Duke: Strongest Season Ever?
I live in Czechia, meaning that every game that Duke plays occurs around midnight. Despite this, my Father, a Duke alumn, and I have gotten up to watch almost every single game this year. By doing so, I have been able to analyse their season, and I know that Cooper Flagg and Duke may have just had their most influential season in decades. Jon Scheyer’s 8-man rotation strategy pushed Duke to their limits and unleashed real passion, which all came down to ONE shot in the final four.
Everyone wants to go Blue; Duke’s deep recruitment system and the transfer portals influence.
Duke’s recruitment program is always able to recruit some of the largest and best prospects of the year. The transfer portal adds to their recruitment because Duke can visualize how players play in college and sign them based on what impact and role they will have at Duke.
Since 1999, Duke has recruited 64 players who have played in the McDonald’s All-American game. Of this list, every player was at least a top 50 recruit in their respective graduating class. This stat emphasizes the importance of Duke’s program and why Duke is so influential that, on average, 2.5 of the top 50 recruits always commit to Duke every year. This speaks to Duke’s professionalism and Scheyer’s ability to pick out the players who he believes have the strongest work ethic and will have the largest impact on their opponents and teammates. Duke also treats all of their players with love and respect, as they manage to treat them with respect shown in the clip linked below, when lottery pick Dereck Lively and 31st pick in the 2024 draft, Kyle Filipowski, faced off in a matchup at the Empire Invitational. In this clip, both players show signs of respect towards the program and the way they treat their players. — All of the numerical stats are from ESPN.
Leading into the 2025 NBA draft, Duke has had 57 players drafted into the NBA since 1999, 26 being lottery picks, not including projected 2025 lottery picks in Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach. This means that the Duke recruitment system has a lot of depth.
Duke doesn’t always choose the top 5 players to win, they choose the strongest and most prepared mentally and physically. Scheyer is often seen attending games of recruits that might not be the highest ranked in the ESPN 100 list, but Scheyer can see the difference between a player who has potential playing at a higher level and the player who gets recruited by teams because of his stats, accolades, and, most importantly, rankings.
Several players, especially in the 2010s and 20s that have been ranked in the top 50 have shown to not flourish and excel as some lower ranked players who love the game, for the game, because passion and giving your all on the court even if you are not top 50 will always beat out talent and skill. The NCAA has a limit on how many players a team can offer a scholarship every year. Scheyer understands these concepts, which is why he can make critical decisions on which 15 players he will offer a scholarship and which 15 players he will sub in for gameday. All of Duke’s number one overall picks in the NBA draft since 1999 were not the number one-ranked recruit.
This emphasizes Jon Schyers and Duke’s program always having the best recruitment team. The coaches are able to closely watch the players from each draft class, and they determine and inquire which of the players will have the largest impact and experience to become a pro in the future. Also, the coaches go to different schools to watch games to see what playing style will transfer to the higher level. — All of the numerical stats are from ESPN.
Nearly 2700 players entered the transfer portal before the deadline of April 22, 2025. The transfer portal has a huge influence on Duke’s recruiting process. In the last five seasons alone, Duke has welcomed 13 recruits from the transfer portal and given their farewells to 11 Blue Devils who did not think of Duke as their best team to compete at. These transfers allowed Duke to thrive over the last few years, ultimately making them one of the most efficient and highest-ranked transfer portal teams (247Sports).
These players have undoubtedly played crucial roles in all of Duke’s last March Madness runs and dominations during ACC play. A few players who have stood out among the most productive transfers for Duke are Sion James, Maliq Brown, and Ryan Young. These three players showed relentless hustle on the court, along with team spirit, as they all played pivotal roles during Duke’s Final Four and Elite Eight runs during the final season tournament. Schyer has been able to lead Duke to an overall 89–22 record over the last 3 years through hard work, discipline, and strategy. Schyer has brought in top recruits every year and has recruited several crucial players from the transfer portal who have been able to fulfill their positions at the team and lead Duke to achieve important things, setting them one step closer every year to becoming the best team to ever do it. — All of the numerical stats are from ESPN.
Scheyer’s 8-man rotation is one of the smartest lineups we have seen since the 1998–99 UConn Huskies.
Jon Schyer had his strongest season out of his three-year coaching career. Schyer was not only able to convert on some heavy-duty recruiting, but he also developed one of the smartest lineups ever seen in college basketball. Schyer’s 8-man rotation consisted of Duke’s 8 most efficient and able guys in: Cooper Flagg, Tyrese Proctor, Kon Knueppel, Khaman Maluach, Sion James, Maliq Brown, Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evans, and on some occasions, Patrick Ngongba II and Mason Gillis.
