DURHAM—While Mike Krzyzewski, Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski were in London prepping for Team USA’s gold medal game, a quartet of current Duke players were playing in a championship game of their own.

Thursday night, Quinn Cook and newcomers Amile Jefferson, Rasheed Sulaimon and Rodney Hood teamed up to play for Dream Works in the championship game of the N.C. Pro-Am summer league last Thursday. Ultimately, the de-facto team Duke lost 91-84 to the Banks Law Firm team of Jerry Stackhouse, Quincy Miller, Reggie Bullock, and J.T. Terrell (formerly of Wake Forest, now with Southern Cal) among others.

Duke vs. Ohio State will headline the second day of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge with a 9:30 p.m. tipoff on Nov. 28. This is the second year for the Blue Devils-Buckeyes matchup—last season, then-No. 3 Duke traveled to Columbus and left with an 85-63 defeat at the hands of No. 2 Ohio State.

When the media kept asking Mike Krzyzewski after the game to comment on the play of specific Buckeyes, he told them "I wasn't focused on each of their guys; I was trying not to lose by 30."

This year, a Jared Sullinger-less Ohio State will come to Cameron, where Duke has won an NCAA-best 94 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents.

Duke sophomore Quinn Cook arrived back in Durham Monday along with teammate Marshall Plumlee after competing in Estonia for the East Coast All-Stars in the Four Nations World Cup. And Cook brought back a souvenir: a spot on the all-Cup team.

It's August, but there's no time like the present for Duke basketball news.

The Blue Devils will face Minnesota in the opening round of the Nov. 22-24 Battle 4 Atlantis preseason tournament, the school announced Thursday. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

There are eight teams in the second-annual tournament, which is held at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. The winner of the matchup between the Blue Devils and the Golden Gophers gets the winner of Memphis vs. VCU in the semifinals. In opening action of the other side of the bracket, Missouri plays Stanford while Louisville takes on Northern Iowa.

If you'd like to see the bracket for yourself, click here. 

Two of the happiest moments of my life: May 2007, when I found out I was coming to the great state of North Carolina, and June 2012, when I found out I was coming back.

In between, I did a fair amount of what I’m about to do now: cover Duke sports.

The 2012-13 NBA schedule is out. And if you’re wondering when you might be able to see former Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest players when they come through Charlotte – the closest NBA city – we’ve got you covered.

Of course, UNC’s Brendan Haywood and Duke’s Gerald Henderson play for the Bobcats already. As for the other Big Four alums who are in the NBA, here’s when you can see them when they return to North Carolina during the NBA’s regular season (player, current NBA team, date or dates when they’ll play in Charlotte):

Mike Krzyzewski said it was a “real mistake” for Penn State to fire Joe Paterno amid the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Krzyzewski made the comments in an interview that aired on Friday night on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight.

Here’s what Kryzewski when Morgan asked him for his thoughts on how Penn State handled the Sandusky case:

After a freshman season in which he provided Duke with its most enduring memory of the year, Austin Rivers announced Monday that he will hire an agent and enter the 2012 NBA draft.

“I would like to thank the coaches, my teammates and the fans for helping make this past year at Duke so special,” Rivers said in a release provided by Duke. “Coach K and the rest of the staff really helped me develop and improve in all areas of the game.

“It was a difficult decision to leave Duke, but I am excited about chasing my dream of playing in the NBA.”

Austin Rivers is huddled with his family in Florida this weekend to decide whether he will return to Duke for his sophomore season or declare for the NBA.

CBS Sports’ Jeff Goodman reported that Rivers will sign with an agent and forgo his final three collegiate seasons, but Jeremiah Rivers, Austin’s older brother, said a final decision has not been made.

“We haven’t talked about it yet,” said Jeremiah Rivers, who is with his brother just outside of Orlando, Fla. “He had a really good year, obviously. But as far as my brother coming out, he hasn’t even mentioned it.”

DURHAM – A week ago, Duke was starting what it hoped would be an extended stay in the NCAA tournament.

After Friday’s unexpected loss to No. 15 seed Lehigh, the Blue Devils now find themselves beginning to confront an offseason that will feature its fair share of uncertainty.

Most immediately, Austin Rivers and Mason Plumlee will have to decide whether to leave for the NBA. Both are projected as first-round picks on multiple projection websites, although neither seem likely to be top-10 selections.