Back to the Duke Blue Devils Newsfeed

Why Duke walk-on Mike Buckmire wants to do so much more than play basketball

As the ball fell right into his hands, Mike Buckmire looked up court and saw an opportunity. He started to dribble. When he crossed halfcourt, it was just him and Saint Francis defender, Markus Vallien – one-on-one.

Buckmire crossed over from left to right, hesitated, and drove passed Vallien. He then went up for a layup as Vallien tried to swipe at the ball.

Buckmire is a freshman guard for No. 4 Duke (11-1, 0-1). He stands at 6-2 and is a slender 172 pounds. And he always wears a smile on his face. On Duke’s roster page on its website, his smile is so wide it’s infectious.