Andre Dawkins will wear No. 34 on the floor next year for Duke. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Andre Dawkins will be back on the court for Duke next year.

Dawkins, who played from 2009-2012 and redshirted last year to deal with grief from his sister’s death in 2009, announced on Twitter Thursday that he would return to the floor next year.

“Excited to say that I will be a part of the 2013-2014 Duke Men's Basketball Team,” he wrote. “Thanks to everyone for the support throughout the year.”

Andre Dawkins will not participate in any basketball activities this year. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

(note: for background, Andre Dawkins Sr. annouced in April his son was working through his grief, andMike Krzyzewski confirmed in June that Dawkins would redshirt.)

DURHAM—While Duke and basketball teams around the country will open practice on Friday, one Blue Devil will not be taking the floor.

Andre Dawkins, who will redshirt this season, will not practice with the team this year. He is also not in the team picture. His name, though, is still on the roster and he is still in school, according to his father, Andre Dawkins Sr.

DURHAM — Much of the preseason talk in the ACC basketball race has centered around N.C. State and North Carolina.

That's fine with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team went 13-3 in the league last season, a game behind UNC for the regular-season title, and has added two McDonald's All-Americans.

"I'd rather have you talk about what we've done, than what we're going to do," Krzyzewski said Thursday at his annual summer press conference.

Andre Dawkins’ father reiterated this morning to N&O correspondent Jack Daly that Dawkins is still a member of the Duke basketball team.

The elder Andre Dawkins said his son has the option of taking next season off to work through any lingering grief from the death of his sister. Lacey Dawkins was killed in a car accident on Dec. 5, 2009, while driving to a Duke-St. John’s basketball game.

Duke junior guard Andre Dawkins could be a redshirt candidate for next season.

Following media inquiries about Dawkins' future with the Blue Devils program, Duke emailed a two-sentence statement concerning the 6-foot-4 guard Thursday evening.

"Andre Dawkins remains a member of the Duke Basketball program," the statement said. "There is a possibility of him redshirting next season but no decision will be made on that until the fall."

As a junior, Dawkins started 14 games last season, averaging 8.4 points and 2.1 rebounds a game.

Just about every ACC game Duke has played at Cameron Indoor Stadium has gone down to the wire, and Saturday was no different as the Blue Devils needed overtime to tame Virginia Tech 70-65.

Here are three final thoughts on Duke’s win:

1. Duke finds a way – again

Trailing in the final minutes against a team that barely has a .500 record, the Blue Devils’ performance against Virginia Tech shows why just about anything seems possible for the team once the NCAA Tournament rolls around.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Its stride getting stronger and more confident by the game, Duke is moving ever closer to one of its goals.

The Blue Devils subdued Florida State 74-66 on Thursday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center, taking another step toward the ACC regular season championship by making 13 3-pointers against a Seminoles team that entered the game having only allowed opponents to shoot 29.1 percent for 3-point attempts on the season.

Andre Dawkins made six 3-pointers to lead the Blue Devils with 22 points while Austin Rivers made four and finished with 20 points.

With the win, No. 5 Duke (24-4, 11-2) moved into a tie with North Carolina (24-4, 11-2) at the top of the ACC standings, although the Blue Devils hold the tie-breaking edge by virtue of their win in Chapel Hill. The teams play each other on March 3 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

It’s game day for the No. 8 Blue Devils (14-2, 2-0), who travel to Clemson tonight to face the Tigers (9-7, 1-1) at 6 p.m. Duke has won 25 of its last 27 games against Clemson and 10 of its last 11 games at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind once the game tips:

DURHAM -- With Kyrie Irving watching from the bench in a sweater Wednesday night, Andre Dawkins became the young guard with a chance to step into the spotlight at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Dawkins handled his opportunity every bit as well as Irving did before suffering a toe injury on his right foot that has sidelined him indefinitely.

In the opening 12 minutes, 10 seconds of top-ranked Duke's 83-48 defeat of Bradley, Dawkins made four 3-pointers to establish himself as the most dangerous perimeter scoring threat in the game. Dawkins, a sophomore who was averaging 10.6 points per game off the bench, finished with eight 3-pointers for the game, one short of the school record, and scored a career-high 28 points in his first career start.

DURHAM -- It wasn't the zone part of the equation that eluded Radford, but the defense.

Duke shredded the Highlanders' ill-advised zone with 18 3-pointers in a 104-67 romp in Saturday's untelevised game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.