Duke basketball to bring back one of its greatest players for a charity exhibition game
Duke basketball has a new preseason plan that involves leaning on the program’s rich history.
The Blue Devils will play a charity exhibition game at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Arizona State, coached by former Duke All-American guard Bobby Hurley, at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27.
Ticket details have yet to be finalized but the game will be separate from Duke’s season-ticket packages.
Dubbed the “Brotherhood Run,” the game’s proceeds will go to Duke Children’s Hospital. Duke intends to make this a regular event involving former Blue Devils.
“We are excited about the Brotherhood Run, playing Arizona State for a charity exhibition game,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said in a statement. “This is the first time we’ve done something like this. Duke Children’s Hospital has been a great partner to our program for a long time, starting with Coach K, and to keep that relationship going means a lot to me and to our program. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with them to raise awareness for all the incredible work they are doing.”
The NCAA allows Division I teams to play public exhibition games with lower division teams, while normally limiting preseason competitions between Division I teams to scrimmages in a closed gym setting. But an exception is made for charity exhibitions. For example, Michigan and Oakland announced Tuesday they’ll play at exhibition in Detroit on Oct. 20 to benefit that city’s Forgotten Harvest food charity.
Duke annually plays exhibitions at Cameron Indoor against Division II teams. The Blue Devils are playing Lincoln (Pa.) at 1 p.m. Oct. 19.
Over the past three seasons, covering Mike Krzyzewski’s final season as head coach and Scheyer’s first two seasons, Duke paired the exhibition with a closed scrimmage. Duke scrimmaged twice with Villanova and once against Houston with none of those in Durham.
Hurley is entering his 10th season as Arizona State’s head coach, after previously coaching Buffalo. He starred at Duke from 1989-93, playing point guard on three Final Four teams. That included Duke’s NCAA championship teams in 1991 and 1992. He was inducted into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011.
“I’m grateful to Jon Scheyer and Duke basketball for working with Arizona State basketball to make this exhibition game a reality,” Hurley said in a statement. “It will be special for me to return to Cameron Indoor. Our team is excited for the opportunity to compete against a storied basketball program prior to embarking on our regular season schedule. The collaboration between Duke and Arizona State to put together this charity exhibition game supporting Duke Children’s Hospital is very meaningful to both programs.”
Though this will only be an exhibition and thus won’t count on season records, Duke and Arizona State have met just once previously. The Blue Devils, during Scheyer’s senior season in 2009-10, beat the Sun Devils, 64-53, on Nov. 25, 2009, at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Following his injury-shortened NBA career, Hurley entered college coaching in 2010 as an assistant coach at Wagner, where his brother, Danny Hurley, was head coach. When Danny Hurley became Rhode Island’s head coach in 2012, Bobby Hurley moved there as associate head coach.
Bobby Hurley’s first head coaching job came in 2013 at Buffalo. After he coached the Bulls to the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in the 2014-15 season, he moved to Arizona State. Hurley has compiled a 155-131 record with the Sun Devils, making three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Scheyer, 54-18 in his two seasons as Duke’s head coach, enters his third season with a team that includes 6-9 freshman forward Cooper Flagg, projected to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA Draft. The Blue Devils return guards Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor from last season’s team that reached the NCAA Tournament’s elite eight round.
“I’ve always had a ton of respect and admiration for Bobby Hurley,” Scheyer said. “He’s one of the all-time great players to ever play college basketball, let alone Duke. His 1991 team was the team that won our first national championship, and his 1992 team was the team where I fell in love with Duke and fell in love with college basketball. The records, the national championships and wins speak for themselves. But to me it’s the tenacity that he played with, the incredible competitiveness and toughness, and coming through in the big time moments. It’s an honor to do this game with him, to bring him back and celebrate him, but also to put our teams in the best position moving forward.”
After opening practice next month, Duke will hold its Countdown to Craziness event, including the Blue-White scrimmage, on Oct. 4 at Cameron Indoor.
Following the exhibitions with Lincoln (Pa.) and Arizona State, Duke opens the regular season Nov. 4 at home against Maine.