Mailbag Monday: Maalik Murphy, Touchdowns, MBB Jersey Numbers & More | Duke Blue Devils Podcast

Intro another week is getting started right here on lockdown Blue Devils and we've got questions from you that we want to answer today we're talking both men's basketball and football mailbag Monday it's going to be a lot of [Music] fun you are locked on Blue Devils your daily podcast on the Duke Blue Devils part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello everybody and welcome into Show Open another episode of the lockdown Blue Devils podcast my name is JJ Jackson it's so great to have you here with us on Monday August 19th 2024 lockdown Blue Devils is your One-Stop shop where we discuss everything going on in the life of Duke Athletics we talk a whole lot about football and men's basketball and that's the case today as we've got a mailbag Monday here for you with our good friend Kevin Conley site expert for ball Durham we've got questions from both Sports a couple of football questions that we'll knock out then we got to talk about the men's basketball team of course as we're gearing up for what we expect to be a really good promising exciting 2024 2025 season for duan's basketball if you have not done so already please be sure to follow And subscribe to lockdown Blue Devils for free wherever it is that you get your podcast leave us a five star rating and written review so appreciative of all the support that you give us here at lockon Blue Devils also if you watch our show on YouTube thank you thank you for being a part of our YouTube Community like this video share it with your friends and make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel as well a special shout out to our everyday several of these questions that we will answer today were asked in the YouTube comments also sent to us via email lockon BlueDevil gmail.com and on X where you can give us a follow at lore BL levels and I'm there as well atore jjjs so without further Ado like I said we've got football and basketball do up for conversation today and we've got a very good friend of the show he is Kevin Conley of Bal Durham who joins us on the program once again fall is getting closer my friend next week hard to believe it but a week from today we're officially kind of in game week for the first week of the college football season yeah you know preseason uh is winding down and uh we have ACC football on Saturday in another country with Florida State and Georgia Tech so uh certainly exciting times for all those Duke football fans and college football fans and ACC football fans out there yeah people getting excited week zero action uh is always kind of fun to watch it's our first little taste of football uh it's a teaser though not as many games of course as week one and Duke will get the season started as it stands on week one Friday night taking on Elon at home so Kevin we've got question questions that we need to answer from our listeners who sent them in and a lot of people this time of year as we have as well are talking about Malik Murphy the transfer from Texas who's been in a bit of a quarterback battle with Grayson Loftus the incumbent many people believe Malik Murphy will be the starting quarterback that's not really breaking any news you don't go into the transfer portal and get a guy like Malik Murphy for him not to be your top quarterback going into the year and so one of the questions that was asked for us uh was this how can Malik Murphy fully win over the fan base once the season gets started what do you think well I think the easiest answer is go five and0 because if you look at those first five games um you have Elon then you go on the road for Northwestern you host Yukon uh you play Middle Tennessee State and then um it's earlier this year let's just call it what it is it is an early rivalry game with North Carolina that last weekend at last Saturday of September uh he goes 5-0 with a victory over the T heels I think that's probably the easiest way to completely win the fan base over and have everyone obviously dreaming then of a bowl game yeah and what the team could accomplish because at that point you're just one- wi shy of getting to a bow game Duke was able to get to bowl games in both of the years that mik gko was the head football coach uh when things have been bad for Duke and many other programs in college football quarterback is typically where you immediately look first the most important position on the field I I think with that I I I think you win the fan base over to your point with a 5-0 start I also given that this year might not be as lofty of expectations uh as one would hope for a Duke team that lost a good bit of players I also think he went him over by taking care of the football and that's as simple as it gets but we're just a few years removed from David cutcliffe's final season when quarterbacks for Duke led the nation in fumbles and interceptions and just it was not good it was uh putting Duke in a difficult position to actually win football games and so if some of these first few games were to end up in losses yes we would be disappointed but not as disappointed if we know for sure the quarterback is making a positive impact and taking care of the ball yeah and that's a good point because if you remember one of those Seasons also included another heralded transfer quarterback and Chase Bryce who came over from Clemson and now Malik Murphy coming over from Texas and and look at the the quarterback at Texas and Quinn yers returning to school this year obviously you have Arch Manning in the wings as well so uh obviously Malik Murphy realizing that he wants to play and especially with the return of Quinn yers that probably wasn't going to happen at Texas this year pending injury and um ERS did get hurt last year Murphy stepped in won a couple of ball games for that team that eventually made the college football playoff so yeah and let me say yes you go Five-0 you certainly win the fan base over I should I wasn't saying that it's really my expectation that this team does start Five-0 I think um obviously those first four games are pretty favorable with the exception of the road trip to Northwestern and heading up to the Chicago area to play that game on a Friday night which early in the season you would expect maybe a pretty good