In six weeks time, Duke basketball will host Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium, highlighting the beginning of the 2025-26 season.
Just a couple weeks after that, the Blue Devils will play exhibitions against UCF (Oct. 21) and Tennessee (Oct. 26) before officially starting their season on Nov. 4 against Texas as the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
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Duke will be debuting a nearly new look squad from its 2025 Final Four run, with the entirety of its starting five being selected in the 2025 NBA Draft. Fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer returns Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evans, Maliq Brown, Darren Harris, Cameron Sheffield and Patrick Ngongba II, while bringing in the top-rated recruiting class for the second-straight year. Highlighting that class is Cameron and Cayden Boozer, twin brothers and the son of former Duke and NBA standout Carlos Boozer. Sebastian Wilkins, Nikolas Khamenia and Dame Sarr round out the true freshman, while Duke welcomes transfers Ifeanyi Ufochukwu (Rice) and Jack Scott (Princeton).
With classes beginning Aug. 25, preseason practices in Durham are just around the corner after a busy summer. Here’s what the starting lineup could look like when the Blue Devils tip off the 2025-26 season in early November against the Longhorns.
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Caleb Foster, G, 6-5, Jr.
A junior guard, Foster enters his third season at Duke as one of the Blue Devils’ veteran leaders. He made an early impact as a freshman, averaging 7.7 points and 2.4 assists with 15 starts in 27 games and averaging 25 minutes per game. He saw his role shrink some in 2024-25, opening the season in Duke’s starting five before coming off the bench. He finished 2024-25 averaging 4.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 14.1 minutes per game. With a new-look roster around him, Foster’s experience and leadership will be pivotal in 2025-26.
Isaiah Evans, G/F, 6-6, So.
Another returner from last year’s Final Four squad, Evans opted out of the NBA Draft and decided to return to Durham for his second year with the Blue Devils. He is coming off a freshman season that saw him appear in 36 games with three starts, averaging 6.8 points, shooting 41.6% from 3-point range. He finished the season ranking 10th on Duke’s single-season list for freshman with 62 made treys. One of the Blue Devils’ most productive bench players in 2024-25, Evans is expected to take on a larger role in 2025-26.
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Dame Sarr, G/F, 6-8, Fr.
A native of Oderzo, Italy, Sarr joined Duke’s 2025 class as a late commitment on May 22 after playing for FC Barcelona. During the 2024-25 domestic season, Sarr shot 52.1% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 12.6 minutes per game. He is most recently coming off the 2025 Nike Hoops Summit, where he posted 17 points and four rebounds in 25 minutes of action. With his size and skillset, Sarr has the chance to come to Durham and make an immediate impact.
Cameron Boozer, F, 6-9, Fr.
The two-time Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award (2023, 2025), Boozer comes to Durham as the headliner of Duke’s 2025 recruiting class and as the top-rated forward and the third-rated prospect in the 2025 class, per the 247Sports Composite. A four-time high school state champion, Boozer averaged 22.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals during his senior campaign, shooting 62% from the field and 46.7% from beyond the 3-point line. With his size, versatility and skill set, he’s expected to make an immediate impact and play a key role in Duke’s frontcourt.
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Patrick Ngongba II, C, 6-11, So.
Ngongba’s freshman season was limited by a lingering foot injury dating back to his high school days, but he still appeared in 30 games, averaging 10.5 minutes with 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest. Hopefully fully healthy heading into the season, the sophomore big man is expected to take on a much larger role in 2025-26, helping to anchor Duke’s frontcourt following the departure of Khaman Maluach.
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball: Starting lineup prediction for 2025-26 season opener
