Duke Blue Devils Pre-Season Edition (Season 16; Issue 0) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Pre-Season Edition (October 18, 2024)

During the Blue-White game, faces both familiar and fresh give a glimpse of the future of this Duke team. Photo credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

You may notice a chasm where Bill’s CliffsNotes would usually be. Family circumstances prevent his contribution at this moment, but he will return to the DBP in the first regular season entry.  Of course, we miss his insights and eloquence in the meantime!

ALANALYSIS:

The prospects for the 2024-25 edition of the Duke Blue Devils are as intriguing and unpredictable as I can remember.  Only 2 players return from last year’s rotation – junior point guard Tyrese Proctor and Sophomore backup point guard Caleb Foster.  Gone are starters from last year: Kyle Filipowski (NBA), Jared McCain (NBA), Jeremy Roach (transferred to Baylor) and Mark Mitchell (transferred to Missouri).  Five backup players also transferred, even including two red shirts.  With 9 newcomers to the rotation (6 heralded freshmen and 3 experienced transfers), this Duke team is loaded with talent. 

Point guard will be as critical as any position for this year with multiple options.  Jeremy Roach transferred to Baylor in what was for us a shocking move.  Jeremy knows his professional career will be at point guard.  Coach Scheyer played him at scoring/shooting guard, with Proctor at the point, for the good of the team.  Jeremy did not transfer until he knew that Proctor was returning.

Whether this team of strangers can create the necessary championship chemistry will determine whether the Blue Devils will contend for a National Championship or produce a disappointing mediocre season.  Intriguing and unpredictable!

What We Have Seen So Far

There is no real way to analyze this edition of the Blue Devils without seeing them in competition against good teams.  Of course, that hasn’t yet occurred.  However, Duke has released footage of workouts (everyone looks great in the highlights), and there were two Blue-White 10-minute halves played on October 4, 2024, at “Countdown to Craziness”.  Players switched teams for the second half.  Those two halves are the most we have to go on so far.

Caleb Foster has succeeded Ryan Young as the host of Duke’s The Brotherhood podcast.  Caleb has interviewed each of the rotation candidates (Duke has 11 good players;  these 11 are all hoping and competing to be in the rotation. Being a rotation player meaningful time in the game, regardless of who starts the game.  Typically, Duke – by season end – has established between 7 and 9 rotation players).  Caleb was excellent in drawing out spontaneous and candid reactions of who was most impressive in practice, which were amazingly consistent with each other and contributed to what we know before the season actually begins.

The 11 Players Competing to Be in the Rotation

Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster

In the postseason, nothing is more critical to success than a reliable backcourt.  Duke returns these two experienced guards, who have given checkered performances in the past.  I believe Proctor’s return is the reason that Jeremy transferred to Baylor.  Tyrese has been extraordinary at times and disappointing at others.  Whether Proctor realizes his potential or not will have a profound impact on Duke’s season.

I believe the role Foster has played in the podcasts has given him renewed confidence.  His play in the second half of the “Blue-White” contests corroborates that potential.  In 10 minutes, he was 5-5 (on a mix of drives, deep shots, and intermediate shots) to lead all scorers with 14 points.  He was the star!

The Six Heralded Freshmen

Hotly Heralded

When we say heralded, we mean literally heralded.  In ESPN’s analysis of the top 100 NBA big board rankings for next Spring’s draft, three Duke freshmen are ranked in the top 8 that are predicted to be drafted in the lottery (quotes are from ESPN).

 # 1 Cooper Flagg, (6’9” all-court player), who was the only amateur on the Select Team that played the US National team in pre-Olympic games: “ The 17-year-old’s versatility on both ends of the floor will make him an impact player from Day 1 despite his youth, as he’s already one of the best teenage defenders you’ll find with his exceptional combination of intensity, instincts and explosiveness.” 

#6 Kon Knueppel (6’7” wing) who was rated last year’s 17^th best high school player.  His Duke teammates consistently told Caleb on the podcasts that surprisingly, Kon was the best player in the practice. “Knueppel has drawn rave reviews all preseason from Duke’s coaching staff, and we got to witness it when taking in a 90-minute scrimmage in Durham, North Carolina. It’s easy to see why Knueppel led the Nike EYBL in scoring and 3-pointers made, while converting a blistering 47% of his attempts, as he has elite balance, footwork and range getting into spot-up and pull-up jumpers. He has shown excellent pace, physicality and skill with the ball, demonstrating versatility and smarts while creating shots for himself and others.” 

# 8 Khaman Maluach, (7’2” 250 lbs. center with a 7′ 6” wingspan), who played in the Olympics for South Sudan, and in the Nike Hoops Summit for the World team against a USA team led by Flagg.  He just turned 18 last month.  “ it’s obvious he’s going to play an important role anchoring the Blue Devils’ defense with his terrific timing as a rim-protector and solid mobility covering ground on the perimeter. Maluach is a terrific communicator who plays with intensity, which helps compensate to an extent for his lack of experience, having played the sport for roughly only five years. That shows up most vividly on offense, where he doesn’t have the best hands or processing speed currently, being a little mistake prone and not quite as reliable a finisher as one might hope with him lacking strength and balance.”

Incredibly, and without precedent, ESPN believes at this moment that 3 of the first 8 NBA draft choices next spring will come from this Duke team!  

Warmly Heralded

Both Isaiah Evans, (6’6” wing – i.e. shooting guard or small forward) North Carolina high school player of the year, rated # 13 in last year’s high school class.  He appears to be a pure scorer:there are some players that just score — perimeter, intermediate game, and at the rim.  Not great shooters, but unstoppable scorers.  Evans amassed that reputation in high school.  He scored 62 points in a State Championship game.

Darren Harris, (6’6” wing) the lowest rated freshman, at # 37, in his high school class, might also be the best pure shooter.  Harris played for Virginia’s Pope Pius VI.  The National High School championship game had Florida’s Monteverde, led by Cooper Flagg, defeating Pope Pius VI with Harris playing .

Finally, Patrick Ngongba II, (6”11” center) also from Pope Pius VI, was rated # 19 in his high school class even though he did not play much because of a serious foot injury.  He did play 2 final games – the Nike Hoops Summit where he played for the US team and guarded Kahman.  Patrick also made a brief appearance in the National championship game against Monteverde.  He is unfortunately out with an injury (might be the same one that did not heal right), but he impressed me with his movement.  He will be valuable when he returns.

The Three Veteran Transfers

Duke welcomes three veteran players. Coach Scheyer recruited these transfers  who have already accomplished much in their college careers. 

 Maliq Brown, is a 6’9” junior power forward from Syracuse who made the ACC All-Defensive team last year..  He impressed Coach Scheyer when he scored 26 points and grabbed 7 boards against Duke last year in Cameron.  After Knueppel, Maliq’s teammates on the podcasts mentioned him as the most efficient in practice, especially praising his defense.  If Ngongba is out injured, Maliq will back up Khaman; unless Maliq wins a starting job at power forward – Duke would then have a huge and powerful frontcourt with Flagg, Khaman, and Maliq.  Unlikely, but certainly possible and may happen at times.

Mason Gillis, a 6’6” wing and grad transfer, who was the 6th Man of the Year in the Big 10 last year for Purdue.  He played in last year’s championship game, and is reputed to be a deadly 3-point shooter.  

Sion James is a 6’6” point guard graduate transfer from Tulane, who has played well on both ends of the court in scrimmages.  James was, in my opinion, the surprise star of the pre-season scrimmage.  He blocked two of Khaman’s shots at the rim!  He drove, passed, all while exuding charisma.  

Goals and Predictions

Duke’s goals at the beginning of every season have always been: 1) win the ACC regular season championship; 2) win the ACC tournament; and 3) win the NCAA championship.  AP’s preseason rating (Oct. 14)  of the top 25 teams has Duke at # 7, and UNC at #9.  UNC will be very tough, returning RJ Davis, a first-team All-American last year, and the preseason favorite for the Wooden Award.

Teams in the  ACC frequently exceeded preseason expectations.  For example, who saw N.C. State in the preseason as a Final Four team in 2023 (Answer: no one).  Preseason, the Wolfpack were predicted to finish 6^th in the ACC with no guarantee of even an ACC tournament bid.  All N.C. State did was win the ACC regular season, the ACC tournament, and get to the final Championship game of the season in the NCAA tournament before losing.  Preseason predictions can seem to be just for fun.

The Schedule

Exhibition games

October 19 in Cameron at 1 pm, Duke plays Lincoln College (Pa), a Division II  HBCU near Oxford Pa. Lincoln is predicted to win the CIAA conference.  It will be on ACCNX.  I can pick that up on ESPN+.

On October 27 at 7 pm in Cameron, Duke will welcome Bobby Hurley and his Arizona State Sun Devils in the Brotherhood Run charity exhibition game to benefit Duke Children’s hospital and to honor Hurley, whose Jersey (# 11) was retired in 1993.  Hurley, the former Duke point guard (1990 – 1993) holds the NCAA men’s basketball record for career assists with 1,076 and sparked the Blue Devils to a four-year record of 119-26 (.821) with three Final Four appearances and back-to-back national championships in 1991 and 1992. In addition to his record-breaking assists, the 1992 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player and two-time All-America selection (1992, 1993) amassed career totals of 1,731 points, 306 rebounds and 202 steals from 1989-93.  

No TV listed, but I predict the game will be televised.

The Regular Season

Duke opens in Cameron on November 4 at 7 pm on ACCN against Maine (a bow to Cooper Flagg, who hails from Maine.)  The Blue Devils have 7 games in November and 4 of them are against serious opponents:

November 12 against Kentucky (ranked # 23 by AP Preseason)  in Atlanta, Ga. in the State Farm Classic (ESPN at 9 pm)

November 22 against Arizona (ranked # 10 by AP Preseason)  at the McHale Center in Tucson

November 26 against Kansas (ranked # 1 by AP Preseason) in Las Vegas (Vegas Showdown) on ESPN at 9pm

November 27 against Seattle (unranked) in Las Vegas (Vegas Showdown) on ESPN at 7pm.

Conclusion

This configuration  of the Blue Devils could end up mediocre or as the National Champions.  Duke plays an unusual number of serious games in the early going. We will know much more about this Duke team after the December 4 home game against Auburn (ranked # 11 by AP Preseason)  in the ACC/SEC Challenge and the December 8 game against Louisville at the “KFC Yum! Center”,  which is the beginning of the ACC season. 

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Duke Blue Devils Pre-Season Edition (Season 16; Issue 1) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 
Exhibition Games Edition (October 31, 2024)

The brotherhood lasts a lifetime. Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s Cliffsnotes:

After watching a few scrimmages and exhibition games, I have thoughts and some questions:

This is the deepest, most talented team Duke has ever had. This squad may have too much talent. The question is whether Coach Scheyer and his staff are experienced enough to handle this many good players? What will his rotation be? Seven, eight, or ten players? Duke tradition has been that a six or seven man rotation works the best. But this risks making disgruntled players who do not get playing time.

Gymnasiums are full of assistant coaches who have failed when they have followed legends, like John Wooden, Dean Smith. True, Jon Scheyer has really excelled at recruiting, but coaching is another skill set—especially in the current easy transfer portal and  one-and-done era. Every hometown star who gets a scholarship to a bigtime school has his parents, friends, and agents filling his head with unrealistic expectations. Remember, these are teenagers and young adults, most of whom have been

catered to and spoiled because they are gifted athletes, not

because they are necessarily potential Phi Beta Kappas.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Jon Scheyer was a good choice. He had a legendary career as a high school player in the Chicago area, moved to point guard at Duke mid-career, out of necessity, and was a key component in winning a NCAA Championship. Through his four years at Duke, he proved to be one of the smartest, most reliable players Coach K every recruited, which is why he was offered a job on staff after a serious eye injury perhaps short circuited his potential pro career prospects. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, because his skill set was always more mental rather than physical.

His current Duke team is blessed with both size and fire power, with 7’2” Maluach (from Sudan), 6’11’ Patrick Ngonga (from St. Paul Vl in Manassas – currently injured), and 6’9” Cooper Flagg (from Maine), everyone’s #1 Freshman. So far, 6’7’ Kon Knueppel (from Wisconsin) has been the most impressive three-point shooter at Duke since J.J. Redick. Others, including some interesting, experienced transfer players will have to fight for playing time.

The major conundrum I have is that the point guards are young; they’ve been ok but not consistent championship caliber– but then neither was Bobby Hurley as a freshman.

The bottom line is that this squad is promising, perhaps the most promising in Duke’s history, but only time will tell if they will become a team that the basketball gods smile upon.

The freshmen fly high. Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Alanalysis

The two exhibition games were our first chance to see this season’s Duke team play against two other teams, neither of which is considered to be the kind of elite team that the Blue Devils will have to dominate to have a championship season.  Still, seeing who Coach Scheyer started, brought off the bench, and for how long each played was informative.  It was a good chance to evaluate individual players.

The first exhibition game against Division II Lincoln (Pa) was played on October 19, and the second, against Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State, was played on October 27.  Both games were in Cameron.  Hurley’s return to Cameron (first time in 31 years) was deservedly celebrated, as he is one of the greatest Duke players ever (2 National championships, the All-Time college assist leader – still – and First Team All-American). Both Coach K and Hurley’s former team mate Grant Hill also attended – to cheer everyone on!

The lineups that Coach Scheyer chose and employed, and the statistical results from each of the 10 who may make the rotation, are identified herein.  The 11th possible rotation player, 6’ 10” freshman center, Patrick Ngongba II, has been injured and unable to play yet.

Notes from Lincoln (Pa) Game on October 19, 2024

Duke started Caleb Foster (returning) and Sion James (grad transfer from Tulane) in the backcourt, freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel on the wings, and Maliq Brown (Junior transfer from Syracuse) at center.  Proctor (returning), Khaman Maluach (freshman), and Mason Gillis (grad transfer from Purdue) were the main players off the bench. Freshmen Isaiah Evans and Darren Harris also played significant minutes in the second half.  

Halftime score – Duke 56 – Lincoln 34

First Half: Minutes Fouls The Good Stuff

Foster 14 2 5 points

James   7 2 3 assists

Flagg 13 2 13 points, 6 assists, 3 blocks, a steal

Brown   8 3 2 rebounds, 6 points

Knueppel 18 1 15 points , 3 boards, 2 Assists

Gillis 12 0 a steal, 2 rebounds

Proctor 14 1 15 points, 3 boards, assist and steal

Harris   2 0

Maluach 12 0 9 boards, 2 blocks, a steal, 2-2 foul shots

Full Game  Duke 107 v. Lincoln 56 (2^nd half – Duke 51 – Lincoln 22)

Foster 22 2 8 points, an assist and a steal

James 18 4 7 points, 6 boards, 3 assists. 2 steals

Flagg 24 2 22 points, 6 assists, 4 blocks, 2 boards

Brown 19 3 7 points, 3 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals

Knueppel 25 2 17 points, 5 boards, 3 assists

Gillis 19 0 3 rebounds, a steal, 2-2 free throws

Evans 10 1 9 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, a steal

Proctor 22 1 19 points, 3 assists, 3 boards, a steal

Harris 13 1 8 points, 2 boards, 2 assists

Maluach 20 0 11 boards, 2 blocks, a steal, 4 points

Duke’s Defense: was not coherent in the early going, but improved, then holdingLincoln to 22 second-half points.  In the first 12 minutes of the second half, Duke scored only 22 points.  But, in the last 8 minutes, the Blue Devils scored 34. 

Notes from the Arizona State Game on October 27, 2024

Halftime score — Duke 37 – Arizona State 21

The starting lineup now appears (to me) to be set: the guards are the returning Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor.  Surprisingly, Caleb is the primary ball handler.  The starters up front are the freshmen Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach.  Sion James and Mason Gillis were the first off the bench and played substantial minutes.  Maliq Brown (limited by 3 fouls), Isaiah Evans and Darren Harris made token appearances.

Caleb led the scoring with 9 points.  Cooper Flagg and Proctor each scored 7, with Cooper adding 4 boards and 2 assists.  Maluach added 6 points, 5 boards and a block.  The only other scorers were Kon Knueppel and Mason Gillis with 4 points each.

Full Game  Duke 103 v. Arizona State 47 (2^nd half – Duke 66 – Arizona State 26)

            Minutes Fouls The Good Stuff

Knueppel 21 0 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals

Foster 23 1 17 points, 3 assists and 2 steals

Proctor 21 1 10 points, 3 assists, 4 boards and a steal

Flagg 20 1 9 points, 4 boards and 3 assists

Maluach 21 1 8 points, 12 boards an assist and a steal

James 22 2 13 points, 3 assists and a steal

Gillis 22 1 10 points, 4 assists, 5 boards

Brown 17 3 5 boards (did not score)

Harris 13 0 10 points, 3 steals and 2 boards

Evans 10 1 5 points and 2 assists

In the second half, Duke shot 65% from 3land (15-23), 62% overall (23-37).  After going 0-4 from deep in the first half, Kon exploded for 10 points on 3 consecutive possessions that took exactly 86 seconds – and blew open the game.  He hit 3 straight 3s (getting fouled on the last one for a 4 point play).  That’s called explosive!

Moreover, Duke committed only 7 turnovers in the entire game and handed out 25 assists on 38 made field goals.  (Duke had 25 assists on 37 made field goals against Lincoln.)  In both games, Duke moved and shared the ball like a championship team. 

The Cameron Crazies went berserk when Spencer Hubbard scored at the end of each game.  He is such a fan favorite!

But it has been Duke’s defense that really impressed – in both games.  Against both Lincoln and Arizona State, the Blue Devils forced 18 turnovers.  While Khaman Maluach had 2 blocks in each game, he altered or kept opponents from even attempting to score at the rim.  Many times, adversaries drove past Duke players only to encounter Khaman coming over to contest them at the rim.  More often than not, no shot was attempted.  At 7’2” with a 9’8” standing reach as well as his leaping ability, Khaman is a real rim protector.

In a postgame interview, Hurley complimented Duke, “[Duke] really played well together. Both ends, their communication, they are switching. They are challenging shots. They are pressuring us on defense, so things didn’t come easy to us in any way on that end of the floor. 

“On the flip side, they seem like they’re a very connected group, a team that, a bunch of guys that are willing to share the ball to make the right play and guys that have pretty high IQs. I really liked [Kon] Knueppel on the film. I watched and he showed that again [in the game]. He moves without the ball, can shoot it, pass it. [Cooper] Flagg obviously [showed the same talents]. 

“So, they have a lot of good pieces and then they have the big guy [Khaman Maluach],  or they can play smaller; so, they have different ways that they can attack you. So, right now, they look really good to me. I’ve seen a lot of good teams over the years; yeah, they have a chance to be really good.”

Our steady returners – Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor. Photo Credit, GoDuke.com

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Duke Blue Devils 96 v. Maine Brown Bears 62 (Season 16; Issue 2; Game 1) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #1 (November 4, 2024)

Duke Blue Devils 96 – Maine Brown Bears 62 at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Editorial Board Note:Bill is ill and Alan is pontificating in Virginia about legal issues, so the Editorial team is doing the lift solo to finalize this one. CliffsNotes and photos will return with the next issue!

ALANALYSIS

While Maine kept the game surprisingly close in the first half – Maine trailed by single digits (35-27) with 3:51 to go in the half – the outcome of the game was never in doubt, and Duke led by double digits for most of the opening stanza.  Duke led by 17 with 12:27 left in the half, but seemed to lose intensity, which allowed Maine to close the gap.  Coach Scheyer: “For us, it was the first time we’ve really been hit back hard, and I think that was great for us to experience. I think there’s a small part of human nature when you get that lead and you think, ‘All right it’s just going to keep going this way.’ That’s not how it works. And for us to experience that was really important tonight.”  Duke must learn to overcome “human nature”(as Coach K used to say –relaxing when  the lead is big is a tempting mistake.

The Blue Devils did entertain us in this game with devastating defense, topflight depth, and an offense in the second half that moved the ball, drove to the rim and made shots from the perimeter.   

