What I’m hearing about Duke — and have already seen — as Blue Devils’ season nears

DURHAM, N.C.

Like Duke needed its spotlight turned up any brighter.

But thats inevitable now, after the Blue Devils thrashed Arizona State 103-47 in their final preseason exhibition on Sunday.

A charity game that was initially hailed as ASU coach Bobby Hurley s return to Cameron Indoor instead quickly became Dukes coming-out party at ASUs expense.

Advertisement Hats off to where they are, said Hurley, still the NCAA s all-time assists leader from his time as Dukes point guard in the 1990s, and oh s to where we are right now.

A 56-point blowout, obviously, says as much about Arizona State, picked 12th in the Big 12 preseason poll, as it does Duke.

But Duke? Duke Basketball pic.twitter.com/W4NCGhPaOR Duke Mens Basketball (@DukeMBB) October 28, 2024 Hurley, who won two titles at Duke, and whose brother Dan won the last two national championships at UConn, knows as well as anyone what a true contender looks like.

And? Ive seen a lot of good teams like, over the years to think yeah, theyve got a chance to be really good, Hurley said.

Right now, they looked really good to me.

Thats good news for Duke, since the games count from here on out.

With Dukes season opener against Maine now just a week away, lets recap what Ive learned about the Blue Devils this preseason, both what Ive seen and what Ive heard in conversations with program sources.

Expected starters and rotation Duke has the lineup depth to reasonably go nine-deep this season, but against ASU, Jon Scheyer went with the fivesome that will start in the regular season: Tyrese Proctor , Caleb Foster , Kon Knueppel , Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach .

That group wasnt predetermined but emerged early on in Dukes summer workouts especially after Maluach returned from the Olympics , where he competed for South Sudan.

As the only rotational returners from last season, Proctor and Foster were expected starters; so were Flagg and Maluach, the teams top two recruits.

But Knueppels emergence this summer as one of the teams best players was not something Dukes staff was necessarily expecting.

Sure, the 6-foot-7 wing was the No.

18 recruit nationally, per the 247Sports Composite, and Duke expected hed be a contributor.

But its entirely possible that Knueppel who made four second-half 3s and scored a game-high 19 points leads the Blue Devils in scoring this season.

Hes been one of the teams best shooters all summer, but even when his shot isnt falling, like in the first half against ASU, he finds ways to impact the game.

Case in point: Knueppel went 1-for-5 before intermission, scoring just four points, but still had five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Advertisement I mean, thats what he does.

He can do a lot on the court, but his strength is obviously shooting, Flagg said of his fellow freshman.

When he gets hot, its definitely going to be hard to guard him.

Dukes first three players off the bench were Maliq Brown , Mason Gillis , and Sion James .

Bringing two grad students and a junior off the bench may not seem consequential, but it seemingly validates Scheyers offseason roster makeover, when he jettisoned four former five-star recruits in favor of experience around his star-studded freshman class.

Brown struggled with foul trouble against ASU and was limited to just 17 minutes, but James and Gillis combined for 23 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and five made 3s (on just seven attempts).

Flagg specifically credited Gillis for helping him improve his post defense, the exact sort of benefit Scheyer was hoping for when he recruited the former Purdue wing out of the transfer portal.

Those eight should make up the bulk of Dukes rotation.

Freshman Darren Harris was Dukes ninth man to enter the game, and finished with 10 points and two more made 3s in just 13 minutes.

Perhaps the biggest surprise to the masses? That freshman wing Isaiah Evans , the No.

14 recruit in the class, was Dukes 10th man, playing just under 12 minutes of mostly garbage time.

Evans has immense shooting potential, but hes inconsistent and is still a work in progress defensively.

Until he figures that end out, theres going to be an inherent cap on his role because ...

The pivot in Scheyers coaching philosophy When Scheyer first took over for the retiring Mike Krzyzewski, he called former Duke All-American Shane Battier to discuss the program he was inheriting.

Battier asked Scheyer what values first came to mind when he thought of Duke basketball.

Scheyer responded immediately: Competition.

Advertisement Its about being all in, and then going to earn what you want, Scheyer said.

This summers roster overhaul, and Dukes play style as a result, is a call back to that totem.

Despite being full-time starters at their previous schools, James ( Tulane ) and Brown ( Syracuse ) still opted to transfer to Duke last spring without the guarantee of the same role.

Evans arrived in Durham with a loftier recruiting pedigree than Knueppel, but Knueppels performance this summer earned him a larger role.

The result of that philosophy? A team that already stands out for in Scheyers words how hard we played and how connected we were.

That mentality also fits naturally with Dukes talent, and specifically, its best attributes.

In Scheyers first season as head coach, the Blue Devils finished with the nations No.

16 adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom, but were a top-10 unit in the final month of the season.

Last season, though, Dukes offense outpaced its defense; the Blue Devils once again were 16th in adjusted defensive efficiency, but finished with the eighth-best adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom compared to a 40th-place finish in Scheyers first season.

Playing three guards was an offensive boon last season, but Dukes energy, and ability to get a stop when necessary, was less consistent than the defense-oriented group in Scheyers debut campaign.

So this offseason, Scheyer pivoted back to the intensity he preferred and therefore, a newfound focus on defense.

Not having a rotation player under 6 feet 5 means Duke has NBA-like length, making it difficult for teams to get into their actions.

Of particular importance there: the frontcourt of Flagg and Maluach, both of whom possess wingspans over 7-feet, and who will be a massive deterrent to any opponent who challenges them in the paint.

Arizona State finished the game with more turnovers (18) than made shots (16), was out-rebounded by 16 and scored only 14 points in the paint all night.

Advertisement Thats what we want to do to everybody, Gillis said.

Thats what we preach every day in practice: how good we can be on defense.

Were not there all the way yet, but were taking steps.

Cooper Flagg still coming on Duke was in the national championship conversation well before Sundays throttling, largely on the strength of its stupendous freshmen.

With college basketball as experienced as it has ever been, its become increasingly rare for first-year players to dominate out of the gate.

But the Blue Devils No.

1-ranked recruiting class might be the exception to that standard.

Atop that list, of course, is Flagg, the top-ranked player in the 2024 class and the early front-runner to be the No.

1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The 6-foot-9 wing was fine Sunday he finished with nine points, four rebounds, and three assists but nothing special.

(In Dukes previous exhibition vs.

D-II Lincoln, Flagg was much more potent: a team-high 22 points, two made 3s, six assists, four blocks, and two rebounds.) Heres the thing, though: Duke has enough pieces around Flagg that he doesnt have to be the guy every night.

I wouldnt expect Flagg to lead the team in scoring this season, or even most nights, because he doesnt have to.

What I would expect? Plenty of 13-point, seven-assist, six-rebound, two-block games, where his all-around impact can be felt more clearly.

And, of course, the occasional 25- or 30-point breakout.

Flagg has a history of showing up for big stages, so Im penciling in that Kentucky game Nov.

12 in the Champions Classic Dukes first marquee nonconference contest as a night to watch.

(Photo of Dukes Kon Knueppel and Arizona States Jayden Quaintance: Grant Halverson / Getty Images).

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