Freshmen have excelled in Durham for nearly 50 years. This year’s contingent joins a long line of young Duke Blue Devils players making their marks early in their careers. Third-year coach Jon Scheyer discussed the standards they have set on the “Pat McAfee Show.”
Cooper Flagg and Co. Join Venerated Group in Durham
Cooper Flagg shouldn’t be here. It’s spring. It’s April. He should be getting ready for prom, coming off potentially another high school national championship at Montverde Academy in Florida.
But he is. He’s in Durham. He’s the latest in a long line of standout freshmen basketball players at Duke. It started with the likes of Mike Gminski and Gene Banks in the 1970s. Then came Johnny Dawkins, Danny Ferry, and Christian Laettner in the 1980s. Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, and Elton Brand followed in the 1990s.
The list continued into the next millennium, with guys like Carlos Boozer, Jason Williams, Jabari Parker, Jahlil Okafor, and Brandon Ingram on through to Brandon Ingram, Marvin Bagley III, Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Vernon Carey Jr., even Paolo Banchero and, just last year, Jared McCain.
And that’s only part of the list. Duke freshmen come in understanding that only a standard of excellence will be accepted in Durham. That continues this season under third-year coach and former Duke guard Jon Scheyer.
“We play five freshmen in our rotation. And all five of them, in high school, they could have probably played at 50-60% and still been the best player. And so, for me from Day One, it’s been about setting the expectation of understanding what the standard is,” Scheyer told A.J. Hawk and Pat McAfee on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“They’re not afraid of the moment.”
Duke men’s basketball head coach @JonScheyer spoke on the “standard” Blue Devil players set for themselves this season 🔥
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— ESPN (@espn) March 31, 2025
Scheyer is 89-21 in three years at the helm, leading the Blue Devils to two ACC Tournament titles, one regular season ACC crown, and three NCAA Tournament appearances, including his first Final Four berth this season, the school’s 18th.
But he was also an All-American guard at Durham who averaged 12.2 points as a freshman in 2006-07 before eventually leading the Blue Devils to a national championship as a senior in 2010. He knows all too well the standards that have been laid down to incoming freshmen here, especially during the NCAA Tournament.
“The fact that we were able to bring in really competitive dudes and let you coach them, I think we’ve been able to create an environment on our team where they’re not afraid of the moment. They’re not afraid of the spotlight. And they set a standard for themselves with how hard they play all the time.”
That starts with Flagg, the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year, who was also one of just two consensus All-Americans, along with Auburn’s Johni Broome. The Maine native leads the 35-3 Blue Devils in most major categories, including scoring (18.9 ppg), rebounds (7.5 rpg), and assists (4.2 apg).
Flagg has bumped those numbers up a bit in the NCAA Tournament, where the Blue Devils were the No. 1 seed in the East Region. He averaged 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in four games as Duke reached the Final Four for the first time since 2022.
Flagg’s performance includes a 30-point, 7-assist, 6-rebound output against No. 4 seed Arizona in the Sweet 16.
But it’s not just Flagg that’s getting the job done in his first year in Durham. Kon Knueppel is averaging 14.4 points per game and led Duke with 21 points in an 85-65 victory over No. 2 seed Alabama in the East Region final. He was named second-team All-ACC.
Khaman Maluach, a 7-foot-2 center from South Sudan, is averaging 8.7 points and 6.8 rebounds and is tied with Flagg for the team lead with 1.3 blocks per game. He earned honorable mention All-ACC and is averaging 11.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks in the NCAA Tournament.
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Isaiah Evans (7 ppg) and Patrick Ngongba II (4 ppg) are also contributing rotational minutes, with Ngongba II leading Duke with eight rebounds in its victory over No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s in the first round.
“That’s what I hope you guys see when you watch us,” Scheyer told Hawk and McAfee. “You know how together we are, but most importantly, how hard we play. And I think for a young group to have that is a big-time thing.”
Houston is up next Saturday night at 8:49 p.m. ET at the Final Four in San Antonio. And you can count on the freshmen being ready to continue that standard.
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