The Defense

Maine’s Coach Chris Markwood’s words describe the impact of the Blue Devil defense perfectly:

“Duke’s pressure just really took us out of our execution, and that’s what they’ve been doing.  … What they do on the defensive side with the personnel that they have is tremendous. It really impacted what we were able to do offensively, and what we were able to execute. We just had a really hard time handling that on that side of the ball. I thought defensively, as the game went on too, our execution on what we do was very sloppy. And all the credit goes to Duke on that. The stuff they were running, the pace at which they were running it with, just made it difficult as the game went on… 

“A more modern day roster … allows them to be extremely versatile defensively and very interchangeable. That’s a big word you’re going to hear. You hear it in all phases of basketball right now, at all levels, and they have that. They’re very interchangeable with the guys that they brought back, the transfers that they brought in. It just allows them to play in different ways. I think Brown is a game-changer defensively with his ability to switch five. Obviously Maluach, you bring him in at 7’2”, and the rim protection and things that he brings to the table. They just can hurt you in a lot of different ways defensively. Then, when you add the pressure, because they’re so interchangeable, the switching, the picking you up the full court, it just takes you out of a lot of stuff. It doesn’t allow you to run your normal sets or your normal offense, because they’re always blowing it up. … They’re really good at really blowing up your game plan. Essentially, that’s what they’re trying to do. They’re tremendous defensively. I would be shocked if they’re not a top 5 or top 10 defense in the country as the year goes on.” 

However, Duke committed 12 second-half fouls, which produced 16 made free throws for Maine (16-16).  In fact, Maine scored 1 more point from the free throw line than the floor (6-24, including 1-6 from behind the arc for 15 points).

The Topflight Depth

Although freshmen Darren Harris and Isaiah Evans made cameo appearances near game’s end, the Blue Devils played 8 extensively.  Duke starters were the returning guards, Caleb Foster (Cfos) (22:28) and Tyrese Proctor (25:46) together with 3 heralded freshmen, Kon Nnueppel (31:22), Cooper Flagg (29:51) and Khaman Maluach (17:46).  Duke’s 3 veteran transfers supplied the topflight depth.  Maliq Brown (junior transfer from Syracuse) (21:39), Sion James (grad transfer from Tulane) (20:44), and Mason Gillis (grad transfer from Purdue, who was Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year last year) (20:18).  

The depth and full court pressure simply wore the Brown Bears out and allowed Duke to stretch its lead from 8 (44-36) after 28 seconds of the second half had been played to 36 points with only 1:54 left in the game.  

The Second Half Offense

The Blue Devils scored 52 points in the second half on 18-31 shooting from the floor (58%) including 6-14 from behind the arc (43%).  Subtracting the 3-point attempts, Duke made 12-17 inside the arc.  The scoring was balanced: Cooper scored 10 second-half points, Sion James had 8 points, Caleb, Tyrese and Kon each scored 7 points, and Mason scored 5.  Darren Harris also scored 6 second-half points (in 3:28 of second-half playing time).

The Blue Devil offense left the paint open for driving to the basket, with all five players stationed on the perimeter.  Maliq made some great passes to cutting Blue Devils. Duke scored 22 second half points in the paint.

The Blue Devils outrebounded Maine 24-9 including 7-1 on the offensive boards. Duke handed out 8 assists, while only turning it over 6 times.

THE ROTATION

Kon Knueppel (31:22) led Duke in scoring with 22 points, 15 in the first half, (8-14, including 3-8 from behind the arc, plus 3-3 from the stripe).  Kon grabbed 4 rebounds, handed out 2 assists and made a steal. Coach Scheyer, “I thought it was just great for [Kon] to see the ball go in early. He’s a multi-dimensional player, though. The scoring was great, but I thought his defense was really good. If teams collapse, he’s a really good passer, and he just plays every possession. Not just plays, he competes every possession. To me, that just sets a tone, and when there’s a guy on the court you have to find, it just opens up the floor for others too.” 

Cooper Flagg (29:51) played a great floor game.  He was injured with 3:59 left in the game, but it has been reported as only a cramp.  Cooper scored 18 points (6-15 from the floor, including 0-4 from deep, plus 6-6 from the foul line), while grabbing 7 rebounds and handing out 5 assists.  He also made 3 steals and played simply outstanding defense.

Tyrese Proctor (25:46) scored 10 points (3-6 from the floor including 3-5 from 3land, plus 1-1 from the line). Tyrese also grabbed 5 boards, but did not hand out an assist.  He was not the primary point guard.  He is demonstrating that he is a superb on-the-ball defender. Coach Scheyer, “Tyrese, even though he didn’t get a lot of shots, just the way he made others better [was valuable].” He had five rebounds, defended, and made simple plays.

Caleb (Cfos) Foster (22:28) played point guard, scoring 11 points (5-9, including 1-3 from behind the arc, plus 0-2 from the foul line).  Cfos handed out 3 assists and corralled 2 rebounds.  His drives to the basket were impressive.

Maliq Brown (21:39) scored only 2 points (1-2, including 0-1 from deep), but was one of Duke’s best players.  Maliq handed out 4 gorgeous assists and grabbed 7 rebounds while playing superb defense (he was on last year’s ACC all-Defensive team at Syracuse).

Sion James (20:44) plays point guard when Caleb isn’t running the team.  He scored 11 points (4-6 from the floor, including 1-2 from deep, plus 2-2 from the foul line).  Sion played excellent defense (2 steals) and grabbed 3 boards while handing out an assist.

Mason Gillis (20:18) scored 10 points (4-6 from the floor, including 2-4 from behind the arc).  Mason contributed an all-around floor game with 3 rebounds and 3 steals.

Khaman Maluach (17:46) played 12 first-half minutes, but only 5 in the closing stanza.  Khaman scored 6 points (3-3 from close in) while grabbing 6 rebounds and blocking 3 shots.  He also had an assist.  He changes and alters shots with his 7’5” wingspan.  

Isaiah Evans (6:38) had a brief cameo in each half (0-1 from the field) with 2 boards.

Darren Harris (3:28) had a very productive cameo appearance near the end of the second half.  He scored 6 points (1-1 from behind the arc and 3-5 from the foul line).

Closing Thoughts

Duke is rated 7^th in the pre-season polls.  This is a group that could contend for the ACC and National Championships, depending on how chemistry develops.  The ACC games do not begin until December 8, 2024.  The Blue Devils face several games against blue chip opponents between now and then.  Our optimism is high.

NEXT PLAY: Friday, November 8, 2024, at 6 pm vs. Army at Cameron Indoor Stadium. ACCN

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Duke Blue Devils 100 v. Army West Point Black Knights 58 (Season 16; Issue 3; Game 2) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #2 (November 8, 2024)

Duke Blue Devils 100 – Army West Point Black Knights (West Point) 58 at Cameron Indoor Stadium 

Kon jazzes up the crowd. 

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffNotes:

The powderpuff part of the schedule will end abruptly as Duke meets Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas, and Auburn on the road in rapid succession before starting their always challenging ACC schedule. These games will show how well the freshmen have matured and the team has gelled. Do not expect them to sweep the series but, if no one is injured, they should emerge from the crucible better for the experience. The new reality is that we expect players in the one-and-done era to mature at warp speed—accomplish in a week or maybe a year what it used to take three or four years. Gee, in my day freshmen couldn’t even play on the varsity–even if their name was Art Heyman or Doug Moe. Now Duke has a 17 year old, whose twin brother is still in high school, who is considered a generational talent and is the projected first pick in the NBA draft, and the most gifted freshmen are auditioning for the NBA draft.

Consider this: North Carolina, coming off a close game at home against Elon, and finally without Bacot, their high scoring and rebounding center (as well as other key players) were down 15 at the half  to Kansas at Allen Field House in Lawrence, Kansas.  But they rallied and were leading by four with minutes to go (ultimately losing by three).  Even with R.J. Davis, their All American guard  having a rare off night,  their young players, who could not throw the ball in the ocean from a dingy last year, couldn’t miss most of the night. Alert – UNC is running the court all the time and is still no easy out this year!

As I pointed out, so far neither Procter nor Foster, while talented players, have not yet demonstrated that they are, as of yet, playoff point guards.  Personally, I like Sion James, who is built like a linebacker (6’6”, 235 lbs.) at the point better, with Procter and Foster sharing the shooting guard spot. Or, better yet, Cooper Flagg running the point at key moments. With the game on the line, you want the ball in the hands of the best, and most versatile player. This is not to discount Kon Knueppel (aka Special K), who may be Duke’s best shooter since J.J. Redick or Dick Groat.

As impressive as some of these Duke players may appear, they have not come up against mature—in talent and size– competition with their skill set. They are deceptively young, with various levels of maturity. Some respond, some don’t.

Stay tuned!

OTHER COMMENTS:

Saturday’s victory over N. C. State was the first time in about twenty years that Duke beat both UNC and the Wolfpack in football in the same year. Coach Diaz, whose father was once mayor of Miami, and his assistants have done a wonderful job this year—despite trying circumstances.

Buzz Mewhort, captain of the 1962 basketball team, and his lovely wife Martha were in Hilton Head this weekend. We had lunch with them and Harvy (his former fraternity brother) and Marilyn Rich, and Johnny and Jo Tar Heel.  A piece of trivia: Buzz is the only player to play for both Vic Bubas and Dean Smith. It happened when the UNC 1957 NCAA Champions were barnstorming through North Carolina.  In one game UNC was short of players and Buzz was chosen to switch teams!  

A poised Proctor projects his classic long range shot

Photo credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

My favorite fact to illustrate Duke’s overall team superiority against Army is that Duke scored 57 second-half points… without Cooper Flagg contributing a single point.  In fact,  Duke walk-on Spencer Hubbard (senior, 5’8”) outscored Flagg 3-0 in the closing stanza.  It is also insightful that the Blue Devils held the West Pointers to 20 first-half points.  Stunning statistic!

Next up: Kentucky

The Blue Devils have rolled over their first four opponents (2 exhibition games [107-56; 103-47] and 2 regular season games against lesser opponents [96-92; and 100-58]).  The next game, however, is against an elite team – how the team handles this will give us a more accurate read on the progress and status of this 2024-2025 edition.  On Tuesday, November 12th  Duke takes on the Kentucky Wildcats in the State Farm Classic in Atlanta, Georgia.  Kentucky is 2-0, having reached 100 points in each game (beat Wright State 103-62 and Bucknell 100-72) to earn a 15^th in the nation ranking from Jay Bilas.  

Coach Lawson put the point perfectly when the Duke women lost a tough road game against highly ranked Maryland: “You play these games to learn about yourselves –to have things revealed.  You win by 50, you don’t learn a ton about yourself; you just learn you can blow people out.  These types of games, you learn about each player. How do they handle a top match up; how do they handle going up against a top team?  How do they handle it when we go down 10 points?  These are the kind of things you need to know about your team.   So, then you can try and fix it”

The next edition of the DBP will be a Must Read.

Flagg waves in an athletic dunk.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Cooper Flagg

For the second game in a row, Cooper left the game because of cramping in his calf. In the first half, Flagg was superb (13 points, 10 boards, 2 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal). He played only 4:21 of the second half before being forced to step out of  the game with leg cramps. After a short stint on the bench, Cooper tried to come back, but left the game for good after playing for another 1:20.

Coach Scheyer: “I’m not happy about it for him. We have to help him, and we will. We can’t have that happening. Bottom line. I thought he had it going, too. That first half, he was just really controlling the whole game with his rebounding, his passing, his playmaking, his scoring. He was assertive shooting the ball. So, that can’t happen. I’m not happy with it, and we’re going to fix that.” 

Defense and Rebounding

Scheyer: I was happy with what we did, overall. A lot to clean up, a lot to build on. Particularly the first-half defense, to hold them to 20 points was great. Cooper [Flagg] and Khaman [Maluach], to have double digit rebounds in the first half.” The  leading rebounders for the full game (as opposed to just the first half) were Khaman who retrieved 14 rebounds in 21:41 of playing time. Flagg retrieved one board in the second half, giving him 11 for the game. Maliq Brown snared 7 in 18:25.

Offense

Duke had 19 assists on 35 field goals.  The ball was really moving, and the scoring was balanced (Kon had15 points, Tyrese 14, Cooper 13, Sion James 12, Caleb 11,  Khaman 11, and Mason Gillis scored 8).  In the second half, the Blue Devils shot 68% (21-31) from the field, including 10-16 from behind the arc (meaning Duke was 11-15 from inside the 3 point line), scoring 57 second-half points.  Phenomenal is the appropriate adjective!

A determined Caleb driving for a hoop

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

Kon Knueppel (27:00) led Duke in scoring with 15 points (5-9 from the field, including 4-6 from 3land, plus 1-1 from the stripe) to go with a pair of rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. His star is rising.

Caleb (aka CFos) Foster (24:43) was Duke’s primary point guard, scoring 11 points (5-10 from the field, including 1-3 from deep) to go with 3 assists.  His growth from last year as both a point guard and scorer is being apparent.

Cooper Flagg (24:33, 18:53 in the first half) dominated the game in the first half before cramping cut short his second-half playing time.  Cooper scored 13 points (all in the first half) (5-10 from the field, including 2-4 from behind the arc, plus 1-3 from the stripe) to go with 11 boards (he got a second half rebound), 3 blocks, 3 assists and 2 steals. He is living up to the hype.

Tyrese Proctor (23:02) scored 14 second-half points after going scoreless in the first half (including missing his 3 shots from behind the arc).  For the game, Tyrese was 5-12 from the field, including 4-9 from deep, to go with 5 boards, 3 assists, and a blocked shot. He is playing less point guard and more shooting guard.

Khaman Maluach (21:41) scored 11 points (4-7 from the field, including 0-1 from behind the arc, plus 3-4 from the stripe) to go with his 14 rebounds.  After the game, Khaman told reporters, “I just went out there and did my job. Get rebounds – that’s all I had in my head. Get every offensive rebound or every defensive rebound.  I’m getting there one step at a time with the college game. It’s a different game, but I feel like I’m catching up every game. I knew it was going to be different, and I wasn’t scared of the change, so I knew a lot of stuff was going to be different and I had to just adapt to it. Being a college athlete is great and I’m just enjoying and embracing every moment while I’m here.” 

Sion James (18:25) had a wonderful game, scoring 12 points (3-8 from the field, including 1-4 from behind the arc, plus 5-5 from the foul line) to go with excellent defense (2 steals) and 4 assists.  He is a terrific backup at the point.

Maliq Brown (18:25) had 7 rebounds, an assist, and a steal while playing exceptional defense.  He scored only 2 points (1-2 from the field without a 3 point attempt plus 0-2 from the stripe), but he is such a valuable defender. He was voted to the ACC All-Defensive team last year, playing for Syracuse.

Mason Gillis (18:09) scored 8 points (2-4 from deep plus 2-2 from the foul line) to go with 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.  He is highly valued for his past experience at Purdue – being voted Sixth Man of the Year in the Big 10 last year and playing in the finals of the NCAA tournament – he has become a steadying influence.

Isaiah Evans (9:29) scored 6 points (2-4 from the field, including 1-3 from 3land, plus 1-1 from the stripe) to go with a pair of rebounds.

Darren Harris (7:00) scored 5 points (2-2, including 1-1 from deep), plus a steal.

Spencer Hubbard (2:31) was 1-1 from behind the arc, sending the Crazies into loud ecstasy for their fan favorite!!

Summing Up

Coach Scheyer is pleased with his rotation, especially the three transfers (Maliq Brown, Sion James, and Mason Gillis.) “When you add a Sion and add a Mason, they’re over themselves [They have already made their bones as the freshmen have not]. They’ve already gone through the experiences of a freshman, a sophomore trying to find out who they are, and it brings security with those guys. Maliq [Brown] is very close to that, as well. Then our freshmen, I just think our freshmen are mature beyond their years, and they’re about the right things. They’re about being coached.”

Khaman “enjoying and embracing every moment”

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

NEXT PLAY: Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 9 pm vs. Kentucky in the State Farm Classic at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta Ga. TV: ESPN

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Duke Blue Devils 72 v. Kentucky Wildcats 77 (Season 16; Issue 4; Game 3) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #3 (November 11, 2024) 

Duke Blue Devils 72 – Kentucky Wildcats 77 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta Georgia (State Farm Champions Classic) 

Cooper Flagg dances on air to the basket. 

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffNotes:

Maybe it is a characteristic of a young team, maybe it is something else, but I would like to point out to the Blue Devils that they are not in high school anymore – the college game is a full 40 minutes. It is counter productive to win the first 20 minutes or so and then get outplayed most of the second half.  Seems like last year’s team (perhaps the year before also) had the same problem, but the result is the same—heart break! 

It would help if we hit a better percentage of free throws and threes. Of course, it would also help if Maluach and James hadn’t been injured. Cooper Flagg proved he could rise to the moment—except for the last 30 seconds –next year’s presumptive first pick in the NBA draft wasn’t so special. But then that was the bottom line – what Blue Devil players had their Big Boy Pants on for the entire game?

Khaman dunks…Can’t block that shot! Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS:

Coach Scheyer echoed Duke women’s coach, Kara Lawson, “you find out in this game the character of your team, the heart that they have.” In our previous issue, Kara was quoted, “These types of games, you learn about each player. How do they handle a top match up; how do they handle going up against a top team?  How do they handle it when we go down 10 points?  These are the kind of things you need to know about your team.   So, then you can try and fix it.” Scheyer pointed to the gallant resistance Duke put up even as their once substantial lead continued to shrink. I do not believe “gallant resistance” is the main lesson the Blue Devils need to take from this late-game loss.

Duke needs to address its offensive melt down in the second half (26 total points; 29% shooting including 1-11 from 3land), frustrating turnovers (not just the last 2 by Cooper) and a crucial missed free throw in the final seconds when the game was on the line. All this was on top of a defense that was never efficient and turned even more porous in the second half (Kentucky scored 40 second-half points on 44% shooting).  

Duke’s depth proved deceptive, if not non-existent.  Khaman Maluach kept cramping, which limited his playing time, and his efficiency, while Sion James was injured early in the second half and was able to play only 1:19 in the closing stanza.  Thus, Cooper Flagg, Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel all played the full 20 minutes of the second half.  Maliq Brown and Khaman split the time almost evenly at the center position.  The only other bench help was Mason Gillis’s 5:08.  Isaiah Evans and Darren Harris never entered the game.

While the Blue Devils played an excellent first half, scoring 46 points to lead by 9 (46-37) at the half, the final score is deceptive because the Wildcats completely outplayed the Blue Devils in the closing stanza. Duke’s play in the second half was so subpar that the final score of the game does not reveal Duke’s dramatic shortcomings.  For the game, Duke could not find the basket from behind the arc, shooting 17% (4-23).  The Wildcats scored 30 points from deep (10-25) compared to Duke’s 12.

The Second Half (Kentucky 40 – Duke 26)

The Blue Devils’ 9 point lead  at the end of the first half continued through the first 6:23 of the second half. Then, turnovers (6 against only 5 assists) and missed shots contributed to a shrinking lead.  The Wildcats achieved their first tie of the second half (67-67) with only 3:57 left in the game, and first lead after a Kon turnover with 2:40 remaining (69-67).  With 2 minutes left in the game, Cooper was fouled as he hit a jumper and cashed the free throw to give Duke its last lead (70-69)  

Ten seconds later, Kentucky’s Andrew Carr hit a layup as he was fouled by Khaman.  When Carr cashed the free throw, the Wildcats led 72-70.  Foster made a great play with 1:20 left to play when he stole the ball and was fouled. When Foster stepped to the line to shoot a 1 and 1,  he could have tied the score, but he missed the crucial front end… and that opportunity.  Fortunately for Duke, Brown corralled the offensive rebound and Cooper tied the score at 72 on a layup with 1:14 left , which proved to be Duke’s final points of the game.

Maliq made a great block and Cooper secured the rebound — Blue Devil ball in a tie game with 30 seconds left.  It was no surprise that Scheyer put the ball in Cooper’s hands after the superb game he played, and also compared to how his teammates had performed in the second half. The star freshman dribbled into a corner and then simply lost the ball with 12 seconds left. Shocking after Cooper had  kept Duke in the game for the entire second half.  Kon fouled Kentucky’s Otega Oweh with 10 seconds left, and Oweh made them both.  Kentucky led by 2.  Cooper streaked down the court, but again lost the ball when he again dribbled into a corner with 5 seconds remaining.  Duke was forced to foul with only 5 seconds left in the game.  Oweh converted both free throws to complete the Kentucky 5 point margin of victory.

Cooper scored more than half of the Blue Devil 26 second-half points before his two crucial turnovers (14 points on 5-12 from the field, including 1-3 from 3land – Duke’s only 3 pointer of the half – plus 3-5 from the foul line).  Aside from Cooper’s 3, Duke was 0-10 from behind the arc in the second half (Cooper had 2 misses besides the single deep basket; Kon 0-3; Caleb 0-3; Tyrese 0-1; and Mason 0-1).  