Critics were sceptical as Duke faced two early-season devastating losses to Kentucky, 72–77, and Kansas, 72–75. Despite the troubles in the early season, Duke was able to make a stand as they came through defeating #2 Auburn 84–78. In this early-season showdown between the two powerhouses, Duke was able to come out on top. Scheyer’s 8-man rotation was the reason for this crucial victory. This showdown proved that Scheyer not only chose the right players for the lineup, but that he also rotates the players at the correct time and moments. One of the many examples of this is Isiah Evans with his important performance in the David vs. Goliath matchup, where he managed to sink six triples from deep in the first half, clinching Duke a 7-point lead at the half, which you can see in this video. Entering the second half, Caleb Foster sank one three at the half, tallying up 9 points while Cooper Flagg managed to pull down 10 boards heading into the locker room. Entering the second half, Duke managed to catch fire as they went on a 9–4 run during the first 3 minutes of the second half.
Duke’s roster was able to distribute the ball to perfection, with strategic off ball screens finding open shooters all game long allowing Duke to hit 9 threes while 7 of them came from players off the bench, exhibiting the depth of Scheyer’s 8-man rotation with Brown, Evans, and Foster coming off the bench to make big plays. — All of the numerical stats are from ESPN.
Schyer has been able to assemble his 8-man rotation through understanding and comprehending the different player types that arise from the rest of Duke’s lineup.
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Kon Knueppel, the 6’7 freshman from Milwaukee, brings impeccable depth to the Duke roster as his unique finishing at the rim allows him to compete against larger players in the paint. Moreover, Knueppel shoots 40.6% from beyond the arc, along with his 2.2 three-pointers made per game, which adds to the impact on Schyer’s rotation and Duke’s ability to function as a team, and as a whole.
Khaman Maluach, the 7’2 South Sudanese giant, plays possibly the most crucial role defensively for Duke. Towering over his opponents, Maluach averaged 1.3 blocks and 6.6 rebounds, on top of contributing towards Duke’s scoring with a field goal percentage of 71.2%. Maluach poses as a large defensive threat while also being a lob threat, as he is an efficient scorer in the paint, claiming Duke’s highest field goal percentage while having at least played 35 games.
Tyrese Proctor, the 6’6 guard from Sydney, brings possibly the most talent to this young Duke squad as his distinctive shot creation allows Proctor to thrive under pressure and while bringing up the ball. For instance, in Duke’s first two tournament games against Mount St Mary’s, 93–49 and Baylor 89–66, Proctor scored a combined 13 threes out of just 16 attempted, heavily contributing to Duke’s win margins in these games, which you can see in this video.
Sion James; the 6’6 transfer from Tulane was not only able to contribute to Duke’s success with his intelligence but also James was voted onto the All ACC Defensive Team, meaning that he was able to bring a lot of energy into the game and make reads that essentially shaped Duke into not only being a powerhouse on offense but also on defense. As said by legendary football coach Bear Bryant, “Offense wins games, defense wins championships”.
Maliq Brown, the 6’9 stretch forward, was an injury threat, but when he was on the court, Duke had one of the strongest defensive ratings in the entire NCAA. Duke ended up 4th on the Team Defensive Efficiency by the end of the season (TeamRankings). Brown was arguably the most efficient defender in the ACC and perhaps in the entirety of college basketball, despite Brown finishing 5th in voting for ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year, Brown averaged 5.9 defensive deflections a game while tallying up a total of 94, the highest in the ACC and one of the highest in the entire NCAA. This makes Maliq Brown Duke’s most efficient defensive player since Shelden Williams, who won back-to-back NABC Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2005 and 2006.
Caleb Foster, the 6’5 returning guard, played an important rotation role in which he had to step up during certain outings. Foster was primarily responsible for bringing up the ball as Duke’s third point guard. Foster was a strong rotational player who was able to distribute the ball as a well-organized point guard, which brought depth to the 8-man rotation.
Isaiah Evans, the 6’6 guard, was one of the most energetic and passionate players that Duke has ever acquired. Evans’ presence is known when he steps up to the court with his swagger and zealous clapping, which hypes up his teammates. Evans is one of the best three-point shooting guards in the ACC, with a 41.6% three-point percentage and averaging close to 2 threes made per game (1.7). Evans’ energy shows passion and sparks diligence within the players around him, which makes him a valuable asset and a key player.