crowd for that game but I do think three and one is in the realm of possibilities in the first four games and then obviously you're playing a rival at home you think the crowd's going to be good against North Carolina can you win that game and um put that next foot forward and can Malik Murphy stand out and not only prove to other teams around the country even like a Texas hey hey maybe you should have done a little bit more to try and keep me but also say hey this Duke team we are going to exceed expectations we are going to take a hot start into ACC play and uh who knows maybe they will find their way into a bowl game this season and make some noise in ACC play because obviously um you have a different name on the schedule in SMU Midway through ACC play um I'll do doesn't get Stanford or cow this season uh in the regular season but who knows that's why you lace them up every Saturday afternoon and you play some ball and um you hope to make to the postseason especially uh in the first year of a new head coach yeah really exciting schedule for Duke football going into the season starting with UNC Georgia Tech and Florida State your first conference games of the season and then also built in to this 2024 calendar for teams across college football two by weeks two off weeks to help your guys get healthy which I think can go a long way for this Duke team in particular all right we've got more to talk about there's a new head coach not only is there a new quarterback but again there is a new head coach for the Duke Blue Devils his name is Manny Diaz we're GNA talk about him after our first timeout here on today's episode of Locked on Blue Devils lockdown Blue Devils here today FanDuel is brought to you by our friends over at FanDuel that is right you've heard talk a lot about FanDuel America's number one sports book well we have something a little different for you now through September 22nd all FanDuel customers can bet $ five and get a three- week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV then when a YouTube TV base plant you'll be able to watch every regular season Sunday afternoon out of Market game all you need is a Google account and a current form of payment and you can cancel anytime love the NFL season I love NFL Sunday Ticket especially when I'm traveling and want to make sure that we can watch the Carolina Panthers get the job done just visit fanduel.com lockon to download America's number one Sportsbook FanDuel is a proud sponsor of locked on Blue Lockdown Blue Devils Devils forward we go here on today's episode of lockdown Blue Devils I'm JJ Jackson he's Kevin connley the site expert for Bal Durham we teased Manny Diaz going to break so Kevin I ask you what gives you the most confidence that Manny Diaz will be a successful head coach for Duke I think right now right it's motivation um you don't get many chances to continue to be a head coach um if you're really 0 and2 in your stints as head coach now um you could look at his tenure at Miami in a couple of different ways um in that third season uh I believe Miami was inside the top 10 of the AP poll um and then really struggled down the stretch I think they went two and five maybe in those last seven games U but you look at overall I mean 21- 15 record in those couple of Seasons 0 and2 in bowl games uh but you look at it you go to Penn State you're you're a great defensive coordinator that's not the question with Manny Diaz he was a great defensive coordinator when he was the DC at Miami he was a great defensive coordinator at Penn State the question is can he be a successful head coach and if he's not here at Duke you're probably not going to get that third opportunity somewhere you're going to be known as that really great defensive coordinator who just couldn't make the transition to being a head coach and um if you listen to Manny Diaz speak he he certainly sounds like a motivator he seems like a good head coach and um he seems motivated and he knows that uh he's might not have another opportunity to be a head coach if it doesn't work out here at Duke so um I think that motivation of needing to be successful and almost that pressure is going to make him successful in his tenure here in Durham yeah it's different right because you get somebody like Mike Elco who comes over uh with zero prior head coaching experience but you were able to talk about uh what he did as a coordinator the relationships he was able to build along the way and found other ways to kind of um you know feel confident in what he was able to accomplish and ultimately he accomplished great things for the stou football prre Mandy Diaz has that experience to your point being the head coach at a place like Miami I I think you also get Confidence from playing in the ACC at Florida State like you did coaching at NC State in this very league in the North Carolina Research Triangle area for six seasons back in the early 2000s and then just the big stops that he had along the way whether it be most recently at Penn State or his years at Texas Mississippi State in the SEC a big big reason why I think you can be confident that Manny Diaz will be a successful head coach for Duke I think he's going to recruit really well I think the defense will obviously be in a good spot and if you're Landing quarterbacks like Malik Murphy out of the transfer portal look I I I think that offense is going to be in a great place as well so I've got plenty of reasons Kevin for Manny Diaz to be the successful head coach I do agree with you there especially offensively in this first season when you kind of got that big three of Murphy more and more but Malik Murphy in the backfield more in Malik Murphy as the quarterback excuse me more in the backfield Feld and then obviously uh Jordan Moore outside as the wide receiver um you're hoping that they're going to carry the load for you offensively because you feel very confident that Manny Diaz regardless of the talent on the defense is going to be able to put guys in the right position to succeed and hopefully you have a middle of the middle of the road to Upper Echelon defense in the ACC with just how good he is at coaching that side of the ball so um I think those three are going to be key to his success in year one at Duke all right on to our next question we're talking football again last