The statistics accurately reveal how truly terrible Duke’s second half offense was: Proctor, who played the entire half, was 0-2 from the field and 0-1 from deep, adding 2-3 from the foul line for 2 points; Foster, who played 14 minutes, failed to score at all (0-4 from the field, including 0-3 from deep, and his critical missed free throw); Knueppel scored only a pair of points on one made field goal, despite 8 attempts!, including 3 shots from behind the arc; Maliq failed to score in 9:22 of playing time, missing his only 2 attempts; Mason Gillis (5:38) and Sion James (1:19) each scored 2 points.  Khaman was 2-2 for 4 points.

In the second half, Kon ( 8 shots) and Cooper (12 shots) took 20 of Duke’s 34 in the second half.  For the game, Kon and Cooper took 39 of Duke’s 71 field goal attempts.  This was a far cry from a balanced attack.

On the defensive side, Duke simply did not defend with intensity or efficiency in the closing stanza where the Wildcats scored 40 points on 43% shooting.  Kentucky was 11-21 from inside the arc (3-9 from deep) with 9 assists on 14 field goals.  The Blue Devils allowed Kentucky to score  20 points in the paint in the closing stanza.

For that matter, the Duke defense gave up 37 points in the first half and was hardly a model of efficiency.  The Wildcats were 7-16 from behind the arc in the  opening period, outscoring the Blue Devils from deep by 21-9.

Kneuppel might have been off his game, but Kentucky sure looks impressed.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(7) Kon Knueppel (36:53) did not shoot well but scored 14 points, (5-20, including 1-8 from behind the arc, plus 3-4 from the stripe) to go with 5 rebounds and 2 assists.  He had 4 of his shots blocked and turned it over twice.  Indisputably a sub-par performance in his first game against an elite team, even though he did score 12 points in the first half.

(5)Tyrese Proctor (36:04) scored 14 points, 12 in an efficient first half (for the game, 4-9 from the field, including 2-5 from 3land, plus 2-3 from the foul line) to go with 3 assists and 3 rebounds, without a turnover.  He is not playing point guard for now.

(2) Cooper Flagg (31:56) sat out the last 4 minutes of the first half when he picked up his second foul.  For the game, Cooper scored 26 points (9-19 including 1-5 from behind the arc, plus 7-9 on free throws) to go with a team-leading 12 boards, 2 blocked shots and 2 assists.  Very impressive – right up to the last 12 seconds.

(1) Caleb Foster (28:34) is the Duke point guard for now.  He scored 4 points (2-9 from the field including 0-4 from deep, plus that missed free throw near game’s end) to go with 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 boards (2 turnovers).

(9) Khaman Maluach (22:41) scored 10 points (5-5 field goals) and gathered 7 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.  Khaman was limited by the cramping in his leg, after he got his leg caught under Kentucky’s Andrew Carr while chasing a loose ball on the first possession of the second half.  Khaman stood up very slowly but remained in the game before going to the bench with a cramping issue a few minutes later. Two minutes after returning to the court, he was forced to exit again, this time going to the locker room after being worked on next to the bench for several minutes. “It’s concerning,” Coach Scheyer said. “Part of it is we have young bodies. I think that’s part of it. We got to help these guys. We’re not just trying to dip our toes in the water … We got to take a hard look at it.”

(6) Maliq Brown (16:53) again failed to score (0-2 on point blank layups) but played superb defense (a blocked shot) while garnering 8 rebounds.

(18) Mason Gillis (13:56) scored 2 points (1-3, including 0-1 from 3land) and corralled 3 rebounds  He played only 5 minutes in the second half.  

(14) Sion James (13:03 but only 1:19 in the second half because of injury) scored 4 points – 2 in each half – (2-4 from the field without a 3 point attempt or a foul shot).  He is the valuable point guard backup, who was missed in the closing stanza.  He grabbed a pair of rebounds and handed out an assist.

Time for the Blue Devils to put their heads together.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Ruminating

The second half is the first negative experience for this team since practice started, and just might be a needed lesson about how formidable elite teams really are.  Duke’s vaunted depth took a hit with Sion’s injury and Khaman’s cramping.  However, Patrick Ngongba, 6’11” freshman who had not played, or even dressed for a game, dressed and was on the bench for this one.  He’s obviously not in game shape but has the potential to reinforce Duke’s inside presence and bench.  Cooper’s late game turnovers (which may have been the difference between winning and losing) is also his first negative experience since beginning in the summer when he starred for the Select team that played the US National team.  Cooper is said to be a quick learner, and perhaps he needed the errors to focus him even more on simply getting better.  He will have the ball at crunch time in the future.

NEXT PLAY: Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 12:00 pm vs. Wofford in Cameron Indoor Stadium. TV: ACCN.

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Duke Blue Devils 72 v. Wofford Terriers 35 (Season 16; Issue 5; Game 4) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #4 (November 16, 2024) 

Duke Blue Devils 86 – Wofford Terriers 35 at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Patrick Ngongba and Maliq Brown congratulate each other over Patrick’s season-debut

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffNotes:

In horse racing, a veteran trainer makes a decision when to take a promising young horse “on the road” (away from the track and surroundings with which they are familiar) to see how it reacts and performs to the unfamiliar. Well similarly, Duke went on the road and was good the first half but not the second against Kentucky. They returned to the friendly and familiar confines of Cameron and the ever supportive  “Crazies” for a far more impressive performance defensively and offensively beating Wofford 86-35. 

An interesting aspect was Cooper Flagg sort of stuffed all the lines of the stat sheet without leading the scoring (only 8 pts.), being satisfied with operating as a point forward feeding his teammates—especially Procter and Foster, who were a NIL Seven-Eleven convenience store advertisement (7-11) for threes. You can see why Coach Scheyer moved Tyrese to shooting guard. It’s time for him to become more consistent. In addition, Special K (Knueppel) had a quiet (for him) scoring night as he played a very complementary role.

 It’s the first game that Jon Scheyer had all his players available.  Patrick Ngongba played and exhibited fine footwork, and repeatedly demonstrated a knack for tipping a rebound to an open teammate. If he remains injury free, he will add another skilled big man (6-10) to the front line.

More good news: Duke hit just four threes against Kentucky. In this one, they hit 16-38 (42.1 percent). Also, an encouraging stat is that Duke also hit 90.9 percent from the line (10-11). These next few games against Kansas and Arizona should make these young players much tougher during 2025.

Proctor’s accurate jump shot

Photo credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

While Wofford had opened the season with a 112-58 home win over Erskine, the Terriers had losses at both Lipscomb and Presbyterian.  While it was apparent that  Duke was not going to be tested in this game, nobody predicted a 51 point blowout.  

I believed that Coach Scheyer would play Isaiah Evans and Darren Harris, who did not see the floor against Kentucky.  Both played in this game, and Isaiah was Duke’s second leading scorer. The news that Patrick Ngongba II had dressed for the Kentucky game was uplifting.  I have seen him play in high school (Pope Pius VI, as a teammate of Darren Harris) and he is an excellent prospect as a big (6’11”) man.  My hope for his health permitting playing time was not only realized, but may be the best news that Duke should take from this game.  His presence restores Duke’s depth.

First Half – Duke 51 v Wofford 20

The Blue Devils had a smoking hot first half, while Wofford could not put the ball in the ocean.  The Terriers shot 20% from the field (6-30) including a paltry 2-20 from behind the arc (10%), though many were open attempts that just missed.  The announcers kept criticizing Duke’s 3-point defense, despite the statistics. Scheyer agreed that the Terriers missed a boatload of open 3s. The Devils had 6 steals and blocked one shot (Sion James).

On the other hand, Duke played all 11 rotation candidates.  The Blue Devils shot 58% (18-31 from the field, including a gaudy 45% –8-18 – from deep).  The ball movement and passing was dazzling – 14 assists on 18 made baskets. Proctor led the scoring with 12 first-half points (4-6 from the field, including 3-4 from behind the arc, plus 1-1 from the stripe), while Isaiah Evans scored 8 points in 4 minutes (2-3 from 3land plus 1-1 from the stripe).  Khaman Maluach was 4-5 from very close to the basket plus 1-1 from the free throw line for 9 first-half points.

Second Half – Duke 35 v Wofford 21

Duke defended even better in the second half holding the Terriers to 8-27 (30%) and 3-13 from deep.  The Blue Devils forced 12 second-half turnovers in reaching victory by 51 points.  On offense, the ball kept moving.  Duke had 10 assists on 12 made field goals (39% from the field; 40% from deep).  However, unlike Kentucky and Arizona, Wofford is a long way from an elite team.  Duke’s second half against Kentucky is troubling, and Arizona will be a good test to see how much the Blue Devils have developed.  The Athletic published an excellent analysis of Duke’s performance in the second half against Kentucky that is worth sharing (written Nov 14, 2024 by C.J. Moore):

“What eventually cost Duke was its predictability. In the second half, Duke had only four possessions that included at least three completed passes. On most trips, only one or two players touched the ball and everyone else stood around.

“Eventually, Kentucky knew exactly what was coming. So, on the biggest possession of the game, Oweh was able to bring help and get the steal when Flagg spun because the Cats weren’t worried about anyone else being a threat.

“Right now, Duke is an easy scout. Stopping Flagg and Knueppel is not so easy, but you know what’s coming. And sometimes basketball is simply a make-or-miss game, but there’s a psychological component to riding one or two players. Yes, Foster missed a wide-open 3 above, and Flagg got him a great shot. But it can also be hard to make a shot when you’ve just been standing around for a while. It’s a lot easier when everyone is involved.

“The Blue Devils are not always taking high-percentage shots, and Duke’s complementary players were in a tough spot in the second half because everything was designed for Flagg (and sometimes Knueppel) to take the shot.

“The Blue Devils have a lot of firepower. Eventually, they need to get to a point where the ball sees the second or third side of the floor and there are multiple attacks in one possession, forcing the defense to scramble. Right now, it’s one action, maybe one pass or two, then a shot.

“Kentucky won with team ball, Duke lost with iso ball [isolation- where the player just goes one on one, which is the opposite of team ball with lots of passes], and it was almost as simple as that.”

C-Fos fires off a 3

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (28:00) grabbed 9 rebounds (team lead), handed out 6 assists (team lead), 3 steals (team lead) and blocked 2 shots (team lead).  Cooper also scored 8 points (3-8 from the field, including 1-5 from behind the arc, plus 1-1 from the foul line).  What an all-around game!

(7) Kon Knueppel (22:59) also scored 8 points (3-6 from the field, including 2-4 from deep) to go with 5 boards, 4 assists and a steal. 

(5) Tyrese Proctor (22:26) led Duke in scoring with 15 points (5-9 from the field, including 4-7 from 3land, plus 1-1 from the stripe).  Tyrese contributed 3 boards, 2 assists, and a steal.  He is such a good on-the-ball defender.

(1) Caleb Foster (22:16) scored a very efficient 13 points (4-6 from the field, including 3-4 from behind the arc, plus 2-2 from the foul line) to go with 2 assists, 2 steals and a rebound.

(6) Maliq Brown (20:22) played a solid game both at center and at power forward, defending superbly with a steal.  He grabbed 4 rebounds and handed out an assist  to go with his 2-2 from the field for 4 points.  He has 3 fouls (and has been fouling a lot) plus turned it over 3 times.

(14) Sion James (18:33) seemed fully recovered from his shoulder injury suffered in the Kentucky game.  He played an excellent overall game with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, while scoring 5 points (1-3 from deep, plus 2-2 from the foul line).

(18) Mason Gillis (17:50) scored 5 points (2-7 from the field, including a dismal 1-6 from behind the arc).  He contributed 3 rebounds and an assist.

(9) Khaman Maluach (13:26) scored 11 points (5-7 from close in, plus 1-1 from the foul line).  Surprisingly, Khaman had only 1 rebound and did not block a shot. 

(3) Isaiah Evans (12:04) scored better than a point per minute, scoring 14 points (4-8, including 4-7 from 3land.  He was 2-2 from the free throw line) to go with a rebound and a steal.  It was a dazzling offensive display,

(21) Patrick Ngongba II (10:52)  made his season’s debut an impressive one, showing very few signs of rust after playing little last year and sitting out weeks this year.  Patrick was 1-1 from the field for 2 points while he garnered 6 rebounds (2^nd on the team in his short time on the floor; pretty impressive!). The 6’11” freshman also had 2 assists and a steal.  His return is a significant boost for this team.

(8) Darren Harris (9:04) retrieved 4 rebounds, but missed all four of his shots from the floor (0-1 from deep), but made 1-2 of his free throw attempts and also handed out an assist.

(55) Spencer Hubbard (1:04) is the 5’8” senior walk-on who is a fan favorite in Cameron.  He missed his only shot, causing all of Cameron to groan. 

The Next 4 Games Will Be Revealing

Jay Williams on ESPN said this Duke roster may be the most talented ever at Duke.  He said it was jaw-dropping, and when I considered the 1991-92 and 1999 rosters, I also thought this year’s roster was jaw-dropping.

Duke will play 3 highly-ranked (elite) teams between November 22 and December 4 – Arizona, Kansas, and Auburn.  The ACC schedule begins December 8, 2024, against Louisville. These games are to be the catalyst for Scheyer to develop his rotation heading into the ACC schedule.  The coach and fans will learn much in these next games against elite teams.

Arizona was ranked 8^th in the Coach’s Poll and 9^th in the AP poll before the Wildcats were blown out on the road by unranked Wisconsin 103-88 (a disaster for Arizona).   Duke plays in Tucson next Friday.  Arizona is elite and will be angry and loaded for bear — a great test for the post-Kentucky Blue Devils.

Four days later, Duke plays #1 ranked (both polls) Kansas in the Vegas Showdown in Las Vegas.  After a game against unranked Seattle, the Blue Devils face 4^th ranked Auburn in the ACC/SEC challenge.  We will know much more about this Duke team after the crucible that Coach Scheyer has scheduled.

Khaman operates at the rim

Mason Gillis and Proctor lend support

Photo Credits: GoDuke.com

NEXT PLAY: Friday, November 22, 2024, at 10:30 pm vs. Arizona at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Arizona.  ESPN2

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Duke Blue Devils 69 v. Arizona Wildcats 55 (Season 16; Issue 6; Game 5) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #5 (November 22, 2024) 
Duke Blue Devils 69 – Arizona Wildcats 55 at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Arizona. 

Fast break Foster: Caleb leads the Blue Devils Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

When I first saw Duke’s men’s Basketball schedule starting with Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas, and Auburn, I thought what the #&%$, does the N.C.A.A. Tournament now start the season? Then I thought: this will either toughen up the young one-and-done proteges—or break them. After a disappointing second half against Kentucky that shouted, “this isn’t high school anymore, elite teams play all 40 minutes!” The Blue Devils responded with a tough, physical two half effort to defeat Arizona decisively 69-55. The remaining two games and the ACC schedule will tell if the “tough love” approach works on this basically young squad. Once again 17-year young Cooper Flagg was Duke’s catalyst, but with special K [Kon] recovering from a disappointing shooting effort against Kentucky to contribute against Arizona by knocking down some timely threes. In addition, Khaman Maluach and Maliq Brown shared the post, while Sion James was impressive supporting Caleb at point guard. Frankly, I prefer Sion at this time to Caleb Foster. He is bigger, and more experienced both offensively and defensively. The lesson here is that as impressive as Cooper is, his Batman needs a couple of Robins to complement him—especially Tyrese Proctor and Special K.

I also think that the coaches substituted better both strategically and in a more timely manner in this game than against Kentucky. [the Editorial Board notes that, over bagels & lox this morning, Alan shared his disagreement with Cliffnotes, pointing out that the coaches made almost zero substitutions in both the Kentucky and the Arizona games]. So perhaps, everyone has something to learn from these tough, early games.

High Fly Ty: Proctor scores in the first half

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

The Blue Devils bounced back from the second-half debacle against Kentucky (I am not counting  their beat down of Wofford) to post a well-deserved win against a highly ranked Arizona team.  Arizona has proved themselves to be a fierce rebounding team this season, but Duke held them to 1 first-half offensive rebound (only 6 for the whole game).  The Blue Devils defended with passion and intelligence.  Scheyer: “to come in here, hold them to 55 points, out-rebound them by 13, did a good job keeping them off the foul line –to me, those were the keys.”

The Defense

The Wildcats had scored 93, 102, and 103 in their first 3 games. Yet, the Blue Devils held Arizona to only 27 first-half points and only 28 second-half points…the Duke defense deserves to be feted in poetry for those results!   Coach: “It helps when you have individual defenders to begin with. Anybody that’s playing for us, our team is a roster of guys that can guard the ball, good positional size, we’re able to switch a lot. The job Tyrese did, look, [Arizona’s Caleb]Love is a big-time player, but Tyrese is as good of a defender on the perimeter. He’s a pest. He’s so disciplined with what he does. I thought that was big time. And then the versatility of [Cooper and Kon], they can really guard one through four. And then you have a fastball and a sinker with Khaman and Maliq… you can guess who’s the fastball and you can guess who’s the sinker. They’re both so unique with what they do on the defensive end, Maliq with his pressure [sinker], and then Khaman with his rim protection [fastball].” 

Much of Arizona’s high powered offense this season has been getting fouled and scoring big time from the foul line.  While Duke committed 19 fouls, the Wildcats only made 7 free throws off of 11 attempts.

Rebounding

Arizona has a huge front line and figured to out-rebound the Blue Devils, but that just did not happen.  Duke fought like tigers on the boards and ended up out-rebounding the Wildcats by 13.  It was an awesome achievement, based on solid effort and quality coaching.

Khaman stretches up to protect the Duke rim

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Second Half (Duke 35 v. Arizona 28)

Duke had a well-documented breakdown last game in the second-half against Kentucky, with only Cooper performing well (not counting his two crucial turnovers in the last 12 seconds).  Against the Wildcats, Cooper scored more points and didn’t make the game losing gaff at the end… a true All-American half: scoring 16 points on 11 shots, to go with 4 boards, a block and fabulous defense.  However, the big difference between Duke’s performance versus Kentucky and their performance versus Arizona was Kon.  Against Kentucky, he was 1-8 in the second half; it felt as if he simply went AWOL.  But against Arizona, Kon’s second-half scoring – 11 second-half points (3 from behind the arc, plus 2-2 from the line) with 5 clutch rebounds and 3 assists – kept the Wildcats at bay.  A bravura second-half performance!

Winning score aside, it is a bit unnerving that the Blue Devils had only three players score in the closing half – besides Cooper and Kon, Caleb was the third, scoring 8 points in 15 minutes.  Thus, Tyrese in 16 minutes, Khaman in 10:23, Sion in 9 minutes, Maliq in 9:37, and Mason Gillis in 3 minutes all failed to score a single point in the second half!  Having only limited second-half scorers is a very big problem.

Duke also needs to make crucial foul shots and avoid critical turnovers at crunch time: they missed 4 out of 10 second-half foul shots and turned it over 6 times late in the closing stanza. These will be serious problems later in the season, if not fixed.

Kon’s dagger sinks the Wildcats in the second half

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (38:14) was the player who garnered so much praise over the summer and pre-season, and against Arizona he really showed it.  He sat out for only 1:45 of the game and willed Duke to its second-half winning margin. Cooper scored 24 points (10-22 from the field, including 2-5 from behind the arc, plus 2-4 from the stripe) to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots, and a steal.  His only blemish was 4 turnovers.  But it was Cooper’s second-half game play that won the game for Duke.  After scoring 8 first-half points, Flagg played all but 33 seconds of the closing stanza, scoring 16 points (7-11, including 1-3 from 3land plus 1-2 from the foul line).  Cooper also grabbed 4 tough defensive rebounds.

(7) Kon Knueppel (34:49) was Duke’s second leading scorer with 13 points (4-11 from the field, including 3-6 from behind the arc, plus 2-2 from the free throw line) to go with 7 boards (tie for team high) and 3 assists.  It was Kon’s second half that kept Duke’s margin in that stanza.  Kon scored 11 second-half points (3-7 from the field, including 3-4 from behind the arc that were critical for the Blue Devils. He added 5 crucial rebounds and 3 assists for a half that made Duke the winner.  In short, he played a terrific second half!

