#310 - Jaylen Blakes joins Duke and his coach joins us

Sometimes on the DBR Podcast, we talk to former, current, and even future Duke players about what it's like to join the Duke program and what it's like to be a member of the Duke program. This time, we're talking to somebody who hasn't been a Duke guy himself, but who has facilitated a few Duke careers. Joe Mantegna has been the head coach at Blair Academy, a prep school in New Jersey, since 1999. He has sent a handful of players to Duke, most famously Luo Deng in 2003 and now most recently 4-star combo guard Jaylen Blakes, who committed to Coach K this week. Coach Mantegna joins the podcast to talk about Blakes's game and his development as a player and a member of the Blair program since his freshman year. From somebody who has seen Blakes play and grow more than anybody else has, Coach Mantegna is confident that Blakes is going to be a key member of the Duke program for a long time. After the break, we check in on some recent odds out of Las Vegas on the national championship hunt for 2022. Is Duke a good bet this year? Either way, this podcast is not investing advice. Finally, we wrap with a discussion on the inevitable rivalry between incoming Duke forward Paolo Banchero and recent Gonzaga commitment Chet Holmgren. ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony says that Banchero is now projected as the top draft pick in the 2022 draft, and we are excited for the Duke-Gonzaga game in November. Stay in touch with the show at dbrpodcast at gmail.com, and we will talk to you again soon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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