The Duke men’s basketball program is all set to embark on their Canadian tour later this month.
The Blue Devils will play three times on the Duke Canada Tour, with coverage of all three games on ESPN’s family of networks in the United States and TSN in Canada.
“We are excited about the opportunity to be tested against three quality basketball programs in Canada this summer,” said head coach Krzyzewski in the school’s press release.
“More than a third of our roster includes players competing for the first time as collegians. The practices and games associated with the tour will allow us to bond as a team, while providing us with a terrific educational opportunity to see another country and two amazing cities – Toronto and Montreal. It should be especially fun for one of our newcomers, R.J. Barrett, who will be home.”
Canadian R.J. Barrett leads Duke’s 2018-19 freshman class, which is regarded as one of the best in college basketball history. In addition to the top-ranked Barrett, the class also includes Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones, who are ranked Nos. 2, 3 and 10 respectively, on the ESPN 100 Class of 2018 behind Barrett.
Barrett enters his freshman year at Duke with more high school accolades than any other Canadian in history. Barrett won the Gatorade Player of the Year and Naismith Player of the Year en route to an undefeated season and a national championship at Montverde Academy in Florida. Barrett also led Canada to its first gold medal at an international FIBA competition at the U19 Basketball World Cup in 2017.
This past April, Barrett helped guide the World Selects to a Nike Hoops Summit title Portland. That team was coached by Ryerson head coach Roy Rana.
“It’s going to be amazing to take part in this tour,” said Barrett. “Not only will I be putting on the Duke jersey for the first time, but I will be doing it in my home country in front of friends and family. It will be a good way to start our year, and bond with each other as teammates.”
The games will be played at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario and Place Bell in Laval, Quebec. The 5,395-seat Hershey Centre is home to the Toronto Raptors’ G League affiliate, Raptors 905. Place Bell is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose venue, which houses the Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate, Laval Rocket (Rocket de Laval).
SCHEDULE
August 15, 2018, 7 p.m. ET —vs. Ryerson University — Hershey Centre
August 17, 2018, 6 p.m. ET —vs. University of Toronto — Hershey Centre
August 19, 2018, 3 p.m. ET — vs. McGill University — Place Bell
Duke’s basketball team will also be the subject of an all-access show.
The eight-episode series titled “Earn Everything” was announced in July, by the school, and it will document the Blue Devils as they prepare for the 2018-19 season and will be released in the fall.
It will follow the players and coaches from their arrival on campus this summer, through their exhibition tour in Canada and into the preparations for the Champions Classic season opener against Kentucky in November.
The series will air on ESPN+, which will broadcast the three exhibition games in Canada.
To learn more about the Blue Devils Canadian tour, please visit: www.DukeCanadaTour.com for more information.