(5) Tyrese Proctor (33:55) played an excellent first half, scoring all of his 8 points in the opening stanza.  For the game, Tyrese was 3-11 from the field, including 2-7 from behind the arc, but 0-2 from the foul line.  Tyrese played amazing defense, which explains why he played 16 second-half minutes even though he wasn’t scoring (0-5 from the field including 0-4 from deep and 0-2 from the stripe with only a single rebound).  

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (25:37) had a scoreless first half but a valuable second half, netting 8 points.  For the game, CFos was 2-6, including 1-4 from deep, plus 3-4 from the stripe to go with 4 rebounds and a steal.  In the second half, Caleb was the point guard, but split time with Sion James, who is a better defender.  The coach used Caleb when Duke had the ball and Sion when Arizona did (to the extent he could). Caleb had 3 second half rebounds while shooting  2-4 from the field, including 1 (crucial) for 2 from behind the arc, plus 3-4 from the foul line.  He was one of Duke’s only 3 second-half scorers.

(6) Maliq Brown (23:13) scored only 2 points (1-1 from the field) to go with 7 boards (tied for team high), 3 assists, 2 steals, and a blocked shot.  His blemishes were 3 fouls and 3 turnovers.  Scheyer relies upon his defense and passing, playing Brown considerably more than the taller Khaman.

(14) Sion James (20:28) played valuable minutes, but scored only in the first half.  For the game Sion scored 6 points (3-5 from the field, including 0-1 from 3land) to go with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.  Although Sion did not score in the second half, he played superb defense in his 9 second half minutes, logging a pair of assists and a steal.  Because Sion is strong on defense where Caleb is strong on offense, Scheyer used him as a defensive substitute for CFos.  

(9) Khaman Maluach (16:47) scored 8 first half points [0 in the closing stanza] (3-4 from the field, including 1-1 from behind the arc in the corner, plus 1-1 from the stripe) to go with 3 boards and a blocked shot.  Worth emphasizing: Duke’s 7’2” freshman nailed a 3-pointer from the corner.  Khaman’s time on the court was limited by the 3 fouls he committed.  

(18) Mason Gillis (6:57) played briefly (less than 4 minutes) in each half, missing his only shot, a 3 pointer.  He made a steal but was on the court for so little time that it felt as if Duke played only 7 players in the game. 

Sion James stuffed 6 points in the first half, but was one of the scoreless horde in the second (even while providing great defense) 

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Kansas Jayhawks #1 ranked in both polls 

With almost no time to recover from the superb effort against Arizona, the Blue Devils travel to Las Vegas to play top ranked Kansas on Tuesday, November 26, 2024.  The circumstances are beyond difficult.  Great road win on Friday, travel to Vegas and play the best team in the nation 3 days later.  

Duke will have played 3 games in a week – The Wildcats on Friday, the Jayhawks on Tuesday, followed by a home game against Seattle on Friday, November 29.  Then the Blue Devils will host 4th ranked Auburn in Cameron in the ACC-SEC challenge before the ACC schedule begins on December 8, 20024.

What a tough row to hoe for Duke. Are the Blue Devils up to the challenge? We’ll find out in the…

NEXT PLAY: Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at 9:00 p.m. vs. Kansas at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.  ESPN

Cooper Flagg scores, while doing his best audition for Twilight vampire baseball

Photo Credits: GoDuke.com and Summit Film Distribution

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Duke Blue Devils 72 v. Kansas Jayhawks 75 (Season 16; Issue 7; Game 6) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #6 (November 26, 2024)

Duke Blue Devils 72  – Kansas Jayhawks 75 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Kon scoring in the lane.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Kansas deserved to win. They led for most of the game—especially in the first half, by double digits. That said, the Blue Devils played with only a couple of days rest after a tough Arizona game, and they competed hard against a well-rested, mature Kansas Jayhawks.  However, a few weaknesses reappeared: starting slowly and giving a strong opponent like Kansas, (Kentucky or Arizona) a double-digit lead makes a win much more difficult.  Duke, like most teams, scores better when they play tough defense, which leads to an opponent not being able to defend properly.  Conversely, this young Duke team does not operate efficiently against a set defense—man or zone. A case in point was Duke’s last two real possessions with the game on the line. Flagg again worked his way in to the low post, but it turned into a double team and he lost the ball (similar to the Kentucky game), and Special K (Kon Knueppel) drove the lane where he met a wall of defenders, went up in the air, and tossed up a wild shot, which did not hit the rim.  Compare those crucial plays with how Kansas managed to maintain their lead—their guards penetrated precisely and were rewarded with open short jumpers. 

While Cooper Flagg had a subpar shooting night, most of the supporting cast—especially Proctor – did not. Special K had only 8 points, but 11 assists. Free throws were also subpar again at 70%, rather than their goal of 80%.

The referees “Let them play” to the point that the refs almost lost control of the game. However, they finally assessed a Level 2 infraction, which was upgraded from a Level 1 after looking at the TV monitor, and Hunter Dickinson was ejected from the game in the second half.  I thought the decision was influenced by his “body of work” which was over the line during the game.

OTHER COMMENTS:

The age and maturity disparity should not be overlooked.  Kansas’ oldest player is 24 years old; Duke started three teenagers.  For instance, I was three years older than my brother and I beat him so badly at one-on-one basketball that, after a while, he became so discouraged that he quit playing and took up golf (where he was a low, single digit handicap golfer).

Proctor looking fluid as he hits one of his five 3-pointers.
Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

Coach Scheyer: “The growth that we’re going to have from this game, this whole trip – playing at Arizona and then playing Kansas on a neutral site – we’re going to grow so much.  I’m disappointed.  Wanted to win badly, for our guys, but we’re really going to learn so much and be better from this. … the lessons we’ll have learned from this [are] going to make us stronger. … For our freshmen, to learn and grow from this, is going to be off the charts. You can’t simulate this in practice.”

“To come off a war against Arizona on Friday and come right back against these guys, I think it says a lot about our group.  We just kept fighting.  I know that we’ve got something.  I know we do.  I have to help them better.  I have to make sure we continue to make jumps to improve.  I have the confidence that we will.”

CFos saunters up the court as he starts the offense.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Offense

Point Guard 

Tyrese Proctor is now the shooting guard while Caleb Foster starts at point guard.  Sion James has played well as the backup point guard, and in this game he played more minutes than Foster, and was more effective.  However, Duke’s offense is not led by a true point guard. 

Turnovers

The Blue Devils turned it over 16 times, allowing the Jayhawks to score 21 points from those turnovers.  The three Duke players who played most of the game had 11 turnovers among them (Flagg 4, Proctor 4, and Knueppel 3).  Duke was deficient in taking care of the ball, especially in the last 48 seconds of the game.  Improvement in taking care of the ball is required if Duke is to have a successful season.

Offensive Rebounding

Only three Blue Devils collected a single offensive rebound – Maliq, Tyrese, and Mason.  No other Duke player garnered one.  The Jayhawks grabbed 10 offensive rebounds by contrast.  Not a single offensive rebound from Khaman.

Mason Gillis

Mason was a 47% shooter from behind the arc last year, but appears to not be able to make them efficiently this year (27%).  He was 1-5 against Kansas.  He scored 5 first-half points but was blanked in the closing stanza. The other transfers – Maliq Brown and Sion James – were outstanding and the Blue Devils in the first half.  Mason was Sixth Man of the Year in the Big 10 last year.  Duke needs him to return to that form! Duke’s transfers scored 17 of Duke’s 39 first-half points.

Defense

Fouling

Duke committed 18 fouls in the game, 11 in the second half.  After Hunter Dickinson was ejected, the referees began calling the game closer.   Duke did not adjust, and it cost the Blue Devils, because Kansas made 7-8 from the stripe in the latter part of the second half.

Rebounding

The Blue Devil big men (Khaman and Maliq) were not successful rebounding.  Maluach grabbed a single rebound in the first half and none in the closing half (in almost 24 minutes).  Maliq also got a first-half rebound, but none in the second half.  Duke was beaten off the boards 31-25.

Maliq protects the Blue Devil rim

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Winning Time

Cooper tied the game at 71 with a driving layup (2:29 remaining in the game).   Jayhawk Zeke Mayo then drove the lane on Cooper, and made the layup (Kansas led 73-71 with 1:57 remaining).   Then Flagg drove and was fouled, with 1:38 to go.  But Cooper missed his first foul shot!  Thus failing to tie the score even though he did manage to hit the second (Kansas led 73-72 with 1:38 left).  The Blue Devils got a stop and a defensive rebound with 1:08 left in the game.  With 48 seconds to go, Duke had possession of the ball and a chance to take the lead. However,  in virtually a replay of the turnover against Kentucky, Cooper was stripped as he spun.  

Then Duke’s defense achieved yet another stop, and Kon grabbed the rebound with 16 seconds to go.  Coach called a timeout with 14 seconds left.  Another chance for the Blue Devils to take the lead .  Then Kon left his feet to make a pass, but was well defended and had the pass blocked.  Duke turnover (again).  Duke was forced to foul; Kansas converted both free throws for the final 75-72 margin.

Fans might wonder how this team would have evolved if Jeremy Roach, a four year starter and captain, had not transferred to Baylor for this year.  Blue Devil fans will contrast Duke’s failure at crunch time against Kentucky and Kansas with Jeremy’s dramatic buzzer beater for Baylor against St. John’s in double overtime last week (a Sports Center highlight).  Roach is hitting 42.3% of his 3-point attempts.

Strike a pose: Cooper Flagg demonstrates the ol’ college try.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (38:27) scored 13 points (11 in the second half).  Although Cooper turned it over 4 times, the final time with Duke trailing by a point with 48 seconds left in the game, he kept the Blue Devils in the game in the final period.  For the game, Flagg was 5-9 from the field including 1-1 from behind the arc, plus 2-4 from the stripe.  Cooper grabbed 5 rebounds, handed out 3 assists and made a steal. In the second half, Flagg was 4-7 from the field (1-1 from deep) but only 2-4 from the foul line.  Basically, Cooper had a good game, but did not play like the first draft choice in next year’s NBA draft.

(7) Kon Knueppel (36:57) led Duke with 8 assists while scoring 11 points (4-14 from the field, including a disastrous 0-8 from 3land, plus 3-3 from the foul line).  He added 3 rebounds and a steal, but turned the ball over 3 times.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (35:00) led the Blue Devils in scoring with 15 points on 5 made 3-pointers (5-7 from deep) to go with a team-leading 6 boards 2 assists and 2 steals.  However, Tyrese turned it over 4 times.

(9) Khaman Maluach (23:28) played well, except that he grabbed only a single rebound.  Khaman scored 4 points (1-2 from the field, plus 2-2 from the foul line) to go with a block and 2 steals.  Khaman is a rim protector, altering shots that are not blocked and stopping drivers.  But having only a single rebound is troubling. Plus he turned it over twice.

(14) Sion James (19:48) played an excellent game at both ends of the floor.  On offense, Sion was perfect, scoring 10 points (3-3 from the field, including  2-2 from deep, plus 2-2 free throws) to go with 2 rebounds and 2 assists with only a single turnover.  His defense is fierce.

(6) Maliq Brown (16:32) is a terror on the defensive end of the floor.  Maliq led the Blue Devils with 4 steals.  He is playing back-up center, at 6’9” (usually smaller than the offensive center he is guarding), yet being effective.  He was charged with 4 (questionable) fouls, which limited his playing time.  In the first half, Maliq scored 7 points on a dunk, and his first 3-pointer of the year, plus 2-3 from the foul line. For the game Maliq scored 8 points, going 1-2 from the foul line.  He had 2 assists, but only a single rebound.

(18) Mason Gillis (14:55) was on the floor for more playing time than he has had lately.  Mason scored 5 points, all in the first half.  For the game, Mason was 2-7, including 1-5 from behind the arc.  So far, his 3-point shooting has been a disappointment.  Last year, he shot 48% from deep for Purdue.  Gillis grabbed a pair of rebounds.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (14:53) saw his playing time in this game diminish in favor of Sion James.  CFos scored 6 points (2-4 from the field, including 1-2 from 3land, plus 1-2 from the stripe) to go with 2 boards, 2 blocked shots, a steal and a turnover.

Remaining Pre-ACC games

On Friday, November 29, Duke plays the Seattle Red Hawks (2-4), who will be easy to look past, given the game after Seattle is against the 4^th ranked Auburn Tigers.  As he did against Wofford, Scheyer may give extended playing time to those who did not get into the Kansas game (or the Arizona game for that matter) – Isaiah Evans, Darren Harris and Patrick Ngongba.  Each of those freshmen has the capacity to join the rotation and enhance Duke’s firepower.

NEXT PLAY: Friday, November 29, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. vs. Seattle Red Hawks at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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Duke Blue Devils 70 v. Seattle RedHawks 48 (Season 16; Issue 8; Game 7) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #7 (November 29, 2024) 

Duke Blue Devils 70  – Seattle RedHawks 48 at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Tyrese Proctor and Patrick Ngongba II form a formidable defensive wall

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

At the end of a rather brutal opening road schedule featuring Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas, with some breathers interspersed, Duke faces a red-hot Auburn, perhaps maturing as the best of them all, Wednesday Dec 4th in the familiar surroundings of Cameron. 

Let’s hear Coach Scheyer’s take on the state of the team and on playing different lineups: “I’d rather have clarity as much as possible, but the truth of the matter is when you have six freshmen and three graduate transfers in a different position, there’s a process. There just is. For our guys, you want to have as much role definition as quickly as possible and you also want to find the best lineup. I don’t think you make your mind up in November. It’s foolish. I’m watching every day in practice. I’m seeing what our guys do. I’m seeing what lineups work. We’ve had some different lineups that have just clicked in the game. and so you roll with that until you have to make a change. I think, for us, it’s going to continue to evolve. I’d like us to have it Wednesday if we could, but the reality is that it’s going to be a process.” That is pretty much coach/player speak for “Well, we/I have been under performing but you have to respect the process.” (Translation: Be patient. It takes time for us/me to reach our potential.)

All this is true, but you cannot ignore the hype. And based on that, this team has been somewhat disappointing—especially at the end of the Kentucky and Kansas games when Cooper Flagg, well, played like a freshman, not a “generational talent”. (What the hell, give him a break, his twin brother is a 17 year old senior in high school – boy versus men. Not fair.)

As to the Seattle game: Same old… Same old. Same old slow start. This is a deadly sin against contenders, not so much against pretenders. But annoying anytime—especially in Cameron.

Also, Duke is not consistently the deadeye shooting team as advertised, to say the least. Perhaps, Isaiah Evans for Mason Gillis and Sion James for Caleb Foster would help. And Khaman Malauch at 7’2” has not yet been the consistently impactful player imagined. Anyhow surprisingly, the defense is ahead of the offense (except for fouling) and the season has just begun! Maturation and injuries are still to be determined.

OTHER COMMENTS:

A personal note: It just so happens that Elgin Baylor, born in the nation’s capital, somehow matriculated to the College of Idaho, then to Seattle University where his talent took them to the NCAA Finals.  Only 6’5” but built like a linebacker, Elgin was the first NBA player to be known as the godfather of verticality, who inspired Julius Erving, David Thompson, Michael Jordan, and many others. Although I also grew up in Washington,  I was several years younger, and so I never saw him play there.  But I heard stories about him on the playground courts and followed his career when paired with Jerry West (the coolest of them all, who I first saw play at Duke as a sophomore, and later actually played a pick-up game with at Ft. Lauderdale during spring break) on the ill-fated Los Angeles Lakers. It was these players, plus Joe Belmont and Rudy D’Emilio, who inspired my lifetime of love of basketball.

Khaman Maluach’s impressive reach protects the rim

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

The commentators list Duke as playing against 4 nationally ranked teams in the early going.  However, I believe that early season results reduce that to 3 nationally ranked teams.  Arizona had pre-season stature that has not been justified by the results.  Duke beating Arizona soundly and holding the Wildcats to 55 points is a reason for Duke’s high ranking.  But Arizona lost two games in the Battle for Atlantis, is now 3-4 on the season, will fall out of the rankings this week, and has not scored well against the teams that beat them.  So, Duke’s win over Arizona no longer carries the illusion of the impressive win it seemed like on November 22.

The Kansas Jayhawks (who beat Duke on November 26) and the Auburn Tigers (who Duke faces next on December 4) are the two top ranked teams at the moment.  In between those two games, the Blue Devils played the Seattle Red Hawks on November 29 in a game that did not bring out the best in Duke.  Duke shot under 40% from the field and an embarrassing 10-36 from 3land. However, the Blue Devils had some good moments in the second half on defense (yielding only 23 second-half points and 0 for the first 9:53 of the closing stanza. 

Offense

Coach Scheyer, “There were a lot of things I would like us to do better. We need practice time, so I’m excited to get back to practice and get to work. … we were really soft in the first half. They were more physical with us. That’s two games in a row that [the other team] came out more physical than us on defense. We were softer.”

The Blue Devils moved the ball, handing out 10 assists on the 12-made first-half baskets.  For the game, Duke had 18 assists on 23 field goals.  Whatever else, these Blue Devils were sharing the ball. 

Shooting

The Blue Devils, with a huge advantage in talent, shot less than 36% from the field in the second half (11-31) and under 40% for the game (23-58) and under 30% from behind the arc.  Only Kon was efficient (4-5 from the field including 3-4 from deep).   A disappointing performance for what is reputed to be a team of deadly shooters.

Turnovers

Duke had 8 first-half turnovers, and looked a bit disjointed and careless.  Seattle is not an elite team or an elite defensive team. Bottom line: Duke is not taking care of the ball the way a championship team does. Improvement is required!

Gillis

Mason Gillis was a dead-eye shooter last year for Purdue (47% from behind the arc) while winning the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year award.  This year, for Duke, he has been consistent in missing open shots from behind the arc (under 26%).  Mason was 0-2 from deep against Seattle.  Isaiah Evans may push him for the spot in the rotation against elite teams.

Defense

Scheyer: “The first eight minutes of the second half – that was, to me, what we have to do. I thought we came out with great energy and really guarded the ball. We had five guys defending the ball, and that’s the energy I like.”

Tyrese’s insight was, “We came out flat. We were guarding but we weren’t guarding at the level we’ve been guarding at. We addressed it at halftime, and we came out with a different energy and obviously forced them to call a timeout early. We just ramped up our defensive energy.”

Seattle was held to 48 points (25 in the first half and 23 in the closing period).  Outstanding defense in any league!

Fouling

Coach’s admonition: “Way too many free throws for

them. We have to do a way better job of defending without fouling.We gave them 31 free throws. That’s ridiculous. It’s not good enough.”

Cooper concurred: “That’s something that’s huge all throughout college basketball, playing good defense. You’ve got to be able to play hard, good defense. Good resistance without fouling and sending people to the foul line. It’s something we definitely cleaned up and were definitely better at in the second half.”  [Not so much really; Duke committed 14 second-half fouls; 22 for the game.]

Cooper Flagg throws one down in fine form

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (26:58) scored 9 points (2-7 from the field including 0-2 from deep, plus 5-7 from the foul line) to go with a team high 9 rebounds and a team high 7 assists.    Cooper also turned it over 3 times.    Basically, Cooper had a good game, but once again did not play like the first choice in next year’s NBA draft, but led the +/- category with +23.  (Editorial Board: that category measures whether your team scored more ( the + ) or fewer points ( the -)  while the player was in the game.  Flagg’s +23 shows that while he was in the game, Duke scored 23 more points than Seattle).

(7) Kon Knueppel (25:16) scored an efficient 11 points (4-5 from the field, including 3-4 from 3land).  He added 3 rebounds and 2 steals and an assist.  Kon continues to shoot a high percentage against inferior teams.  Auburn will be a big challenge for Kon.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (24:36) led the Blue Devils in scoring with 13 (3-10 from the field, including 3-9 from deep, plus 4-4 from the stripe) to go with 4 boards, 4 assists, a steal.  a blocked shot, AND 2 steals.  Tyrese is the best Duke defender guarding on the perimeter.

(14) Sion James (18:01) played another excellent game at both ends of the floor.  On offense, Sion scored 6 points (2-4 from the field, including  0-1 from deep, plus 2-3 free throws) to go with 8 rebounds and 2 assists, with only a single turnover.  His defense is fierce.  He stole the ball 3 times          

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (17:53) scored 6 points (3-7 from the field, including 1-5 from 3land) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 turnovers.  He and Sion James split the point guard duties.