football question and then folks we will have some basketball conversations to dive into here with Kevin I ask you this next Friday is the first football game of the season for Duke against Elon and FCS program that Duke is expected to handle pretty easily but uh looking at that Kevin and having a little fun the crystal ball is in your hands who do you think scores the first touchdown of 2024 for the Duke team you know I'm going to go to the outside I just mentioned him Jordan Moore can he be that 1,000 yard receiver that Duke is looking for 835 and eight touchdowns last year think he's going to take a step up obviously he's gonna have the big X on his chest um being this team's top Target on paper uh I think he him and Malik Murphy are going to connect with a bomb downfield and they're going to hook up for uh a 30 plus yard touchdown to open the season for Duke I love that because I think uh Jordan Moore has incredible speed on the outside has displayed an ability to be this amazing playmaker since moving over from quarterback I'm thinking uh about someone like jaquez Mo out of the back field possibly as someone to score that first touch and always qualify it Kevin right like if I were to say Malik Murphy in this instance he'd be the one holding the football as it crosses the end zone right I don't want to throw out Malik Murphy and then on passing touchdown to Jordan Moore you feel like you get it that no no not going in that direction so um I I think I'll jump on the Joe mod train with you man I think it's gonna end up that Jordan Moore uh is out there I mean and the fact that he's been able to again turn himself into one of the top wide receivers in the conference he's getting recognition for what he can do this season from the awards that are put out there by college football people and reminding folks that he was recruited as a quarterback and started college career as a quarterback just speaks to one the athlete that he is the two team first mentality that he's got to take on whatever position whatever request whatever needs that the team has uh and then finally he's just a gamerman and one heck of an athlete to have on your squad yeah it's going to be fun I just think you know maybe um I know Manny Diaz trusts his defense but um new quarterback got weapons around him maybe if you win the coin toss on that that Friday night you're at home hopefully get a good crowd and you try to energize them pretty quickly and you give them a go a go route and he's able to run under it and uh get your season started with some fireworks I'm already picturing it let's make it happen it's going to be awesome let us know in the comments down below let us know on X at loore Blue Devils who scores the first TD of the season for Duke all right let's transition let's switch it up we got to talk basketball getting closer to the start of a basketball season as well and talking a a little bit about important positions like we did with the quarterback for the football team what is the biggest position battle for Duke men's basketball going into the new season you know I think it's going to be that thre man that that small forward if you want to put it like through a one through five um because I think that's going to be vital I think right now you're sliding Cooper flag at the at the four I think could provide a lot of um matchup nightmares for other teams and obviously feels like you have your back court uh set with Foster and Tyrese Proctor and um I think we're all going to anticipate that Comon malok is the starting center for this team so um I think the biggest position battle is going to be the three who gets that starting three guard spot uh come opening night can it be a freshman like Isaiah Evans is it going to be a veteran like cion James uh who is gonna Step Up in practice is it gonna be K canle who everyone has glowing reviews about um through offseason practices uh who is going to be that man that steps up and takes the re as the starting thre man I think that is the answer because I'm trying to think about what you're laying out in that when you look across the board at other positions it's a bit more known right like we know at the guard spot the experience of Proctor and Foster will pay off that that Cooper flag is going to find a spot out there on the floor to play and contribute and I'd say the same for malok and his size and what he brings so U definitely in agreement there let us know in the comments below if agree with our assessment of position battles going into a new Duke basketball season all right Kevin let's take one more time out it's our final break here on the program today and when we return we wrap up this mailbag eBay Motors Monday lockdown blue appels here today is brought to you by our friends over at eBay Motors passion drive and patience it's the formula for winning championships it's also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors has everything that you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance superchargers roof racks exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you're into speed power or style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you'll always find exactly what you're looking for and with the eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your 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like we got a lot of good content for you over at Bal everything you could possibly want in terms of Duke basketball Duke football Duke Athletics coverage so uh on social media you could follow us at ballor Durham and then as I said Bal durham.com every day uh for your Duke Sports needs all right another question sent to us via email lockon blev gmail.com how important is there that there weren't any coaching staff changes this off season for dukeman basketball you know I think that's a really good question because I feel like a lot of people don't think about it um as a question but I think it's really important especially this season when you only have two guys returning from your key crop of players from a year ago and luckily those were two players that did have a lot of playing time and Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor but it allows uh the new guys the freshman and the transfers coming in to have that continuity everybody on the coaching staff is on the