Evan Bradds spent last season on Jon Scheyer's staff at Duke. On Thursday night, in his first game as a head coach, he sat on the opposite bench at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Belmont hired Bradds in March. He's the program's all-time leading scorer in the Division I era with 1,921 points, and he took over a team coming off a 26-6 season and a Missouri Valley regular season title. Scheyer brought him onto the Duke staff for 2025-26, and he didn't come back to Nashville alone. Belmont assistant Ja'Darius Harris also served as a graduate assistant at Duke last season. The pipeline runs the other way, too — former Belmont forward Drew Scharnowski is in his first season with the Blue Devils, though he did not play as he comes back from injury.

So both programs got their first look at their new rosters against people they know pretty well.

The result was about what you'd expect from Duke against a mid-major breaking in a new coach.

The Blue Devils won 102-62, five players scored in double figures, and they led 24 at halftime. It's a preseason exhibition, so nobody should get carried away. Still, both teams showed a few things that should carry over once the games count.

Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje might not be getting enough hype

Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting in 22 minutes, 14 of them before halftime. He made two three-pointers, scored Duke's first field goal of the night on a putback, and finished both in transition and in the half court. He added seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

He looked automatic. I think he has a real chance to be one of the best players in the country by March, and the national conversation hasn't caught up to that yet.

Bradds had studied him on film before the game. Up close, Boumtje Boumtje was even more impressive.

"You watch the FIBA stuff and the highlights and [he's] really impressive," Bradds said. "And then to see him up close, the size, skill, physicality, and the shooting touch — it looks unbelievable coming out of his hands. For him to only be 17 years old and doing a lot of that stuff at his size, he's a special player for a reason."

Scheyer was more interested in the plays that won't make the highlight reel.

"I loved seeing the rebounding," Scheyer said. "I thought he had a couple of plays where he protected the rim. Just the versatility [is impressive]. To be 17 years old and to not be afraid of this moment in his first game says a lot about who he is and what he's made of. Pretty good first game, but obviously a lot to build from."

Duke's defense looks like a problem again

Duke picked up ball handlers full court and pressed for long stretches, with length at every position. The Blue Devils have enough backcourt depth to keep fresh guards on the ball and maintain that kind of pressure all game.

"We're looking at how we can play every play within the play," Scheyer told Basket Under Review. "If we can contest passes coming inbounds, we're going to do that. I think one of our strengths is our ability to pick up, but I don't want us to lose the really good fundamentals we have in the half-court, either.

"We're definitely exploring picking up and making it a 94-foot game, and having the mindset that we're going to wear people down."

Belmont turned it over 13 times in the first half, and Duke scored 17 points off those mistakes. Eight different Blue Devils recorded a steal, and the team finished with 12 steals and seven blocks. Last season Belmont led the country in effective field goal percentage. On Thursday, it shot 34.5 percent from the field and 7-of-30 from 3.

The defense created plenty of easy offense. Duke outscored Belmont 21-7 on the fast break and went 12-of-13 on fast-break shots. Its best stretch came when Deron Rippey Jr. and Sebastian Wilkins came off the bench to join Sarr, Blackwell, and Boumtje Boumtje. That group outscored Belmont 15-4 in under four minutes and had four steals.

Dame Sarr is looking for his shot

Dame Sarr also scored 19, playing with a different level of aggression than he did a year ago. He kept attacking, drew a game-high six fouls, and went 9-of-10 from the line, along with 4-of-7 from the field. He also had six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

"He's been working hard on it this summer," Scheyer said about Sarr's offensive aggressiveness. "The coaches have really helped him with playing through contact. I did feel like that was the next step that he could take. It was great to see, but I'm not surprised, either."

He still drew the assignment on Belmont's best perimeter player, Jack Smiley, and that matters. Duke can ask a lot of him on both ends, and he showed he can handle both jobs.

Duke's other perimeter players also put forth good performances. John Blackwell added 17 points, went 5-for-5 at the line, and finished with a game-best +33. Cayden Boozer scored 12 points. Early in the second half, he hit a three, then grabbed a steal and dropped a dunk on the next possession, forcing Belmont to call a timeout. Rippey had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Belmont has pieces to work with

Bradds wasn't going to pretend the scoreboard looked better than it did, but he also knew it wouldn't be a perfect outing for his team.

"The overall experience for our guys is going to be extremely positive," Bradds said. "The game … the box score says what it is. I think we had moments when we were extremely competitive, and moments when it got away from us a little bit. I'm proud of our guys. This is not an easy place to play no matter what time of year it is."

FAU transfer center Vincent Neugebauer is going to be really good in the Missouri Valley. He had six points, five rebounds (four offensive), and two steals in 18 minutes and showed he could deter the ball at the rim.

Smiley was as advertised. His shot wasn't falling at 3-of-11 (which happens when Sarr is your primary defender all game), but he competed at both ends and finished with nine points, four rebounds, and three steals.

Matthew Zobrist and Ethan Sage also showed real moxie against a much bigger team and weren't afraid of the moment. Zobrist led Belmont with 11 points and hit three three-pointers. Sage added seven points, three assists, and a putback dunk.

The Bruins also took better care of the ball in the second half, but rebounding was the issue Bradds kept returning to. Duke won the glass 46-28, grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and scored 24 second-chance points.

"[Rebounding] is going to be an area of emphasis for us," Bradds told Basket Under Review. "It's not just one guy as a rebounder. We have to team rebound, especially if you go against a team with that much size and physicality."