(3) Isaiah Evans (17:24) is a scorer who played better and more efficiently as the game went on.  Isaiah scored 9 points (3-8 from the field, including 2-7 from behind the arc, plus 1-2 from the foul line).  Evans may be pushing for a spot in the rotation against elite teams.

(6) Maliq Brown (17:22) is a terror on the defensive end of the floor but failed to score (he missed his only 3 shots” strangely, all were from 3land).  Maliq had 3 steals.  He is playing back up center, at 6’9” (usually smaller than the offensive center he is guarding), yet being effective. For the game Maliq handed out 2 assists, and garnered 3 rebounds.

(18) Mason Gillis (15:53) failed to score, missing his only two shots, both from behind the arc.  His 3-point shooting this year has been basically a disaster (26%).  Mason grabbed 5 rebounds, but committed 4 fouls in his short time on the floor.  He is in danger of losing his spot in the rotation.

(9) Khaman Maluach (15:12) played well, scoring 9 points (4-5 from the field, including 0-1 from deep, plus 1-1 from the foul line) to go with 3 rebounds.  Khaman is a rim protector, altering shots that are not blocked and stopping drivers.  

21) Patrick Ngognba II (11:37) is rehabbing from injury.  This is his second game, and he looked valuable in his short stint.  Patrick scored 2 points (1-3 from the field) and added 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.  Patrick may well furnish valuable minutes this season.

(8) Darren Harris (7:41, all in the second half) scored 4 points (1-3 from the field, including 1-2 from deep, plus 1-2 from the stripe) to go with 2 rebounds.

(55) Spencer Hubbard (2:07) missed his only shot attempt as the Crazies groaned in disappointment!

Isaiah sets the screen

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Remaining Pre-ACC games

As he did against Wofford, Scheyer gave extended playing time to those who did not get into the Kansas game (or the Arizona game for that matter) – Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba II, and Darren Harris.  Each of those freshmen has the capacity to join the rotation and enhance Duke’s firepower.  Evans is a scorer and will push Gillis for playing time.  Ngongba is 6 ’10 ” or 11”, and has the potential to support Khaman efficiently and allow Brown to float between center and forward where he can be defensively effective.  The Duke team faces a rejuvenated Louisville to open the ACC season.

NEXT PLAY: Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at 9:15 p.m. vs. Auburn Tigers at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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Duke Blue Devils 84 v. Auburn Tigers 78 (Season 16; Issue 9; Game 8) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #8 (December 4, 2024) 

Duke Blue Devils 84 – Auburn Tigers 78 at Cameron Indoor Stadium

The Blue Devil defense holds the nation’s best offense in check

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

The Duke Basketball Team seems to have awakened. Probably the catalyst was freshman Isaiah “Flamethrower” Evans, a seldom seen freshman (“Who is this guy? He’s not in the scouting report!”) who lit up Cameron Stadium with as stunning a display of marksmanship as I have seen in sixty-some years. As I wrote last week, “same old, same old start” –  falling behind 12-2 in the first two minutes of the game looked like the Kentucky, Kansas, and Arizona games all over again – until Flamethrower heated up Cameron with a roof-raising six(!) threes in the first half. In the second half, Cooper and the regular gang took care of business and finished off Auburn like a really good contender team should. I must say, a win against Coach Bruce Pearl feels better than a win against anyone except John Calipari (formerly of Kentucky). But that’s just me.

Cooper and crew maintained Duke’s lead for the entire second half—especially at closing time. The only criticism was (once again) free throws. The Blue Devils only hit 17-27, not a recipe for winning close games. Other than that weakness, the defense was pretty damn good against a very good team that we probably will see again later in the year! If Evans can consistently bring threes to complement Proctor, Super K, and Foster, (not to mention Copper Flagg, the catalyst) this team will be a handful.

OTHER COMMENTS:

Don’t expect Flamethrower Evans to surprise any other team. He is not a late bloomer. He was named North Carolina Mr. Basketball in both in 2023 and 2024, once scoring 62 points, breaking Chris Paul’s long standing record in a State Tournament game.

Cooper and Isaiah work together to block Tigers guard Denver Jones in the second half.

Photo Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

ALANALYSIS

Going into this game, Auburn led the nation in offensive efficiency while Duke led in defensive efficiency.  Duke’s defense held Auburn in check while Auburn’s defense could not stop Duke when the game was on the line, allowing the Blue Devils to score 84 points.  Scheyer pointed out in the post-game presser that the lessons that Duke  took to heart from its previous two losses (and some wins) produced the win in this game.  The team is growing up. For me, the difference was Duke’s poise, desire, and clutch shooting at “winning time” that made this game special for the Blue Devils.

Winning Time

Auburn had already cut the Duke lead to 2 points (70-68) with 5:06 left in the game when Cooper’s shot attempt was blocked.  Tyrese just narrowly reached the loose ball and, with the shot clock expiring, swished a crucial 3 from deep to push the Blue Devil advantage to 5 with 4:30 remaining.  Duke kept up the pressure with stops and scores to keep the lead between 5 and 8 points for the rest of the game (the lead did get down to 4 with six seconds left, but the game was truly over by that point).  

Flagg made a pair of foul shots with 3:52 left (75-68).  Proctor made a difficult turnaround jumper in the lane with 3:05 remaining (77-70).  Auburn cut the lead to 5 (77-72) with 2:51 to play.  The teams traded stops (great defense by both teams) for the next minute and a half until Kon scored on a critical driving layup with only 1:19 left in the game (79-72).  Auburn scored inside with 42 seconds to go (79-74). Broome then fouled Cooper, who made both crucial foul shots with 32 seconds left (81-74).  The Tigers scored their final 2 points with 15 seconds left when Broom sunk a putback (81-76).  Flagg (1-2 at 15 seconds left) and Kon (2-2 at 5 seconds left) closed out the game from the foul line.

Lessons well learned from the Kentucky and Kansas losses!  [Btw, both Kansas  (to Creighton) and Kentucky (to Clemson) suffered recent losses. Heavy favorites can still get upset at this part (pre-conference play) of the season.]

Defense

First Half

The Duke starters came out sleepwalking while Auburn was juiced up (legally).  After only 3:40 had elapsed in the game, the Blue Devils trailed by 11 (13-2) as the Tigers sunk their first four 3-point attempts.  Caleb replaced Sion and Duke began to close the gap.  When Isaiah entered the game and started knocking down 3s, the team fully awakened – the defense achieved stops and Duke eventually caught and passed the Tigers. 

Second Half

Duke maintained a lead for the full 20 minutes of the second half.  The tigers brought it close, but whenever the Blue Devils needed a stop to hold onto the lead, the defense prevailed.  This is a powerful Auburn offensive team and it took superb defense to keep the Tigers at bay, especially with all the second chances Auburn received from their glut of offensive rebounds.

Rebounding

Duke did a horrible job protecting its defensive backboard in the closing period.  Cooper was a demon on the boards for Duke in the first half, but had only a single second-half rebound.  In fact, Duke corralled only 10 second-half rebounds to Auburn’s 24.  Auburn missed 17 second-half shots (16-33) and  corralled 12 (!) of those 17 misses.  The Tigers got twice as many rebounds off the Duke backboard as the Blue Devils did off of Auburn’s. 

Offense

First Half

With almost 4 minutes of the game having elapsed, Duke called timeout …trailing 13-2 with a layup by Proctor being the Blue Devils’ only score.  Duke had slowly closed the gap to 15-10 with 12:40 left in the half, when Coach Scheyer sent Isaiah Evans into the game – a surprise substitution which proved inspired!

The first stanza yielded a total of just 16 points from 6 of the 7 rotation players. In contrast to his brilliant second half, Cooper scored only 6 first-half points (2-8, including 0-2 from deep, plus 2-3 from the stripe). Proctor added 4 (1-8, including 0-2 from 3land, plus 2-2 from the stripe, Kon 2 (1-1), Sion 2 (0-1 from deep, plus 2-2 from the foul line), Maliq 2 (1-2), and Khaman 0 Paltry!  The scoring came from Caleb Foster – coming off the bench instead of starting for the first time this year, with 9 first-half points (3-5 from the field, including 1-2 from behind the arc, plus 2-4 from the stripe) to go with an assist – and a simply dazzling shooting streak from Isaiah Evans (6-8 from deep) who scored 18 first-half points.

Isaiah hit his first 3 a minute after entering the game (with 11:40 left in the half) cutting the Auburn lead to three (16-13).  Auburn pushed their lead to 7 (22-15) before Evans made his second consecutive 3 with 8:30 remaining (22-18).  Isaiah struck again only 47 seconds later with his 3^rd 3-pointer, cutting the Tiger lead to 1 (22-21) and forcing Auburn to call a timeout.

With the Blue Devils trailing 24-23, Evans grabbed the lead for Duke with 6:27 left in the half when he hit his 4^th consecutive 3 pointer (26-24)! Duke kept the lead for the remainder of the game – Auburn never again led or tied.  But Isaiah wasn’t done.  When Evans finally missed an attempt, Scheyer replaced him with 4:42 left in the half and left Isaiah on the bench for two minutes.  Only 13 seconds after re-entering the game, Isaiah struck again for his fifth 3-pointer with 2:37 left in the half (Duke then led by 4, 37-33).  Isaiah increased Duke’s margin to 7 at the half when he nailed yet another 3 with 58 seconds left in the half (43-36). The Flamethrower scored 18 points in under 10 minutes on the floor in the first half. What a performance! 

And what a performance by his teammates in hitting him with great passes to set up those uncontested 3-point shots.

Swish! A three from the corner for Evans

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Flamethrower!

Photo Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

The Cameron Crazies are up in arms about another 3-pointer.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com 

Yeah, that’s right, another 3. Make some noise!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The adulations, like the threes, continue.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Second Half

Duke scored 41 second-half points, and rode to the win on the momentum created by Cooper Flagg’s best half of the season.  He made circus shot after circus shot to keep Duke ahead, and, critically, had 0 turnovers for the game.  Cooper scored 16 second-half points (5-10 from the field, including 0-2 from 3land, plus 6-9 from the stripe).  Flagg also notched an assist, 2 steals, and a blocked shot.  

Proctor added 8 second-half points (3-4 from the field, including 2-3 from behind the arc).  His final 3 with 4:30 to go and the clock winding down might have been the biggest shot of the game!  Sion James scored 7 in the final stanza (3-5 from the field including 0-1 from 3land, plus 1-4 from the foul line).  Those 3 players racked up 31 of Duke’s 41 second-half points.  For the remainder, Kon scored 4 (1-2 from the field plus 2 clutch free throws), Caleb got 2 on a gorgeous layup, Kahman had 2 on a dunk, and Maliq with 2 at the rim.

Flagg faces down Tiger center Johni Broome.

Photo Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Cooper

Mr. Flagg was simply magnificent.  He put the Blue Devils on his back and dared Auburn to stop him.  That the Tigers could not do.

Foul Shooting

The major drawback to Duke’s performance (especially in the second half) was the continuing low percentage of made free throws.  Duke was 17-27 for the game. Cooper and Sion each missed 3 free throws and Caleb missed 2.  For the second half, where Duke was clinging to its lead, the Blue Devils were 9-16, just one made free throw above 50%.  For the game, Duke shot only 63%.  Bad foul shooting is a way to lose close games.

Maliq dunks as Gillis stands ready just in case to grab the rebound.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (37:33) showed the world why he is likely to be the first draft choice in next year’s NBA draft.  Cooper scored 16 second-half points to sustain Duke’s lead against Auburn’s continuous challenges.  For the game, he scored 22 points (7-18 from the field, including 0-4 from 3land, plus 8-12 from the stripe) to go with 11 rebounds (10 in the first half), 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocked shots, all without a single turnover.  

(7) Kon Knueppel (30:43) only took 3 shots in the entire game, scoring 6 points (2-3 from the field, including 0-1 from 3land, plus 2-2 from the stripe to clinch the win).  He added 2 rebounds and 3 assists.  Kon is a key part of Duke’s efficient defense and is a solid ball handler and passer, but it would be great if he could score against elite teams as he does against lesser opponents.  He did not turn the ball over in the game.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (27:42) was the Blue Devils third leading scorer with 12 points (4-10 from the field, including 2-5 from behind the arc, plus 2-2 from the stripe) to go with 5 boards, an assist, and a steal.  Tyrese is the best Duke on the ball defender and a reliable ball handler.

(6) Maliq Brown (25:22) scored 4 points and hauled in 6 rebounds while handing out an assist.  Maliq was the primary defender guarding Auburn’s preseason All-American John Broome.  While Broome had a 15 point second half (20 for the game), Maliq kept him from ever giving the Tigers the lead.  Maliq drew fouls from Broome, which led to his fouling out at game’s end. Maliq is logging more minutes at center than Khaman is.

(14) Sion James (23:36) started for the first time, in the backcourt, and played an excellent game at both ends of the floor.  On offense, Sion scored 9 points (3-6 from the field, including  0-2 from deep, plus 3-6 free throws) to go with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocked shots.  

(1) Caleb “CFos” Foster (20:13) scored 11 points (4-8 from the field, including 1-2 from 3land, plus 2-4 from the foul line) to go with 2 assists. Caleb scored 9 of his points in the first half and steadied the offense when he came in after Auburn had jumped out to an 11 point lead. He and James split the point guard duties for the rest of the game.

(3) Isaiah Evans (15:43) described himself, in a post-game interview, as “a flamethrower”.  He scored 62 points once in high school and was Mr. Basketball last year for the state of North Carolina.  Flamethrower doesn’t do justice to Isaiah’s amazing first half where he scored 18 points in under 11 minutes on eight 3-point attempts (6-8). His first 3-pointer made from deep brought Duke to within a point of the Tigers.  His last 3-pointer (his 6th) stretched the Blue Devil lead to 7 at the end of the opening half.  He missed his only shot in the second half, a wide open layup on an effective drive.

(9) Khaman Maluach (14:33) scored 2 points (1-1 on a dunk at the rim) to go with 3 rebounds.  His defense in the first half was effective against John Broome.  Khaman is playing fewer minutes these days than Maliq Brown because of Brown’s heady and effective defense.

(18) Mason Gillis (4:36) again failed to score, or even attempt a shot.  Mason grabbed a rebound but committed 2 fouls in his short time on the floor.  

A Look at the Upcoming ACC Season

Duke opens its ACC campaign against the Louisville Cardinals, who have experienced two consecutive dreadful seasons.  However, Louisville opened this season with 5 wins in their first six games, beating Indiana and West Virginia.  The Cardinals were flying high (only blemish was the #2 game lost  to Tennessee).  Then came the crash landing in the Battle for Atlantis, losing to Oklahoma (69-64) and being blown out by Ole Miss (86-63).  A win over Duke would make the Cardinal season.

The ACC-SEC challenge proved a complete disaster for the ACC, who won only 2 of the 16 games (Clemson beat Kentucky). Even UNC (the only other ACC ranked team – 20^th – besides Duke) was thrashed by Alabama (94-79).  Besides UNC and Duke, no ACC team has played well in the non-conference part of the schedule, and are unranked in both polls. Thus, ACC teams will not have a chance to earn their way back into the rankings because from now on ACC teams will primarily play – unranked teams – i.e. each other. Losses will count against the losing team because the loss will be to an unranked team.  Wins will be discounted because they will be against unranked teams.  If the ACC is as weak as the SEC challenge suggests, Duke will almost have to run the table to get a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

NEXT PLAY: Saturday, December 8, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. vs. Louisville Cardinals at KFC Yumi Center in Louisville Kentucky.

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Duke Blue Devils 76 v. Louisville Cardinals 65 (Season 16; Issue 10; Game 9) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #9 (December 8, 2024) 

Duke Blue Devils 76  – Louisville Cardinals 65 at KFC Yumi Center  in Louisville Kentucky

Duke reaches for another out-of-the-fire win

as Tyrese scores at the rim.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Instead of watching the first half of a Duke men’s Basketball game, I should do something less stressful and less frustrating like work a Rubik’s Cube, or take an online course from Cal Tech on Quantum physics, or I could gift a psychotherapy session to Coach Scheyer on the problems of managing too much young talent. Perhaps just suggest that before tip-off Scheyer have the top ten players scrimmage each other for twenty minutes in an undisclosed location.

Or I could take up online betting: like how many times our 7’2” center from Sudan, Khaman Maluach loses the opening tip? Or whether or not Isaiah “Flamethrower” Evans is the answer to the Blue Devil inconsistent three point shooting.

Do these players have any idea how much an opposing team wants to beat a Duke Basketball team? Kick your game into the next gear right from the start of the game, guys. You can’t make up a fourteen-point lead in every game!

After a major midweek victory over the No. 2 Auburn Tigers, Duke opened its conference schedule with a road trip to the Louisville Cardinals, and promptly fell behind 30-16 in the opening 12 minutes. Flagg picked up his fourth personal foul with 10:36 left on the board, a whistle that forced him to the bench for close to six straight minutes as the Blue Devils sought to battle back.

So, Flagg didn’t match his usual statistical output, right? And Duke lost? Well, not so fast.

Here’s a recap of Flagg’s first ACC game:

Despite the lengthy second-half absence, Flagg still led the Blue Devils with 20 points as he made 8 of his 17 shots from the floor.  He pulled down 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year, and he added two steals, an assist, and a block to his final line.

In the minutes that Cooper was forced to the bench, the Blue Devils basically just did the things you need to do at winning time—including hitting free throws.  Duke played excellent defense down the stretch, but Louisville, in fairness, was gassed.  Injuries really have killed the Cardinals’ depth –Nothing but respect for their effort though.  They gave all they had. It’s a program on the rise.

Kon Knueppel always contributes, whether he is scoring or requiring defensive attention as in this one. Maliq Brown and Sion James were major contributors also when Flagg was on the bench.  In the last few minutes, Flagg was relentless….that guy is relentless.  After the hot start, Louisville finished at 36.7 percent on threes and 38 percent overall…ultimately Duke’s depth and defense just wore down Louisville…. or else the Cardinals shooting arms got exhausted.

Duke is proving they can hold down the fort even when Cooper is on the bench,

as Maliq makes a poised dunk.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

A Winning Time of Significance

Perhaps the most important 5 minutes and 42 seconds of Duke’s season was played in the second half in Louisville against the Cardinals — from 10:36 remaining in the game until there was only 4:42 remaining! –. Here is why. At the 10:36 mark, Cooper Flagg committed his 4^th foul, consigning him to the bench.  Terrence Edwards made both foul shots, leaving the Blue Devils behind by 5 points (55-50) with the aforesaid 10:36 left in the game.  Kon Knueppel substituted in as the Devils had to fight from behind without their star.

In the next 5:42, Duke produced the game-winning offensive explosion without Cooper!  This team will never forget being able to accomplish that! Knueppel made a 3-pointer with an assist from Maliq Brown. (Louisville led 55-53 with 10:19 left) before Sion James tied the game with a strong driving layup (55-55 with 9:27 remaining).  Maliq immediately stole the ball, passing to Sion, who was then fouled.  Sion made both free throws for Duke’s first lead (57-55 with 8:46 left) since the opening seconds of the first half.  After the Cardinals tied the game at 57, Maliq scored on a layup in the paint assisted by a gorgeous Kon pass.  Duke lead was 59-57 with 8:16 left in the game.  Maliq stole the ball from Louisville’s star point guard to score on a fast break layup (Duke led 61-57 with 7:46 to go).

Sion rebounded a missed Cardinal jump shot, enabling Proctor to score on a difficult turn-around jump shot. (63-57 with 7:08 left in the game).  After a Louisville turnover and time out, Maliq retrieved an offensive rebound of a Kon missed 3-point shot.  He scored on a dunk with an assist from Sion. (65-57 with 6:19 remaining).  Maliq garnered another rebound before Kon swished another 3 from deep (Duke’s lead expanded to double figures, 68-57 with 5:42 left in the game.  

When Louisville scored 3 points in the next minute, Scheyer called time out and reinserted Cooper Flagg to the game.  Duke led 68-60.  In short Duke had gone from trailing by 5 points with Cooper leading the way to creating an 8 lead with the Blue Devil star on the bench – a stretch that will provide confidence to this Blue Devil team for the rest of the season.  Duke loves and relies on Cooper but now knows that this Blue Devil team has the potential to win without him.  I believe this is a critical confidence that will stand Duke in good stead for the rest of this season.

