By: Caleb Zuver
December 8, 2024
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer gave the people what they wanted in the opening month of the season. He scheduled four non-conference games against some of the top teams in the country. First up was a neutral-site games against Kentucky, then a road game at Arizona and a neutral clash with Kansas before finally heading home for a game with Auburn in the SEC/ACC challenge.
Not only are these games good for the sport, they are good for Duke as well.
They are called measuring stick games for a reason. Duke found out what kind of basketball team it has over the last month. Now, the Blue Devils have an idea of what their ceiling is as well as what their deficiencies are. After going 2-2 against stellar competition, let’s dissect how the Blue Devils look right now.
Late game execution
Let’s get the hard discussions (i.e., the bad and the ugly) out of the way first. There will be plenty of good to discuss later, believe me.
After the 75-72 loss to Kansas on Nov. 26 where both Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel turned the ball over in the last minute of the game with a chance to take the lead, Duke fans began to notice a trend in these big games: the Blue Devils’ crunch time offense was inefficient.
In the Kentucky game a few weeks prior, Flagg turned it over twice in the last minute trying to spin around the Wildcat defense in a one-possession game. Thankfully, against Arizona, Duke was up double digits for the last four minutes and didn’t have to worry about one play losing the game. However, in our latest data point, the Auburn game, Duke may have found a building block.
The lineup that closed the 84-78 win against the Tigers was Tyrese Proctor, Knueppel, Sion James, Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown. James took on a bigger role Wednesday night as he was inserted into the starting lineup with sophomore guard Caleb Foster came off the bench. This allowed Proctor to handle the basketball down the stretch instead of Knueppel or Foster.
As a three-year starter, Proctor's experience is invaluable for Duke. His turn around jumper in the lane with three minutes to go put Duke up seven with three minutes to go. With 1:30 left and Auburn down five, James earned a block as well as a key defensive rebound to end Tiger possessions. The veterans were getting it done.
While there isn’t enough data to prove that a lineup change was the magic elixir to cure all of Duke’s problems, Wednesday night was a step in the right direction.
Isaiah Evans. He’s good.
There was a key component missing in the first three big matchups for Duke and he announced himself to the college basketball world Wednesday night.
Blue Devil fans didn’t need the introduction, though. After the Kansas game, many hoped it would be the final time we saw Isaiah Evans get a DNP next to his name in the box score. But once six three-pointers found the bottom of the net in the first half against Auburn, there’s a good chance Scheyer got the message too.
I have to constantly remind myself that I don’t know what goes on in practice. Many Duke fans might benefit from doing the same. That's why I’m sure there were valid reasons for Evans not seeing any playing time in those first three major contests.
When Evans did get time against the likes of Maine and Army, it was clear there were some issues he needed to work through on the defensive end. But it’s fair to wonder if he could’ve helped the 4-for-24 (16 percent) performance from three-point range against Kentucky. Or he may have provided that first half spark against Kansas to avoid a 23-10 deficit in the first 10 minutes of the game.
Regardless, his 18 first half points against Auburn is the best moment, I would argue, Duke has had at Cameron Indoor Stadium this decade. Evans provides another element to this team that they didn’t previously have --- a self-confident microwave of offense.
The defense looks legit
Duke held Kentucky to under 40 percent shooting. That becomes even more impressive when you consider that the Wildcats are averaging north of 90 points per game this year. Three days before Arizona played Duke, the 'Cats scored 88 points on the road at Wisconsin. Against Duke, they only scored 55 at home.
Duke’s interior defense is a clear strength. They held arguably the best big man in the country, Hunter Dickinson of Kansas, to 4-for-11 (36 percent) shooting. They had him so flustered, he decided to kick Brown in the face.
Auburn Center Johni Broome hit his average of 20 points, but had to work for every bucket. He shot 8-for-18 (44 percent) from the floor. It could’ve been a lot more if Duke didn’t get him in foul trouble and cause him to be less aggressive.
Duke hasn’t let one player single-handedly beat them this season. Their defense will present problems because of Khaman Maluach and Brown protecting the rim and Proctor pestering the other team’s best perimeter player. That was evident in the four biggest games so far this season.
The truth about the transfers (so far)
The transfer portal is tricky. You can either ruin a team’s chemistry, or you can drastically improve your roster. Scheyer hit the portal hard and it looks like it’s worked in Duke’s favor.
Let’s start with Brown. I don’t know if I’ve fallen in love with a Blue Devil role player faster than I have with the former Syracuse forward. During the Auburn game, there was a two minute stretch in the first half where he racked up three deflections and a put-back score. You don’t have to look at his box score to assess his value; although he leads the team with 1.9 steals per game. If deflections were a statistic for the public to see, I would imagine he’s leading the country in them. The team’s energy is different when he’s on the floor. On a team full of freshmen and young players, knowing what you are going to get from Brown every night is where his value lies. Consistency is a major key to his game.
James has contributed in big ways through the first month of the season. On several occasions during the Arizona game, he slipped an off-ball screen and dove to the rim for layups and dunks. His relentlessness attacking and finishing at the rim adds another dimension to the Duke offense. While he will need to be able to hit the occasional three to maximize his offensive ability, I have been pleased with his impact.
Mason Gillis has been shaky through the first eight games. Through 36 minutes against the four major opponents this season, he’s 3-for-11 (27 percent) from the field with six fouls. With the emergence of Evans, he only saw four minutes in the Auburn game. How they split those minutes going forward will be a development to watch.
In the Scheyer era, Duke always seems to drop a December ACC game on the road. Two years ago it was Wake Forest. Last year it was Georgia Tech. Sunday, they’ll get conference play started against a rejuvenated Louisville program that made the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Hopefully, playing these non-conference games has Duke more battle-tested heading into ACC play than in years past.
Caleb Zuver | @zuves35 on Twitter / X
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