Last but most definitely not least, Cooper Flagg, the 6’9 forward from Maine, Duke’s leading scorer and facilitator on the court. Despite reclassing into a grade above, Flagg managed to take College basketball by storm by winning the POY (Player of the Year) at only 17 years of age. Flagg managed to lead a young team at Duke to the Final Four as he acted as a commander who played a monumental role in Duke’s success, and led the 8-man rotation to victory. — All of the numerical stats are from ESPN.
Cooper Flagg just choked in the most critical moment of Duke’s season, possibly losing the title of the greatest team of the 2010s.
Cooper Flagg has had an impeccable influence on Duke’s season despite reclassing to the class above. The 17-year-old phenom arrived at Duke expecting to play a crucial role in Duke’s success and have a strong season for Duke. However, nobody could have predicted Cooper Flagg’s significance and hype that he was given during the season. The phenom led Duke in every major stat: points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks. His 19.2 points per game and his 42-point performance against Notre Dame, in the video linked, displayed his masterclass, along with being able to read the game, heaving assists left and right, while also being able to flourish defensively, which led Duke to where they ended up and what they were able to achieve. — All of the numerical stats are from ESPN.
Flagg also managed to pile up several accolades. In Flagg’s sole college season, he won the AP Player of the Year, Naismith Award, NABC Player of the Year, Wooden Award, and the Julius Erving Award while also managing to be a 1st Team AP All-American.
Flagg’s game was able to translate from playing EYBL youth tournaments with high schoolers, to Peach Jam with semi-pros, to playing against 5-star recruits from all over the world at Montverde Academy, as he faced the #1 ranked player in the class of 2026 in the Montverde Invitational Tournament. After Flagg’s high school career, he practiced with Team USA prior to their participation in the 2024 Summer Olympics. During the runs that took place during the training for the Olympics, Cooper Flagg displayed relentlessness as he was able to score, find open players, and defend some of the most talented players in the NBA, as you can see in the linked image below. — All of the numerical stats are from ESPN.
This calls to Cooper Flagg’s contribution to Duke’s monster season through his accolades and traits, which he was able to put on display with such a strong and meaningful supporting cast that Jon Scheyer was able to provide for him based on his play style.
Flagg also managed to propel Duke to the №1 seed overall in March Madness and the AP poll through his leadership at such a young age. Flagg’s play style was further developed than most players in the NCAA, as the other contenders for the AP Player of the Year award were all seniors, juniors, and freshmen. Flagg’s game is fluid. Flagg was born and raised to hoop. He started hoopin' in the sixth grade with a six-foot frame. This has given Flagg a stand over his opponents as his experience from a young age has influenced his career exponentially. Flagg has gained so much exposure since a young age, as he constantly had a camera in his face and clips going viral, as shown in the video linked below, when 14-year-old Flagg was dominating High School competition. Because of this, Flagg had opportunities to train with great coaches and professionals. This all led Flagg to choose Duke, and Flagg has been able to work on every aspect of his game, which has brought him to the player that he managed to be for Duke. Because of Flaggs’ empowering and engaging childhood, he has had opportunities that have essentially led him to his success while playing for Duke, and these opportunities have also encouraged him to pose as a leader at the highest level, which he has constantly been able to show at Duke.
Despite Cooper Flagg’s immense contribution and influence on college basketball, he has had a few issues with crunch time during the final 5 minutes of showdowns. This has heavily impacted Duke’s team success this season, which you can read more about in this mini-article about the games in which Duke has struggled and who was responsible for the losses.
These games and moments that Duke has encountered and struggled in throughout the season, and post-season, have had a large impact on the turnout and results that Duke has had in their season. As a result of these games, Duke lost in the Final Four of the national championship in a devastating loss to their season. This is why Duke’s impressive season is completely understated and does not get the credit it deserves. These important games that are viewed by many critics, unfortunately, provide reason for teams not to be titled some of the best, although looking through their entire season reveals the story of their success and deserved credit.
Duke has managed to provide reason and has proved worthy to be named one of the greatest teams, lineups, rotations, and assembly of players with all having unique traits and skills that they brought to the team. Duke’s 2024–25 team is the best of the 21st century, as they have claimed this title through their hard work, energy, passion, and the influence that they have brought to college basketball and the whole world to see, even though some don’t award Duke the credit they deserve.
Duke’s season has come to an end as they have also lost their best player to the NBA draft. Duke is an influential team whose reign will continue for years to come. Jon Scheyer has consistently been able to form strong rosters through recruitment, along with forming the strongest rotation to be able to dominate the ACC and college basketball as a whole. Under Scheyer’s rule, Duke has consistently made the National Championship. Scheyer already has a roster prepared to dominate next year that will continue his legacy and recruitment reputation.