same page it's not like John Shire is trying to catch somebody up or fill somebody in on how he wants things to be run so the entire coaching staff knows what shot wants how he wants it done and it helps to have two leaders on the floor also knowing how things are run in tyres Proctor and Caleb Foster so I think it's a really good question I think it's something that a lot of people probably don't think about that often um and I would say it's very important especially this year given the roster makeup of the team and let's say it like it is it's a little unusual because to your point over the last few seasons we've seen a little bit of it I mean Mike Shashi was the head coach of this program for 42 years what in the world is it going to look like when we're experiencing Duke basketball without coach Kay being at the absolute Forefront of it we found out we're used to it it's John Shire it's great things the Brotherhood is still the standard in college basketball but after year one someone like Emil Jefferson moves on last year not only is it that Emil Jefferson takes the job with the Boston Celtics to join their staff but Kevin the NCAA also decides that we're gonna allow two more spots on the bench for college basketball teams and so someone like will Avery becomes another assistant coach for this basketball team Justin Robinson is able to be named a director of Player Development that increase from the NCAA in terms of bodies that you could have on a bench and working with your players was another change that we don't have to experience this season because they've got another season under their belt yeah those are all really good points and it just goes because when coach Kay was there didn't really matter who was coming and going as assistants or getting head coaching jobs because you know he was there and he was gonna implement the things he wanted proven exactly and with John Shire it always helps just leaning on that staff having that continuity and really hitting the ground running once everyone showed up on campus all right we've got one more question left to go let us know how you feel about uh no changes in the coaching staff for the Duke basketball team our last question also talks basketball it's talking jersey numbers that I've got a thing for people are saying hey I got lost over the course of the summer what jersey numbers will the Freshman wear for dukeman men's basketball and which pairing do you like the most is there a player and number Kevin that you think kind of fits well with what you were envisioning what do you think and and kind of give us a rundown of these jersey numbers you know it's kind of interesting so so we'll run down the Freshman jersey numbers Cooper Flags wearing two Isaiah Evans is wearing three three numbers that we haven't really seen in use a lot for this Duke basketball team maybe if ever KH canle is wearing seven Darren Harris is wearing eight common malok's wearing nine and then uh the other big man freshman center Patton ngaba is wearing 21 I feel like I have to pick one of these numbers that isn't hasn't really been in use for this Duke basketball team and and I'm gonna rock with number seven with Khan canle um I don't know we haven't seen a seven out there in a Duke basketball uniform uh I mentioned the rave reviews KH got during offseason workouts so uh I'm going to say I'm most excited to be seeing the number seven out there on the floor in Cameron with Khan canle lighting things up from three-point range yeah I I love it I'll be honest as a uh Traditions guy it's taken a while to get used to seeing this in college basketball right because they held on for so long and your jersey numbers need to end in five right and we're pretty much only going to 55 being the largest number that you would see goes to back to referees and how many fingers can you hold up to make out the jersey numbers at the scores table and that sort of thing never been an issue at the NBA and so clearly it's not that big of a deal here it's just a jersey number we could figure it out and make it happen I digress change is good uh and here we are Kevin I just had to get that off my chest for a moment I do love seven though for KH like I think that's an awesome number nine on a basketball jersey going to take a little while for me to get get used to there uh with common and something about a big fella I would have pictured a little bit of a larger number for him uh but I don't know that that Cooper flag in the two I'm I'm giving every number at this point I'm gonna lock in Cooper flag at the two man I think that's a really good look for him uh some of these high-profile oneand done guys that we've had like you know I'm thinking of of Zion and and Kyrie Irving rocking the single digit number one Paulo that single digit number five so how about Cooper flag joining in and he like I'll just rock the number two I think you're going to see a lot of number two Duke jerseys popping up over the next couple of months and going even Beyond in the future and um I think one generation will say oh it was a Nolan Smith the Quinn cook but I think now a new generation of basketball fans and Duke fans are gonna be wearing that number two for Cooper flag and maybe they don't know the history of of how storied that number two is in in Duke basketball lore yeah they're not walking around talking about Lou Al Dang or Josh McRoberts and their he's rocking the two for the Blue Devils but Cooper flag's going to make it look good what jersey numbers do you like for dukeman basketball we'll talk more about that in future mailbag episodes I'm sure Kevin this is tremendous one more time if you will as we exit kind of give me a rundown of what's going on at your website yep Bal durham.com everything on Duke basketball Duke football um like I said Bal durham.com to read all our stuff and follow us on social media at ballor Durham Kevin we'll talk to you very soon thanks for being here man looking forward to again that's Kevin connley the site expert from bald zeram joining us here on today's episode of lockdown Blue Devils we're back at it again tomorrow with an all new episode talking more basketball so stay tuned and be on the lookout for that that'll do it for today's show as always go duke I'll talk to you tomorrow my name is JJ Jackson thank you and good day