Scheyer: “The value of our team is we have more than five guys that can play. More than five guys can start. … When Cooper had the four fouls, Mason Gillis, what he did coming in with his toughness, he wasn’t phased at all… Kon also really stepped up in that moment.  I thought Tyrese and Sion just kept us steady. … This team is way more than just one player. It’s way more than just a couple of players.”

Maliq also praised Gillis, “Mason checked in and set the tone. Said what we were going to do, in the huddle. … We locked in. We had to pick it up for Cooper. … It was all from Mason. He came in and set the tone, told us to lock in and get a stop for him [Cooper].” 

Flagg, back in the game, immediately restored the double digit lead,  hitting a jump shot on an assist from Kon.  (Duke 70 – Louisville 60 with 4:27 to go)  After a Cardinal 3, Cooper was fouled and made both shots (Duke 72 – Louisville 63 with 2:09 left).  

The Blue Devils closed the door on the Cardinals with great defense by Maliq, combined with Cooper’s offensive rebound and dunk.  Duke’s lead was 11 (74-63) with 1:09 left in the game – the game was essentially over, but too late for a Spencer Hubbard sighting.

After trailing by 14 points in the first half, and behind for most of the first 29 minutes, Duke exploded for a confidence boosting win!

Sion rallying Duke without Cooper

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Defense

First Half

The Duke starters came out sleepwalking (again) and trailed 10-3 after less than 2 minutes had elapsed.  The Cardinals were simply, and surprisingly, lethal from behind the arc.  After shooting 27% so far for the season, Louisville made 8 3-pointers in the first half (8-16), including the Cardinals’ first 4 shots from behind the arc.  Duke trailed by 4 points at the half, despite forcing 10 Louisville turnovers.

Second Half

Duke played superb defense in the second half, holding Louisville to only 28 points in that period.  The Blue Devils clamped down on the Cardinal shooting, especially from behind the arc, holding Louisville to 3-15 (20% from deep) and 30% (6-26) from the field.  

The Blue Devils continue to foul too frequently!!  Duke committed 11 second-half fouls (4 by Cooper who fouled out of the game in the final minute) giving Louisville 13 second-half free throws (9-13).  Louisville only scored 19 second-half points from the field.

Offense

Duke’s second half offense won the game.  The Blue Devils scored 43 points on 55% shooting (16-29, although only 3-12 from 3land) with only 3 turnovers.

Second Half

Cooper scored 13 second-half points (5-9 from the field, including 1-2 from 3land, plus 2-2 from the stripe).  Flagg also grabbed 9 second-half rebounds in 11:42 minutes.  Proctor, who played the full 20 minutes, added 8 second-half points (4-7 from the field, including 0-2 from behind the arc).  Sion James also scored 8 points in the final stanza (1-1 from 3land, plus 6-6 from the foul line).    Kon was yet another Duke player who scored 8  points (3-7 from the field including 2-6 from 3land).  Maliq added 6 second-half points (3-3 from the field) to go with 7 boards.

The Cardinals simply Fallen at the Devils’ feet

as Kon makes a crucial 3.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(5) Tyrese Proctor (36:27) scored 13 points (6-13 from the field including 1-6 from behind the arc) to go with 2 boards and an assist.  Tyrese is the best Duke on-the-ball defender and a very reliable ball handler.  He played all 20 minutes of the second half, which tells you about Scheyer’s evaluation of Tyrese.

(7) Kon Knueppel (SpecialK) (29:50) scored 12 points (4-12 from the field, including 2-9 from 3land, plus 2-2 from the stripe).  He added a rebound and 6 assists.  Kon is a key part of Duke’s efficient defense and is a solid ball handler and passer.  He had a much better second half, scoring 8, including his 2 3-pointers.

(6) Maliq Brown (29:21) scored 6 points (3-3 from the field in the second half) and hauled in 11 rebounds.  Maliq also contributed an assist, 3 steals and a block. Scheyer, “Maliq was plus 24 [in the +/- statistic, meaning that for the game, Duke scored 24 more points than Louisville during the time Maliq was in the game] all the winning plays that he made on the defensive end –rebounds, blocks – he was so steady; his competitive level was so high.” Maliq is playing so efficiently that Scheyer has him on the court for many more minutes than earlier in the season.  He is Duke’s best defender.

(2) Cooper Flagg (28:09).  Cooper scored 20 points (8-17 from the field including 1-3 from deep and 3-3 from the foul line) to go with 12 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and a blocked shot  For the second game in a row, Cooper did not have a turnover.  His 13 second-half points were a key part of Duke’s win, but his propensity for fouling deserves another mention.

(14) Sion James (25:28) started in the backcourt again and played an excellent game at both ends of the floor.  Sion scored 11 points (2-5 from the field, including  1-2 from deep, plus 6-6 free throws) to go with 3 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a blocked shot.  

(18) Mason Gillis (16:17) finally made a 3-pointer (1-2 from deep).  Mason grabbed 2 rebounds, handed out an assist and had a steal.  Coach Scheyer relied on Mason to organize the defense when Cooper went to the bench.  “[I had] complete trust in Mason to come in, at that moment.” It was Mason’s best performance at Duke.  

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (13:29) scored 9 points (3-7 from the field, including 2-6 from 3land, plus 1-2 from the foul line) to go with 2 rebounds and an assist. Caleb scored all 9 of his points in the first half. CFos’s playing time is diminishing as Sion James has become more effective on both ends of the floor. 

(9) Khaman Maluach (10:39) scored 2 points (1-1 on a dunk at the rim) to go with 2 rebounds.  Khaman is playing fewer minutes as Maliq Brown, becomes more and more impactful.

(3) Isaiah Evans (10:20) could not duplicate any part of his spectacular first-half performance against Auburn.  He missed his only 2 shots, both 3-point attempts, handed out an assist but committed 2 fouls.  When Isaiah entered the game, whoever he guarded was the next Cardinal to score from deep. Ouch!

Cooper flying high to lead Duke to another awesome win.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Rankings

Duke’s win over Auburn caused the Blue Devils to move up in the rankings to # 4 in the Associated Press poll and # 6 in the Coach’s poll.  UNC and Pittsburgh dropped out of the top 25, but garnered a few votes.  Clemson’s win over Kentucky fueled the Tigers’ jump to # 16 in each poll.  No other ACC teams were mentioned.

NEXT PLAY: Saturday, December 10, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. vs. Incarnate Word Cardinals at Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Do they have a prayer?  Tune in to ACCN.

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Duke Blue Devils 72 v. Incarnate Word Cardinals 46 (Season 16; Issue 11; Game 10) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #10 (December 10, 2024) 

Duke Blue Devils 72 – Incarnate Word Cardinals 46 at 7pm in Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

Hot Take – The Flamethrower throws flames

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

[The Editorial Board admonishes Scheyer for choosing to play the Louisville Cardinals followed by the Incarnate Word Cardinals. At least the Louisville Cardinals are birds while the Word Cardinals are religious figures. Problem solved! But, Jon, please don’t do it again!] 

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

If Duke is the #4 team in the country, they must be infinity or off the charts for first-half offensive efficiency [cue the sarcasm]—especially three-point shots.  Suggestion: If Isaiah “The Flame Thrower” Evans can hit six of eight 3s in the first half against Auburn, and four of five 3s in the second half against Incarnate Word, why not try playing him in both halves with the regular rotation consisting mainly of one of the three centers plus Coop D’ Loop, Special K, Proctor — telling Coop to leave the 3s to three of the “shorter” guys.

Hand to Hand – Kon and Mason organize the defense

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

Scheyer Strengthens the Duke Rotation

Duke’s rotation has been somewhat thin in games against elite teams, sometimes being only 7 players. [When Scheyer has been up against an elite team this year, he has not had confidence that his “other” 3 freshmen — Evans, Harris and Ngongba can consistently compete at that level.  Mason Gillis has been in a slump.  Those 4 (of his 11 potential rotation players) did not see the court against Kentucky or Kansas.] Coach Scheyer knows that if he can strengthen the back end of the rotation, it will pay dividends for the Blue Devils in the conference schedule and in the postseason. 

Duke fans perceive that Khaman Maluach has been less effective than his reputation as a future lottery pick next June.  Maliq Brown’s minutes have increased at center because has been playing lights out.   Maliq did not play against Incarnate Word because of a toe he injured in the Louisville game.  Coach Scheyer said it was not a serious injury but required rest in this game.  The result was substantial playing time for Khaman (22:03) and fellow freshman Patrick Ngongba II (17:32).  Patrick is intriguing because: 1) he is 6 ’10 ” or 11” and 2) he was injured for almost all of last year at Pope Pius I (where he and Darren Harris were teammates)  and 3) he has shown real potential, despite the obvious rust when he has played.

Duke’s dismal shooting in the first half against the Incarnate Cardinals (10-30 from the field for 33%, including 2-13 from behind the arc for a disappointing 15%) demonstrated the need for improvement.  Enter Isaiah Evans, who fueled the imagination of fans with his spectacular 6-8 from deep in the first half against Auburn.  But then he didn’t score at all against Auburn  in the second half, nor did Isaiah score in his 10 minutes of playing against Louisville. Then, once again Isaiah unleashed another spectacular half (the closing stanza) against Incarnate Word, making 4-5 from deep (14 second-half points).  Consistency is clearly not his watchword.  

Hopefully, Isaiah is wise enough to also know he must play defense to earn more playing time.“That’s the only way I’m going to get on the court. If I can’t play [defense], then I can’t play. After practice, everyday [I’m] working with Coach Dildy on my defense, guarding Spencer Hubbard and Cameron Sheffield every day, sometimes Jayce McCain. Guarding those guys every day after practice really helps my defense. … If I can get stops, then I get the opportunity to be on the court. And if I’m on the court, then I can play offense.”  

Coach Scheyer agreed, “Tonight Isaiah showed a lot of maturity. … Just having Isaiah on the floor at times, even if he’s not hitting, you know that he has to be guarded. He’s such a weapon. Right after the Auburn and Louisville game, he went right back to the coaches and said, ‘I want to work on my defense. I want to guard Spencer Hubbard one-on-one.’ Nobody wants to guard Spencer Hubbard one-on-one [Spenser is too quick with too many good moves…one expends much energy to guard him!] but Isaiah wants to. It’s that approach that I’ve been really proud of.”

Other players, whose playing time has been limited against elite teams, also received opportunities. Mason Gillis did not score but logged 19 minutes of valuable time.  As Mason demonstrated in the Louisville game, he organizes the defense when Cooper is not on the floor.  His defense and maturity have been increasingly more valuable.  Duke is waiting for Mason to begin shooting as he did last season for Purdue.  Darren Harris played 9 minutes, scoring 4 points.

The Defense

First Half  — Duke 28 — Incarnate Word 21 –

The Duke starters came out sleepwalking (again) and trailed 10-3 after less than 2 minutes had elapsed. With 7:32 to go, Duke led by only 2 (12-10) and had already committed 5 personal fouls!  With 59 seconds left, the Duke lead was 3 (24-21).  The defense was ok (Incarnate Word was more awful on offense than Duke was great on defense).

The Incarnate Cardinals were simply and surprisingly lethal from behind the arc.  After shooting 27% so far for the season, this time they  sank eight 3-pointers in the first half (8-16), including the first 4.  

Second Half

Duke played superb defense in the second half, holding Incarnate Word to only 25 points in that period.  The Blue Devils clamped down on the Cardinal shooting, especially from behind the arc, holding the Cardinals to 2-13 (15% from deep) and 37% (10-27) from the field.  Incarnate Word had scored only 20 second- half points with 2:19 remaining in the game. 

Offense

Duke’s second-half offense won the game.  The Blue Devils scored 44 points on 56% shooting (14-25, including 6-12 from deep, aided by Isaiah’s 4-5 from behind the arc) with only 6 turnovers.  Evans (14), Ngongba (6), and Malauch (5) scored 25 of Duke’s 44 points.  Building the bench!

The offense was so bad in the first half that Duke had scored only 24 points in 19 minutes and led by only a single possession (24-21) with 59 seconds left in that half.  Ouch!

Getting the last Word – Dominant & agile, this is the Khaman we need

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(7) Kon (Special K) Knueppel (23:46) scored 10 points (2-6 from the field, including 2-4 from 3land, plus 4-4 from the stripe).  He added 3 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.  He played only 7 second-half minutes while the reserves received most of the second half playing time.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (22:56) scored 5 points (2-7 from the field including 1-5 from behind the arc) to go with a board and a steal.  Tyrese played only 5 minutes of the second half, making space for the players (like Evans, Harris, & Gillis) who do not usually go against elite teams, in order for them to gain experience.

(2) Cooper Flagg (22:15).  Cooper scored 6 points (2-8 from the field including 0-3 from deep and 2-2 from the foul line) to go with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a blocked shot.  For the third game in a row, Cooper did not have a turnover.  Flagg played only 6 second-half minutes.

(9) Khaman Maluach (22:03) had his best game as a Blue Devil, leading Duke in scoring with 17 points (6-7 on dunks at the rim, plus 6-7 from the foul line) to go with 7 rebounds.  What a performance!

(3) Isaiah (Flame Thrower) Evans (19:29) had another one of  those halves as he did against Auburn in the first half.  Against Incarnate Word, Isaiah had an unproductive first half  (5:15 on the court, missing his only shot (a 3-point attempt) and committing 2 fouls in that short stretch.  Then, – Magic in the second half – where he scored all of his 14 points (4-5 from deep, plus 2-2 from the stripe) in 14:14 second-half minutes.  Evans also handed out an assist.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (19:10) scored 4 points (1-6 from the field, including 0-1 from 3land, plus 2-2 from the foul line) to go with 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.  Caleb basically split time at point guard with Sion James.

(18) Mason Gillis (19:01) is finally making an impact, and earning minutes of playing time, even though he failed to score in this game (0-3 from the field, including 0-1 from deep) .  Mason leads and organizes the defense when the starters are not in the game.  Mason grabbed 3 boards and handed out a gaudy 5 assists, all the while playing a good floor game.

(14) Sion James (18:04)  Sion scored 6 points (3-4 from the field, including  0-1 from deep, plus 0-3 free throws) to go with a team-leading 8 rebounds, 3 assists, but 4 turnovers.  Sion is acknowledged by his teammates as an excellent on-the-ball defender.

(21) Patrick Ngongba II (17:32) demonstrated that he could be a force as the season progresses.  This was his largest amount of playing time in any game this year.  He did not waste the opportunity, scoring 6 points on 3-3 shooting from the floor while grabbing 5 rebounds.

(8) Darren Harris (9:10) played only in the second half, scoring 4 points (1-4 from the field, including 1-3 from 3land, plus 1-2 from the line) to go with a rebound.

(55) Spencer Hubbard (2:58) failed to score (0-1) but was lauded by Coach Scheyer as hard to guard!  Spencer is working with Isaiah Evans to improve Isaiah’s defense.

Back in Blue –Patrick returns to playing shape… and he scores!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The George Mason Patriots, Duke’s next opponent, is not an elite team.  While the Patriots are 7-3 (Duke is 7-2), the Patriots have lost to Marquette (82-63), Central Michigan (70-69), and East Carolina (78-77 in 2 OT).  George Mason has won their last 3 games: James Madison (66-61), UNC Asheville (74-52), and Tulane (78-64).  Duke is hoping that Isaiah, Patrick, and Mason continue to get more playing time and contribute more before ACC play resumes on December 21 against Georgia Tech.

 NEXT PLAY: Saturday, December 17, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. vs. George Mason Patriots at Cameron Indoor Stadium.  ACCN.

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Duke Blue Devils 68 v. George Mason Patriots 47 (Season 16; Issue 12; Game 11) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #11 (December 17, 2024) 

Duke Blue Devils 68 – George Mason Patriots 47 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a Flagg!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Gentle readers, 

Bill has some obligations this festive season that will necessitate his intermittent absence from Cliffsnotes. 

Many thanks for your forbearance.

ALANALYSIS

Duke’s calling card so far this season has been the defense.  Against the George Mason Patriots, the defense was simply stellar.  No observer could say that with a straight face about the Blue Devil offense.  Duke’s first half against the Patriots was a perfect example of their offensive shortcomings so far this year. 

Sion as the starting point guard

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Does Duke Have a Point Guard Problem?

Jeremy Roach transferred to Baylor after playing 4 years as Duke’s primary point guard and for two years, team captain.  Jeremy was Duke’s spiritual leader, who took “the last shot”.  His departure left a void. Caleb, Tyrese, and Sion have  the daunting task of filling the point guard role.

Sion James is now Duke’s primary point guard.  Caleb Foster has lost his starting job and is playing fewer minutes as the season progresses.  In his <12 minutes of court time, CFos failed to score against George Mason.  Meanwhile, Sion scored 7 points and handed out 3 assists in his 30+ minutes on the court.  While Scheyer was impressed that Sion had a +31 in the +/- statistical category, the Duke offense has not yet jelled into a consistent force. The coach is still searching for the adjustment that will unleash Duke’s potential on offense.

There has been speculation that the offense could jell with Cooper Flagg as a  Magic-Johnson-type point guard – controlling the offense, but also scoring and rebounding  Of course, Cooper has never been a point guard, but he does handle the ball better (and more) than any other Duke player.  It will be fascinating to watch Scheyer’s coaching to develop the offense. 

The Defense

First Half:Duke 25  –  George Mason 16

With 7:40 to go, Duke led by 9 (20-11). The Patriots could score only 5 points the rest of the way (one was a ridiculous 3-pointer that banked in over the good defense of Isaiah “Flamethrower” Evans).  George Mason did not score in the final 4:36 of the half.  The Patriots were stymied by the intense Duke defense. 

Second Half: Duke 43 – George Mason 31

Duke played intense defense in the second half, holding The Patriots to 31 points in that period.  With 3:03 remaining in the game, the Blue Devils led by 22 points (61-39) and had buried George Mason, who in 17 second-half minutes scored only 23 points. 

Duke’s defense is ahead of the offense, and Scheyer believes it can still improve.  Khaman is improving into a dominant defensive presence.  Scheyer understands Khaman’s increasing value: “Khaman [Maluach] impacts the game in so many ways. Protecting the rim, had eight rebounds, guarding two really good big men.”

Scheyer sending Khaman back into the game

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Offense

Duke’s second-half offense won the game.  The Blue Devils scored 43 points on 52% shooting (12-23, including 5-12 from deep, aided by Isaiah’s 3-4 from behind the arc in the closing stanza) with only 5 turnovers. Cooper (17) Flamethrower (9), and Malauch (6) scored 31 of Duke’s 43 points.  Mason and CFos failed to score in the half, while Kon and Maliq each hit for 2 and Sion scored 4.

Maliq scores elegantly as Duke turned up the offense in the second half

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The offense was so bad in the first half that Duke scored only 25 points. With 7:40 to go in the half, Duke had 20 points, leading 20-11.  Duke did not score another field goal until Kon scored on a layup with 18 seconds left in the half.  

Duke’s shooting was, to be charitable, simply awful (27%; 9-33; including 4-15 from 3land).  Duke was only 50% from the free throw line (3-6).  Cooper was 2-11, 1-2 from deep and 2-2 from the stripe (7 points) while Kon was 2-6, including 0-4 from behind the arc.  Caleb (0-4 from the field including 0-2 from behind the arc), Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (0-2 from 3land), Khaman Maluach (0-1) and Maliq Brown (0-0) all failed to score in the first half.

Proctor on the perimeter, defending, fully focused

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (34:59).  Cooper had a great game, scoring 24 points (7-20 from the field, after a 2-11 first half).  Flagg was 2-5 from behind the arc, plus an efficient 8-8 from the foul line, to go with 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot.  However, Cooper turned it over 3 times, after three straight turnover-free  games.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (31:44) scored 8 points (3-8 from the field including 2-3 from behind the arc) to go with 4 boards and an assist.  Tyrese’s defense is simply superb.

(14) Sion James (30:47) has taken over the primary point guard duties.  Sion scored 7 points (2-4 from the field, including  1-3 from deep, plus 2-3 free throws) to go with a team-leading 3 assists, and a rebound.  Sion had 2 steals, part of his intense perimeter defense.

(7) Kon (Special K) Knueppel (23:59) scored 6 points (3-7 from the field, including 0-4 from 3land).  He added 5 rebounds and a steal, without an assist.  Kon is part of the glue on defense, but did not have a superior offensive game.

