Latest news with #Bradds
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Duke's Surprise Coaching Announcement Sparks Strong Fan Reaction
Fresh off their run to the men's Final Four, the Duke Blue Devils are shaking things up heading into next season. While the team is losing a cornerstone player in freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, who's projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, the Blue Devils are also reloading. Advertisement With the No. 2 recruiting class in the country, Duke is adding five-star power forward Cameron Boozer, his brother, four-star point guard Cayden Boozer, four-star power forward Nikolas Khamenia, and small forward Cedric Coward, a four-star transfer from Washington State. And if that weren't enough, Duke is also bolstering its coaching staff after announcing the hire of Evan Bradds. The 31-year-old assistant coach had a decorated college career at Belmont that included two AP honorable mention All-American honors, two OVC Player of the Year awards, and two All-OVC first-team selections. Bradds has spent seven seasons as an NBA assistant — five with the Boston Celtics (2018-2022) and two with the Utah Jazz (2022-2024). Advertisement 'I am honored to be joining the Duke Basketball program and want to express my immense gratitude to coach Jon Scheyer for this opportunity,' Bradds said. 'I am looking forward to working alongside coach Scheyer and the Duke team to help continue the long-standing tradition that is Duke Basketball.' The hire caught the attention of several people on social media, notably ESPN college insider Pete Thamel. 'An interesting hire from Duke from the NBA,' he wrote. 'Shows how college basketball is changing, as player development and schematics are trumping recruiting backgrounds for blue blood schools. Bradds comes well regarded after running the Jazz player development program.' Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer reaches for the fans during Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Nash-Imagn Images Thamel wasn't the only who was surprised by Duke's outside-the-box hire. Advertisement 'We may be on the only college program that can get an NBA assistant coach to come down to college,' one fan replied. 'Interesting to go with an NBA guy for the open spot. Would seem to be a hire geared towards player development and analytics (two areas in which the NBA is significantly ahead of CBB) rather than recruiting,' another pointed out. 'Great hire, this is why Duke continues to bring in the best talent, it's all about player development here,' a third fan stated. 'Duke was ahead of the curve when they hired Rachel Baker as their GM - effectively took a branding expert at Nike for NIL reason (brilliant) Now, this hire. Leaning into player development more. Good hire imo. Scheyer is smart,' remarked one user. Advertisement 'ELITE Hire. Jon Scheyer the mastermind 🔥,' another user exclaimed. Related: Duke's Jon Scheyer Assigns Blame After Final Four Loss to Houston
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Duke Makes Major Coaching Announcement on Thursday
The Duke Blue Devils have been thriving under the leadership of head coach Jon Scheyer. Duke capped off the college basketball season with a 35-4 record. Scheyer is coming off his third season with the program, having led the team to an ACC Tournament title while entering the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. Advertisement After the season, Duke announced a move in its coaching staff. The Blue Devils have hired Evan Bradds as an assistant coach. Bradds previously served as an assistant coach for the Utah Jazz in a player-development role from 2022 to 2025. "I am honored to be joining the Duke Basketball program and want to express my immense gratitude to Coach Scheyer for this opportunity," Bradds said. "I am looking forward to working alongside Coach Scheyer and the Duke team to help continue the long-standing tradition that is Duke Basketball." Before working as a player development specialist with the Jazz, Bradds also spent time with the Boston Celtics and the Maine Red Claws. Advertisement He was a player enhancement coach for the Celtics from 2020 to 2022, a video analyst for the organization from 2018 to 2020 and an assistant coach for the Red Claws from 2017 to 2018. Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Donnan-Imagn Images Scheyer shared his thoughts on the recent hiring. "I'm excited to welcome Evan and his wife, MacKenzie, to Durham," Scheyer said. "Evan brings an unbelievable basketball mind, NBA player development experience, and a unique ability to build meaningful relationships with players — something that's core to our culture. His experience, vision, and forward-thinking approach will help keep Duke at the forefront of college basketball. We're excited for what's ahead." Advertisement Related: Cooper Flagg's Mom Had No Words for Big Duke Announcement Related: ACC Makes Historic Cooper Flagg Announcement After Freshman Season at Duke
