various places with his teammates. “When you wind up caring these guys off the court, you take a lot pleasure in their success.