(9) Khaman Maluach (23:58) had his best game as a Blue Devil for the second game in a row, and played more than 22 minutes for the second game in a row.  Khaman scored 6 points on 6-8 from the stripe (missed his first 2, then hit 6-6).  He was 0-1 from the field with 8 rebounds, two blocks and a steal.  Scheyer believes Khaman’s offense is as valuable as his defense: “Khaman has been a terrific pick-and-roll player all year, and he’s a guy I really trust with the ball in his hands. Tonight, he had two turnovers, but besides that, he’s had the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the team. It’s been three to one. He has the size to see over the pick-and-roll, but he also has the shooting ability where defenses have to respect that. …his passing has been a great skill for us. It’s been a great asset.”

(6) Maliq Brown (16:02) returned to the rotation after missing the previous game with a toe injury.  Maliq scored 2 points on 1-1 from the field to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.  His defense is subtle and effective.

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (15:25) had another one of  those halves; he shot 3-4 from behind the arc in the closing period.  Isaiah had an unproductive first half  (6:33 on the court, missing his only two 3-point attempts in that short stretch).  Then the Flamethrower produced his magic in the second half where he scored all of his 9 points (3-4 from deep, in 8:52 second-half minutes).  

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (11:54) is playing fewer minutes because of his (so far) disappointing play.  He did nothing to regain his former position against George Mason where he failed to score (0-4 from the field, including 0-2 from 3land, all in the first half) to go with a rebound, and a steal – without an assist. Caleb played less than 4 minutes in the second half notching a steal, but giving up a turnover.

(18) Mason Gillis (11:32) is finally making an impact, though after a good game against Incarnate Word, Gillis played well only in the first half against the Patriots. He scored all 6 points in the first half (2-5 from the field, including 1-4 from behind the arc plus 1-2 from the stripe).  Mason made his first 3-point attempt, but then missed 3 in a row, 2 in the closing period. Mason grabbed a rebound, handed out an assist and made a steal (all in the first half).

Mason drills a 3-pointer in the first half

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ACC Play Begins

The ACC teams continue to lose games against teams from other conferences.  Last night, Florida (SEC) beat UNC 90-84 (now 6-5) while South Carolina (SEC) beat Clemson 91-88 in overtime.  No ACC team is ranked in the top 25 of the Coach’s Poll, besides Duke (#5).  Clemson was ranked 25 in the AP Poll (before the loss to South Carolina).  This means any ACC loss by the Blue Devils will have adverse consequences for postseason seedings.  Duke still has 2 ACC games in 2024 – Georgia Tech (a road game at noon) and Virginia Tech at home at 4:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

NEXT PLAY: Saturday, December 21, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.  ACCN.

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Duke Blue Devils 82 v. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 56 (Season 16; Issue 13; Game 12) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #12 (December 21, 2024) 

Duke Blue Devils 82 – Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 56 at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. 

Flagg celebrates his 18th birthday with a dunk

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Bill had stuff on his plate which precluded Cliffsnotes.  He hopes and has every intention to return to writing CliffsNotes for the Virginia Tech game on December 31.

🎵Step in time! Proctor adding to Duke’s point total with moves that would make Dick Van Dyke proud

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

Even Before Tip-Off, This Game Seemed Important

Last year’s Blue Devil team lost a close game to the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta to open ACC play.  Even though the loss revealed much about Duke’s shortcomings,  Duke had an excellent season, winning 27 games. However, last year’s team failed to reach any goals because Duke: 1) did not win ACC Regular Season Championship (with a 15-5 record in ACC play, 2 full games behind UNC); 2) lost in the Semi-Finals of the ACC Tournament; and 3) failed to make the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament, after the Blue Devils lost in the Elite 8.  No matter the quality of the teams, ACC road games are difficult to win. Therefore, I thought the Duke opening ACC road game was extra important for this season.

Sion scores in a ballet of traffic underneath the rim

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Point Guard

Caleb Foster has lost his starting job and is playing fewer minutes as the season progresses (13:06 against Ga. Tech) Sion James, the new starter, had a good first half, scoring 7 points. For the game, he handed out 4 assists in his 24:06 minutes on the court.  However, Sion did not score in the second half. Caleb, on the other hand, scored 5 second-half points, playing the best he has played in a substantial period of time. The progress of the Blue Devil point guard play bears scrutiny as the season progresses. Duke’s offense against the Yellow Jackets demonstrated dramatic offensive progress.  

Flame on! Isaiah is getting more consistent at throwing flames

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

First Half  — Duke 41 – Ga. Tech 36

The Blue Devils had an excellent offensive half, shooting 63% (15-24 with 10 assists), including 6-13 from deep.  Kon (Special K) Knueppell (3-6 from deep) and Cooper (the Birthday Boy, who was 3-5 from the field, including 1-2 from 3land, plus 2-4 from the stripe) led Duke’s first half scoring with 9 points each.  Flagg also garnered 2 first-half boards and handed out an assist, but turned it over twice (all in the opening period). Sion James scored all 7 of his points in the first half (3-4 from the field, including 1-1 from behind the arc).  However, the defense, which limited the Yellow Jackets to 22 points in the first 16 minutes of the first half, was marred by the Blue Devil defense disappearing in the last 4:36 of the first half.  

With 4:36 left in the half, Duke led by 15 (37-22).  From there, The Yellow Jackets outscored the Blue Devils 14-4 to cut the lead to 5 at the half (41-36).  Duke played terribly on both ends in that stretch, missing shots, giving up uncontested shots and carelessly turning the ball over. When The Yellow Jackets hit their first 3 of the second half, reducing the Duke lead to 4 (43-39), my brow furrowed.  I needn’t have worried, because Duke played some tremendous basketball in the second half on both ends of the floor to turn a close hard fought game into a total rout.

Second Half –  Duke 41 – Ga Tech 20

Duke played superb defense in the second half holding the Yellow Jackets to 20 points in that period (on 25% shooting from the field).  Georgia Tech converted only 7 field goals (7-28, including 3-10 from 3land, plus 3-4 from the stripe).  Georgia Tech grabbed only 5 offensive rebounds (out of 21 misses).  The Blue Devils forced 7 turnovers and blocked 2 shots (one each by Special K and Sion).   

Duke scored 41 points while maintaining a lead of between 18 and 26 points throughout the second half, after Duke had pushed its lead from 4 to 18 after 6 minutes had transpired.  The Blue Devils handed out 10 more assists on 16 field goals, shooting 52% (16-31, including 4-12 from behind the arc  — Foster 1-1, Knueppel 1-2, Flamethrower 1-2, and Proctor, 1-3; with misses from Cooper, Mason, Maliq, and Darren Harris). 

Khaman flies higher than the Yellow Jacket’s sting

Photo Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

While Khaman is a defensive asset, and getting better in each game, his offense is improving by leaps and bounds.  The South Sudanese player led the Blue Devil scoring in the second half with 11 points (4-4 from the field, including a medium range jump shot, plus 3-4 from the stripe.)   Khaman scored 13 points in the game. Statistically, Khaman is Duke’s best foul shooter on the season (24-30 for 80%).  

Kon scored another 9 points in the last half (4-5, including 1-2 from deep) to go with 4 second-half rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block.  Pretty good half.  Jim Boeheim (color announcing) awarded Kon the game ball – even on Cooper’s (18th!!)birthday.  Cooper scored 4 second-half points (2-6 from the field, including 0-1 from behind the arc.  Proctor, Caleb and Isaiah each contributed 5 second-half points.

Kon can do:  his many skills made him this game’s MVP

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(7) Kon (Special K) Knueppel (32:22) had his best game in quite a while, scoring 18 points (7-11 from the field, including 4-8 from deep) to augment his 5 assists, 4 rebounds, a steal and a block. Kon, who was 4-18 from behind the arc in his recent games, said “ it was definitely the worst slump of my life. … I thought last game I was worrying about it a little too much.  You’ve got to have a “next play” mentality and be tough that way.   I tried to do that and have a bunch of fun today.”  Special K is a solid defender, and his defense does not depend on his offense.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (28:26) scored 10 points (4-7 from the field including 1-4 from behind the arc, plus 1-3 from the stripe) to go with 2 boards, 2 assists, and a steal.  Tyrese makes tough shots and holds the perimeter defense together.

(2) Cooper Flagg (28:24).  The Birthday Boy (turned 18) had a solid game, scoring 13 points (5-11 from the field, including 1-3 from behind the arc, plus 2-4 from the foul line), to go with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Cooper turned it over 3 times for the second straight game.

(14) Sion James (23:06) scored 7 points (3-6 from the field, including  1-1 from deep) to go with 4 assists, and 5 tough rebounds.  Sion also had a steal.  Sion’s game has improved and is improving on both ends of the floor.  He is now the #1 point guard.

(9) Khaman Maluach (20:37)  was on the Court for more than 20 minutes for the 3^rd game in a row.  Khaman scored 15 points (5-5 from the field plus 5-6 from the foul line) to complement 8 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot.  Khaman is now playing more minutes than Maliq Brown and being more impactful for Duke in his last 3 games than he was earlier in the year.

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (18:51) is quietly (some games not so quietly) moving into the rotation.  He is defending better.  He scored 8 points (2-4 from the field, including 2-3 from behind the arc, plus 2-2 from the free throw line.)  His progress may be one of Duke’s most important assets this season.  And, he is quickly becoming a fan favorite.

(6) Maliq Brown (18:09)) scored 2 points on 1-2 from the field to go with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a blocked shot.  He is so quiet on the court and so effective!

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (13:06)) played a solid second half where he did all his scoring.  He failed to score in the first half, missing his only attempt, a 3-pointer.  In the second half, CFos scored 5 points.  For the game, Foster was 2-4, including making his only 3-point attempt (in the second half).  CFos pulled down 5 boards and handed out an assist against 2 turnovers.

(18) Mason Gillis (8:27) is improving after a disappointing start to his Duke career this year.  Mason scored 4 points (2-4 from the field, including 0-2 from 3land).  Gillis played a nice floor game, pulling in 3 boards, handing out an assist making a steal.

(21) Patrick Ngongba II (3:09) pulled down a pair of rebounds in his short stint on the floor at the end of the game.  He did not appear in the game until it was deep into “garbage time”.  Patrick missed almost all of last year with an injury.  Still, many are hoping that Patrick, based on his play in high school, earns an opportunity to be in the rotation.

(8) Darren Harris (3:09) missed his only shot, a 3-point attempt at the end of this game.  He and Patrick came into the game together.

Gillis improves his play

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ACC Play 

The ACC teams continue to lose games against teams from other conferences.  Last weekend, Maryland beat Syracuse 87-60).  St Joe beat Virginia Tech by 20 (82-62), and Mount St. Mary’s beat Miami 78-74 in overtime.  On December 18, Memphis beat Virginia in Charlottesville.  Duke (#4 in both polls) is the only ACC team ranked in the top 25 in both polls.  We wonder if that ever happened before in ACC (formed in 1953) history.

UNC did show signs of life, beating 18^th ranked UCLA in Los Angeles 76-74, even though the Tarheels are not in the top 25.

Duke is now off until New Year’s Eve day, when ACC competition resumes.

NEXT PLAY: Tuesday, December 31, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. vs. Virginia Tech Hokies at Cameron Indoor Stadium.  ACCN.

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Duke Blue Devils 88 v. Virginia Tech Hokies 65 (Season 16; Issue 14; Game 13) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #13 (December 31, 2024) 

Duke Blue Devils 88  – Virginia Tech Hokies 65 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

The Hokies look on in awe as Tyrese does his share of the Duke scoring

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

This edition of the Blue Devils have fallen behind at the beginning of almost every game – whether against elite or lesser teams.  These starts that make us feel that all on the team [except Cooper] are not fully ready when the referee throws it up for the opening jump. So far, Cooper has been the anti-dote, by being the early offense and keeping Duke close until the players awaken.  If Duke does not correct, this could be the fatal flaw for a successful ACC regular season and tournament runs.

Against the Hokies, it looked in the early going as if the Duke players had left basketball for final exams and the Christmas holidays.  The Blue Devils certainly found their pre-winter-break rhythm and played a superb second half, but these slow starts are a worrisome characteristic for there are championship level teams that cannot be played at a top level for less than the full forty minutes.

Duke is dependent on the continued improvement of Khaman Malauch, both dramatically on defense and subtly on offense, as well as relying on the change of pace that Maliq Brown presents.  But the Blue Devils will not make the Final Four unless Maliq continues to improve his scoring and rebounding, even while defending at such a high level.

The Blue Devils also need to be consistent 3-point shooters.  Kon (Special K) Knueppel,  while appearing to have broken out of a slump, has demonstrated other skills of a well-rounded Robin to Flagg’s Batman.  Kon was 2-7 from behind the arc against Virginia Tech.  Likewise, Proctor and Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (you can hear the excitement from the Crazies when Evans enters the game)  make Duke a truly dangerous team when shooting from deep.

“Golly! He’s terrific! He’s a really good basketball player,” Virginia Tech’s Head Coach Young said about Cooper Flagg in a post-game interview. “Great skills. Floor it. Pass it. Makes the right basketball plays. Admired him by watching him on film and saw him a lot. After competing against him, even more so.”

Flagg put on a show in front of Coach Young and the Duke supporters in attendance for the Blue Devils’ final game of 2024. He led all scorers with 24 points, shooting 9-for-14, including 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. Flagg was also automatic from the free throw line, converting all four of his attempts. Flagg simply stuffed the stat sheet again, recording six assists and three rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Cooper’s defensive prowess was also on display with a game-high four steals, plus adding one block.

It is interesting to note that all the lobs to Khaman were unsuccessful, except for Flagg’s, which were perfect and converted.

Hall of Famer, and Blue Devil alum, Carlos Boozer has 2 twin sons who will attend Duke next year.  Cameron Boozer attended this Virginia Tech game with his mom.  Cameron’s twin brother Cayden is also coming to Duke next year as a highly rated point guard.  Cooper was the #1 recruit last year, Cameron Boozer is #2 this year.  Good players like to play with other good players – there is scuttlebutt being reported that Cooper might return next year in order to play a season with the Boozers.

Cooper does it all…dunking & driving

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

NIL and the Transfer Portal

College sports – especially the revenue sports – are in crisis, as exemplified by ESPN’s December 30, 2024 report that six former Florida State basketball players have sued Seminoles’ coach Leonard Hamilton, alleging he failed to make good on a promise to get each of them $250,000 in name, image and likeness compensation: 

 “The former players alleg Hamilton promised them the money from his ‘business partners’. The lawsuit says they walked out of a practice last season over the missed payments and intended to boycott a Feb. 17 game against Duke. They ended up playing — the Seminoles lost — amid a guarantee from Hamilton that they would be paid.  But they never were, according to the suit.”

The Florida State suit is just the latest in a string of legal disputes regarding NIL: 

“Matthew Sluka, a starting quarterback for the UNLV football team, left the program after three games in September because he said he was never paid on a $100,000 NIL deal.

“Former Florida quarterback signee Jaden Rashada, now playing at Georgia, sued Gators coach Billy Napier last year over an alleged unpaid $13 million NIL deal.

“And several Tulsa players claim they were never paid thousands in NIL commitments made by former coach Kevin Wilson.”

The crisis is fueled by the replacement of the requirement that transfers sit out a year before being eligible with the transfer portal. Duke lost 9 players from last year’s roster – two to the NBA but the other 7 (!!) transferred through the portal to other schools and are playing college basketball this year. The transfer portal sets up the damaging bidding wars that have the potential of destroying college sports.

An ACC Home Win – Duke 88 v Va. Tech 65

The game was actually more of a blow-out than the score indicates.  The Blue Devils led by 27 (77-50) with 4:03 to go. Then Scheyer put in the subs for “garbage time” and the Hokies scored 15 points in the last 4 minutes . Coach Scheyer knows Duke can shoot better from deep: “I still didn’t think we had as good of a shooting night as we can have.  I think there’s going to be a game here where we can really break out.  For Tyrese and Kon to go 3-12 [from behind the arc], I thought they had good looks. …They’re going to hit some of those.”

Va. Tech coach, Mike Young, offered this post game assessment of this year’s Duke team: “I think this is the best Duke team I’ve seen in a bit, in my humble opinion. I think the best defensive team I’ve seen in my six years in this league. They can really disrupt you with their length and with the ability to switch everything with Brown. And I think Maluach will be able to do it. He’s a wonderful player. They’re very disruptive. There’s a reason they’re number one in the country defensively, I think four offensively. It’s a pretty good outfit.”

First Half  — Duke 37 v. Va. Tech 27

Duke looked very rusty early in the game on offense.  Cooper was excellent, but the rest of the Devils were missing shots, turning it over, and committing fouls even while playing intense and excellent defense.  Flagg scored Duke’s first 8 points in 6:30 of playing time and finished the half with 14 points.  With 8:50 having elapsed, Duke had only 2 points besides Cooper’s 8, a layup by Mason Gillis.  

With 8:26 to go in the half, Duke trailed l6-14!  Then, Cooper hit another 3-pointer, was fouled,, was fouled, and hit the foul shot to give Duke a 2 point lead (18-16).  From there, the Blue Devils’ play improved slowly and steadily.  Flagg scored again, Tyrese Proctor hit 2 free throws and Kon (Special K) Knueppel hit a 3 (25-18) with 6:25 to go.  

The Blue Devils stretched the lead to 13 when Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans hit his only 3 of the half (1-4 in the opening half) followed by a corner 3 from Mason Gillis (31-18 Duke) with 4:19 to go.  But Duke missed shots, turned the ball over, and gave up 6 points in a row (31-24) with 2:57 left before Duke stretched the lead back to double figures on baskets by Proctor (a dunk), Sion (layup) and Kon’s jumper to conclude the half.

While Duke turned it over 7 times and committed 7 fouls (2 by Cooper), the Blue Devil intense defense held Va. Tech to 27 first-half points (10-25, including 3-11 from behind the arc, plus 4-5 from the stripe).

Flamethrower lets his teammates know he is ready to fire

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Second Half –  Duke 51 v Va. Tech 38

Duke led by double figures for the entire second half except for 23 seconds, when the Hokies cut the lead to 9 with 12:55 left in the game. 

Proctor sank a 3 (great assist from Flamethrower) followed by a Flamethrower 3, which pushed the Blue Devil lead to 15 (55-40) with 11:56 left in the game.  Four minutes later, Duke led by 20 (65-45) with 7:45 left.  As Duke’s shooting became consistent, the lead continued to grow, reaching 28 (88-60), with 1:21 to go.  The Hokies scored the last 5 points of the game as part of “garbage time.”

How hot were the Duke shooters in the closing period?  How about 18-27 from the field (67%), including 6-10 from behind the arc (Flamethrower was 3-3!!), plus 9-9 from the stripe to score a solid 51 points!  Cooper led the way with 10 second-half points (4-7 from the field, including 0-1 from deep, and 2-2 from the stripe).  

The Duke scoring in the second half was balanced: Tyrese scored 9 on perfect shooting (3-3 from the field, including 1-1 from deep and 2-2 from the stripe), Isaiah the Flamethrower  was 3-3 from deep for 9 points, Kon scored 8 (2-4 from the field, including 1-2 from 3land, plus 3-3 from the foul line).  Sion had 6 points on 3-3 from the field, to go with 5 rebounds and an assist.  

For the game, Sion had a double-double  (10 points and 10 rebounds).

Sion James on his way to a double-double

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (29:58) had another simply superb game, scoring 24 points (9-14, including 2-4 from behind the arc, plus 4-4 from the foul line) to go with 6 assists, 4 steals (and wonderful defense), 3 assists and a blocked shot.  What a player he is!

(5) Tyrese Proctor (29:44) scored 13 points (4-9 from the field including 2-4 from behind the arc, plus 4-4 from the stripe) to go with 5 assists (0 turnovers), 2 boards, and a steal.  Tyrese makes tough shots and holds the perimeter defense together.  He scored 9 in the second half without missing a shot.

(14) Sion James (25:46) played a superb all-court game, notching a double-double (scored 10 points (5-7 from the field) to go with 11 tough rebounds, 2 assists, and  a steal.  Sion’s game has improved and is continuing to improve, on both ends of the floor.  

(7) Kon Knueppel (24:54) scored 13 points (4-10 from the field, including 2-7 from deep, plus 3-3 from the foul line) to go with 2 rebounds.  Special K is a solid defender.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (19:06)) was 0-2 from the field, plus 2-2 from the foul line for 2 points.  CFos pulled down 3 boards and handed out 2 assists against 2 turnovers.  CFos played tough defense and had a steal.

