Date 11/8 || Time 6:00 || Location Cameron Indoor Stadium || Video ACCN

Before we talk about Friday night’s Duke-Army game, let’s take a look back at the coaching history at Army, because there are some really interesting characters.

First, of course: former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and his mentor, Bob Knight, both of whom had long and brilliant careers. But there are others.

Tates Locke destroyed his reputation at Clemson, but he was a fine coach. Former Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio was there too (he also destroyed his reputation, in his case at Louisville). Former K assistant Pete Gaudet also coached there. But the most interesting coach is one you probably would never have guessed: Joe Stilwell.

He wasn’t a bad coach either, compiling a 49-17 record in three different stints (1902-04, 1907-11, 1913-14), but fate had other ideas. Vinegar Joe, as he would become known, commanded American efforts in the China-Burma theater during World War II.

The current coach is Kevin Kuwick. he had one year and finished 10-22, but has previously worked with some great coaches: Brad Stevens at Butler, Thad Matta at Ohio State, Archie Miller at Dayton and Bob McKillop at Davidson. That’s a nice basketball education.

He graduated from Notre Dame ROTC and served for ten years, including a supposedly dangerous tour of Iraq.

Army is of course a very different kind of job. Clearly Duke has more talent. Guys like Cooper Flagg, Khaman Maluach, Kon Knueppel, Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster are all likely NBA players at some point.

Ask yourself, though: If one of those guys were in a place where gunfire broke out, would they run toward it or away from it?

Our guess is that they, like most of us, would run from it.

Everyone at West Point will probably run for it. It’s a very different mentality and very admirable in many ways. Yes, they are trained to be warriors, but they are also trained to think and adapt quickly to changing circumstances. It’s a fascinating place.

Due to the nature of a military academy, Army is less likely to see the kind of attrition Duke saw last season. The Black Knights do not have a normal structure for their teams. Duke gives scholarships and the NCAA limits them. We’re not sure if West Point still requires people to be on some sort of team, but it used to be. That could explain why there are 27 players on the roster and we’re sure not all of them travel and indeed only 10 played in the opener against Albany.

Josh Scovens, a 6-6 sophomore from Greensboro, scored 22 points against Albany. He also had five rebounds. Jalen Rucker, who has an interesting history with Army basketball,

Tate Laczkowski, a 6-8 freshman, had 10 rebounds.

Ryan Curry, a 6-0 sophomore, appears to be the point guard.

We’re sure Duke has seen the entire video of Army’s win over Albany, but it’s hard for most of us to really get a sense of this team.

As noted, Duke will have a lot more talent, but Army is a team that is likely full of hardasses and those guys can be tough to deal with. It’s not that they’re likely to win; Duke will be a heavy favorite. It’s that whether they win or lose, they’re going to play hard. They will hurry. They will set bone-rattling pickaxes. They dive for balls.

In short, we expect Army to show a lot of courage. It may not overcome Duke’s talent, but it will probably leave an impression and possibly a few bruises.

One last thing: After SMU left the AAC for the ACC, the AAC picked up the Army. This is the last season Army will spend in the Patriot League.