As fifth-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer reiterated to his team this week and during his appearance on the latest edition of Fast Break with Jon Scheyer on Wednesday night, it's important for the preseason No. 2-ranked Blue Devils to remember that their 3-0 exhibition run doesn't actually count toward their overall record. No, they sit at 0-0 while gearing up for their regular season opener at home against the unranked Army Black Knights at 6:30 p.m. ET Monday (ESPNU).
Nevertheless, even though the Duke basketball stats also don't count, the team's combined free throw percentage across the preseason wins over the unranked Belmont Bruins, No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers, and No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks stands out as an undoubtedly positive sign for the squad.
"You're picking a good one," Scheyer commented after show host and play-by-play radio announcer David Shumate brought up the subject of Duke's success at the foul line over the past few weeks. "The free throw shooting has been really good."
Last season, the Blue Devils finished 35-3 overall, won the ACC Tournament, and reached the Elite Eight despite ranking only No. 177 in the country when it comes to free throw percentage at 72.9 percent.
Between the preseason blowout home wins over Belmont and Tennessee plus Sunday afternoon's 90-84 road victory over Kansas to wrap up the program's exhibition slate, Duke turned in a 69-for-81 clip; that's 85.2 percent. Also, it's worth noting that the Blue Devils shot a combined 8-for-9 at the foul line in the brief Blue-White scrimmage at Countdown to Craziness before the exhibition outings got underway.
"A guy I point to is Dame Sarr," Scheyer said about the second-year Blue Devil wing , a 2025-26 ACC All-Defensive Team selection, when continuing his praise for his group's efforts from the charity stripe. "You know, Dame struggled at the line last year - didn't get there enough. And now all of a sudden last game, he got there 11 times, I think it was. And he's shooting a really good percentage.
Oct 25, 2026; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Dame Sarr (7) talks with referee Roger Ayers during a timeout of a game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
"That does a lot for our team...That's been a huge plus and a big reason why we've gained separation in these games."
As a freshman last go-round, Sarr was a 30-game starter but averaged only 1.6 free throw attempts per contest and knocked down only 53.2 percent. In exhibition action this month, the 6-foot-8, 200-pound Italian and potential 2027 NBA Draft first round pick shot 19-for-24 at the foul line, equating to a much-improved 79.2 percent.
Duke's preseason starting backcourt of Cayden Boozer and John Blackwell combined to miss only one of their 23 free throw attempts. Obviously, that's encouraging.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/duke as Jon Scheyer's Thoughts on Sizzling Duke Basketball Free Throw Shooting .