(6) Maliq Brown (18:26) scored 2 points on 1-2 from the field, to go with 2 rebounds and an assist.  Coach Scheyer: “Maliq does so much for our team without putting up numbers in the box score…  [He] is still not 100% necessarily, like he’s working through his toe injury still, and he’s really tough, but I don’t think he is quite himself yet, but his passing, his defense is just such a big weapon for us.”

(3)Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (17:04) is now definitely part of the rotation.  And no wonder.  Flamethrower is a very appropriate nickname!  After going 1-4 from behind the arc in the first half, he recharged to capture an amazing  3-3 from deep in the second half.  He amassed 12 game points.  However, Isaiah is not just scoring.  He garnered 4 rebounds and handed out 2 assists, all without a turnover.  He is improving visibly on defense.  He’s becoming a great weapon as well as a fan favorite.

(9) Khaman Maluach (14:31) played fewer minutes – and less effectively than he did the last 3 games in a row, when he was on the court for more than 20 minutes each time. .  Khaman scored only 2 points (1-2 from the field) to complement 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.  

(18) Mason Gillis (10:25) scored 10 points (3-5 from the field, including 2-4 from 3land).  Gillis played a nice floor game, pulling in 2 boards, handing out an assist, and avoiding turnovers.  Mason is doing much of his good work on the defensive end.

(21) Patrick Ngongba II (6:40) failed to score or grab a rebound.  He also committed 2 fouls.  But he was a +8 in the +/- category.

(8) Darren Harris (3:26) committed a foul during his brief “garbage time” appearance.

Special K accepts congratulations after sinking a 3-pointer

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

NEXT PLAY: SMU Mustangs on Saturday, January 4, 2025 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas at 2:15 p.m.  TV: The CW.

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Duke Blue Devils 89 v. Southern Methodist University Mustangs 62 (Season 16; Issue 15; Game 14) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #14 (January 4, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 89  – Southern Methodist University Mustangs 62 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas Texas

Khaman battles SMU’s 265 lb. 7’2” Center

Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Duke found out how much easier it is to win a game, especially against a tough opponent, by getting the tip, jumping to a double-digit lead, answering any challenging runs expected from a quality opponent as the Blue Devils cruised to an 89-62 win against one of the highest scoring teams in the country. Duke demonstrated all the elements of a good team against SMU—intense defense, which completely shut down SMU’s vaunted scoring from behind the arc, efficient offense (even accurate free throw shooting) and rebounding. Now if they can replicate that effort Tuesday against Pitt at home, this year’s team may be able to do what the last few young, talented Duke squads have not—fulfill their promise! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there is a lot of the season left to play.

When the perimeter players are hitting threes, and Duke rebounds well and gets out and runs, it opens the court up for a free flowing, attacking offense. When the ball goes through the net, it inspires confidence for the next shot(s). 

With Coach Jon Scheyer missing because of an illness, Chris Carrawell assumed the job of head Coach and did a flawless job. 

 It seems as though the rotation is sorting itself out: with Sion James now a fixture at starting guard and Khaman Maluach getting more minutes at center, a big difference at both ends, and for, whatever reason, Special K and Tyrese Proctor as well as Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evens (The Flame Thrower), and Mason Gillis getting more comfortable in their supporting roles.  Of course, Cooper Flagg is like a veritable  Swiss Army Knife – he has all the skills to supply whatever is needed to rally his teammates.

Proctor and Flagg, providing the leadership

Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

ALANALYSIS

An ACC Road  Win – Duke 89  v SMU 62

SMU is playing in the ACC for the first time this season (as we know, many conferences expanded; Pac 12 folded; ACC added Stanford, Cal-Berkley and SMU), and the Mustangs look like contenders.  Going into the Duke game, SMU had won 7 straight games and were undefeated in the ACC (having beaten Virginia & Boston College, as well as LSU). Moreover, SMU had averaged 87.2 points per game (leading the ACC and ranking 13^th nationally) Playing at home before a passionate sellout crowd, this was a big game for the 11-2 Mustangs.

Duke arrived in Dallas without head coach Jon Scheyer, who was ill.  Chris Carrawell stepped in as head coach for the game.  The way Duke played for Carrawell, Scheyer should worry about his job.

On offense, the Blue Devils were efficient, effective, and led throughout (SMU led 3-2 for 29 seconds before Duke reclaimed the lead and never lost it again).  Duke not only scored 89 points on 53% shooting (33-62, including 11-27 from behind the arc, plus 12-16 from the foul line), but also handed out 22 assists on the 33 baskets. 

 In the first half, Duke handed out 12 assists on 14 field goals. In the second half, Duke scored 48 points and slowly stretched the lead to 27 points.  Whenever, the Mustangs made a short run, the Blue Devils responded and increased the lead.

But it was the defense, Duke’s calling card all season, that truly stood out against the Mustangs high scoring (87.2 ppg) team.  This season, the Blue Devils have given up over 70 points in only 3 games this year (Kentucky 77, Kansas 75, and Auburn 78).  Holding SMU to 62 points — 25 points under SMU’s season average — was just great defense.  

DukebasketballReport.com described it as I would: “Duke’s defense is kind of like a python. It gets a hold of you and just keeps squeezing. You might get a great play here or there – Kario Oquendo had a stunner of a dunk over Maluach – you might do a great job with ball security – but you look up and you’re down 20.” 

It was like watching the Blue Devils squeeze the life out of SMU. The initially raucous SMU crowd fell silent.  It was the best Duke’s defense has been so far this year.

It doesn’t get much better than this.

Kon and Khaman: an excellent connection

Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

First Half  — Duke 41 v. SMU 32

Duke was on fire offensively early in the game but then hit a drought where the Blue Devils did not make a field goal for over 4 minutes.  SMU is good, and they played a high quality game of basketball.

Flagg put on another first-half show, scoring 15 points (4-8 from the field, including 1-1 from behind the arc and a gaudy 6-6 from the stripe) to go with 5 rebounds, an assist and a steal.  Cooper got support from Tyrese Proctor who scored 8 points (3-6 from the field, including 2-3 from deep) to go with a pair of rebounds, 2 assists and a block. Both Mason Gillis and Caleb Foster were efficient off the bench, scoring 5 points each.  Although Flamethrower Evans joined Maliq Brown as first subs off the bench, neither contributed much.  Evans scored a point (1-2 from the stripe; 0-2 from the field);  Maliq committed 2 quick fouls in what turned out to be a cameo.  Foster and Gillis just played better.

While Duke committed 9 fouls (2 by each Maliq and Kon) and were out-rebounded 27-25 (The Mustangs grabbed 15 offensive rebounds), the Blue Devil intense defense held a good team to 37 first-half points (14-41, including 3-11 from behind the arc).

Kon scored 11 second-half points, a breakout game!

Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Second Half –  Duke 48 v SMU 30

As the score indicates, the Blue Devils dominated the second half on both ends of the floor.  The Duke lead hit double figures for the first time after 1:06 had transpired (45-34 with 18:46 left to play).  SMU reduced the lead to 9 once, for 34 seconds, before the Blue Devils accelerated and blew the game wide open.  Duke led by 17 (54-37) with 15:55 remaining.

SMU got as close as down 12 (57-45) with 13:53 to go, before the Blue Devils simply exploded to lead by 21 (71-50) with 9:24 left.  The lead grew to 27 (81-54) for the first time with 4:21 remaining.

Duke shot 61% (19-31, including 5-14 from behind the arc, plus 5-6 from the stripe) with 10 assists and only 6 turnovers.  After a subpar rebounding first half, Duke dominated the boards in the closing stanza (24-16).  Duke’s scoring was well spread out (Kon, 11; Cooper, 9; Sion and Tyrese each scored 6; Caleb, 4 and a host of others (Maliq, Mason, and Patrick) scored 2.

The Python-like defense squeezed the life out of the Mustangs, who were held to 32% shooting (11-34, including 3-11 from behind the arc,)

SMU did self-damage without Duke’s help by shooting a disastrous 5-13 from the foul line.

Cooper scores at the rim

Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

THE ROTATION

Interestingly, the first Duke subs to enter the game were Maliq Brown and Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans.  Neither was effective and were soon replaced by Caleb (CFos) Foster and Mason Gillis.  In the second half, CFos and Mason were the first subs off the bench.   

(5) Tyrese Proctor (32:02) scored 14 points (5-11 from the field including, 4-7 from behind the arc) to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a blocked shot.  He is an excellent one on one defender and is (with Cooper) a team leader.

(2) Cooper Flagg (31:48) had another superb all-around game with a double-double, scoring 24 points (7-12 from the field, including 2-2 from deep, plus a superb 8-8 from the foul line) to go with 11 rebounds.  He had 3 assists (but committed  3 of Duke’s 7 turnovers). On defense, Cooper is superb.  He had 2 blocked shots and a steal.  He continues to astound.

(14) Sion James (26:05) has cemented his position as the starting point guard, who plays the most minutes.  While he only scored 6 points (2-5 from the field, including 0-2 from behind the arc, plus 2-2 free throws), Sion handed out 8 assists with only a single turnover.

(9) Khaman Maluach (25:48) played his most minutes of any game this year, because he was needed to defend and negate the Mustang’s 265 lb. 7’2” center.  Indeed, Khaman was effective on both ends of the court.  He scored 8 points (4-5) on dunks from great passes) while pulling down 8 rebounds, handing out 2 assists and blocking a shot.  Even more valuable are the shots he alters or are not attempted because of his looming presence. 

(7) Kon Knueppel (20:39) scored 14 points (5-10 from the field, including 3-8 from deep, plus 1-1 from the foul line) to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a blocked shot.  Kon came alive in the second half where he led Duke in scoring with 11 points.  He has an impressive assist to turnover ratio and is an integral part of Duke’s efficient defense.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (16:53) had a good game after substituting late in the first half, scoring 9 points (4-6 from the field, including 1-2 from 3land; 0-1 from the stripe)   CFos pulled down a board and handed an assist without a turnover.  He played tough defense and grabbed a steal.  Caleb played his best game of the year.

(18) Mason Gillis (14:40) is turning into the player he was during his 4 years playing at Purdue.  He was Big 10 Freshman of the year, and last year was Big 10 Sixth man of the year.  Yet, he started slowly with Duke but is now becoming a valuable force on both ends of the floor.  Mason scored 7 points (3-5 from the field, including 1-3 from 3land), grabbed 3 tough boards, handing out an assist without a turnover.  Mason organizes the defense when he substitutes in for Cooper and defends well.

(6) Maliq Brown (12:02) scored 2 points on 1-1 from the field to go with a rebound, an assist, a blocked shot and a steal.  Maliq had trouble trying to defend the Mustang 7’2” center and got into early foul trouble, which limited his playing time.

Gillis emerging as a bench star

Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (9:57)) is now definitely part of the rotation, but making shots will keep him on the court for longer than 10 minutes.  Flamethrower scored 3 points (1-4 from the field, including 0-2 from deep, plus 1-2 from the stripe).  

(21) Patrick Ngongba II (3:06) had a productive cameo at “garbage time”, scoring on a put back of his own miss for 2 points, to go with 2 rebounds and a blocked shot.  Dukebasketballreport.com noticed, “Patrick Ngongba wasn’t in for long, but he had some quality play.”

(8) Darren Harris (3:06) missed his only shot, a 3-point attempt during his brief “garbage time” appearance.

Proctor scores at the rim

Photo Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

NIL and the Transfer Portal

The Genesis of the Transfer Portal

In my hazy recollection, the transfer portal was a response to the NCAA granting players an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID pandemic.  The rationale was that rosters would be crowded and overstocked.  The transfer portal would enable players to find rosters where they had a fair chance to compete for playing time.

Since that rationale has expired, it seems nothing stands in the way of returning  to a policy of players who transfer having to sit out a year before becoming eligible to play.

Would that start to be a solution to this growing cancer of a problem?

Making Transferring Players Sit Out a Year Could Fix or Ameliorate the Problem

I doubt there would be bidding wars or outlandish offers (my brother swears that Chucky Hepburn was offered $750,000 to transfer from Wisconsin to Louisville) to get a player for the year after next.  The coach cannot even be sure of their own job security if next year is a win-loss disaster.

Because it is a simple reform that will at least lessen the problem and maybe fix it, I am all but certain it won’t even be discussed let alone instituted.

———————

ACC Play

Duke, Clemson and Pittsburgh are the only ACC teams without a conference loss.  Pittsburgh, who visits Cameron Indoor Stadium next Tuesday, is 12-2 with losses to Wisconsin and Mississippi State and wins over West Virginia, LSU, Ohio State, as well as conference wins over Virginia Tech, California and Stanford.

Also on Tuesday, Clemson (12-3, 4-0 in ACC) visits Louisville (10-5, 3-1 in ACC) while SMU (11-3, 2-1 in ACC) travels to Chapel Hill for a 9 pm game against UNC (9-6, 2-1 in the ACC).  Tuesday will be interesting.

NEXT PLAY: Pittsburgh Panthers, Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7:00 p.m.  TV: ESPN.

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Duke Blue Devils 76 v. Pittsburgh Panthers 47 (Season 16; Issue 16; Game 15) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #15 (January 7, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 76  – Pittsburgh Panthers 47 at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Kon described The Dunk:“It’s probably the best dunk I’ve ever seen in my life in person. He’s got those long arms that make his dunks look so much cooler.

Sometimes it might be the angle on that rim, but man, he just soared over that guy today and it was awesome to watch.”

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

On a night that Duke came up against a team which has some of the same characteristics as it does, coached by an older, savvy man with the same resume as Coach Scheyer (don’t forget Jeff Capel had a brief, successful run as head coach of Oklahoma, before the wheels came off and he returned to be a crucial member of Coach K’s team). However, Pitt is not as deep or talented but is capable of an upset such as they handed to Duke on the same floor last year. This year, they made Coach go nine deep to find the right combinations as Cooper Flagg again got himself in early foul trouble. But at the end of the game, Duke had worn down the Panthers with relentless basketball by all nine players. The score of 76-47 was no indication of the intensity of the play.

Cooper Flagg had a quiet first half. However, he had quite an explosion in the second when he apparently became annoyed with himself and/or the referee for a third foul and a miss-call on an out of bounds loose ball. In any event, he went on a run as only he can do, with a steal and a baseline to baseline dunk followed by another dunk. What a talent! 

Khaman Maluach on the floor is the last crucial player who makes the difference of this squad potentially being a great team. All the other pieces are important, but a 7 ’ 2” athletic rim protector just makes a good team that much better. And BTW, Sion James 6’ 6” 220 lbs. is a forward-playing point guard, making him multi- dimensional at both ends. Special K going off for three 3’s just before half didn’t surprise me. Anyone who shoots 90+% free throws can shoot anywhere, anytime, as far as I’m concerned. And while Isaiah Evans has cooled off the last few games, Mason Gillis has been an antidote, as a steady, if not, spectacular substitute.

All-in-all, steady, impressive progress toward tournament time.

Note: Carolina at home, taking apart SMU makes Duke’s win away a little less impressive and an indication that UNC may not be finished!

Khaman controls the paint

Photo credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

An ACC Home  – Duke   v Pittsburgh

Despite playing Auburn (#2)Kentucky (5) and Kansas (11), Pittsburgh came into the game in Cameron, in what seemed to me the biggest game of the year for the young guns of the Blue Devils.  The Panthers were undefeated in ACC play with a chip on their shoulder from not making the NCAA tournament last year (when they should have).  A win over Duke would have made a place in the NCAA tournament this year more than likely.  Both Duke and Pitt remember last year’s game in Cameron, where the Panthers upset Duke (89-76) when Blake Hinson, their star shooter went 7-7 from behind the arc.  After Pitt won, Hinson jumped on press row to mock the Crazies.  This was not just another game. A reader suggested that Scheyer, who had Cooper and Sion on the floor for 20 second-half minutes and the starters in almost to the end, was paying Pitt back for the mockery.  That gives more significance to the 8 minute 18-0 run at the end of the game.

Commentators have praised the Panther backcourt of Ishmael Leggett (17 ppg) and Jaland Lowe (17 ppg) as perhaps the best backcourt in the ACC.  The Panthers entered the Duke game averaging almost 84 points per game.  But Pittsburgh had no answers for the Blue Devil python-like defense that just smothered whatever offense Pittsburgh attempted.  

The Duke defense connected like the Bolshoi Ballet is when performing.  The switching defense negated the pick and roll.  The superb Pitt guards could not find any space to squiggle through to the rim.  There was no such thing as an uncontested Panther shot.  

I was mesmerized by the sheer beauty (and ruthless efficiency) of the Duke defense.  Astoundingly, Duke held the Panthers scoreless in the final 8 minutes of the game while they poured in the final 18 points.  Duke limited Pittsburgh shooting to 31% (18-58) for the game. Commentators repeated the SMU coach’s assessment that this Duke defense is the best he has seen in his years as a coach.  Whether hyperbole or not, watching the Duke defense (no matter who was in the game) was pure joy for Duke fans (all true basketball fans, I suspect).

Offensively, the story was Cooper Flagg’s second half.  Cooper picked up his second foul with 12:31 still left in the first half.  He went to the bench having scored 5 points with the Blue Devils ahead by 2 points (11-9).  For the remainder of the half,  Duke increased the lead to double figures, without Cooper.  Mason Gillis did a superb job of replacing Cooper on both offense (5 points) and defense, where Mason became an anchor.  

Dukebasketballreport.com was eloquent in describing Cooper in the second half:

“Flagg owned the first 10 minutes of the second half and on both ends of the court. He was unbelievably vigilant. On defense, he was picking up guards and playing a little off of his guy, even when the guy was under the basket, and still controlled him. 

“Guy drove? Flagg stepped up and altered the play. 

“Shot went up? 

“Flagg got the rebound. 

“Flagg brought the ball up. Flagg made smart passes. Flagg scored or got the ball to someone else to score pretty much at will. Do you remember what people said about him at the Olympic trials this past summer? For three minutes, he was the most dominant player on the court. That guy showed up. It was the most complete…well it wasn’t a whole game. But the last time we saw a Duke player play the whole game at that level was Shane Battier’s last game, when he helped the Blue Devils win the 2001 national championship.”

Cooper gets a 2nd photo for his amazing 2nd half

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Cooper scored 14 second-half points (5-7 from the field, plus 4-6 from the foul line) to go with 7 boards, 5 assists, a steal, and a block.  Duke shot 61% from the field in the second half (14-23, including 4-5 from behind the arc, plus 10-14 from the stripe), while outscoring the Panthers 42-23.  

Duke’s second consecutive amazing showing ( a first this season) and their 9^th consecutive win (all since Sion James took over as starting and primary point guard).

Tyrese Proctor

Before “one and done”, Duke fans loved to watch the growth and maturity of Duke players who stayed with the team for 3-4 years.  Tyrese has given us that opportunity this year.  Let us appreciate his journey from young (would have still been in highschool except he graduated early) freshman, through achievement as well as disappointing performances, to the mature leader of this Duke team.  He is a joy to watch, never giving less than his all to a play, and making his teammates better on both offense and defense.  Tyrese is flying under the Cooper radar, but is having a simply wonderful season so far.

Tyrese – a portrait of leadership

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

First Half  — Duke 34 v. Pitt 24

Duke defended extremely well, holding the Panthers to their lowest scoring first half of the season. Pittsburgh shot only 31% (8-16), including 3-6 from behind the arc (9 of the 24 points), plus 5-8 from the stripe.  

 Duke may have made trouble for themselves in the second half by fouling so much on defense in the first half.  With only 7:30 having transpired, Duke had committed 4 fouls, 2 by Cooper, who was replaced by Mason Gillis.  With 8:23 left in the first half, Duke committed its 7^th team foul, the second on Knueppel.  Duke committed 9 first-half fouls with 2 each on Cooper, Kon and Khaman.  

Duke was efficient: scoring 34 points (12-29 from the field, including 7-15 from 3land, plus 3-4 from the foul line), while out-rebounding the Panthers 22-15.  The Blue Devils handed out 10 assists on their 12 field goals.

Kon Knueppel led the way in scoring with 11, including 3 3-pointers in a row!! after missing his first 2.  The Blue Devils shot better from 3land (7-15 for almost 50%) than from the field as a whole (12-29 for 42%).   Khaman scored 6 (3-4), Cooper and Mason Gillis scored 5 each.  Gillis played superbly on both ends of the floor (2-3 from the field, including 1-2 from 3land).  Isaiah Evans’s flame must have fizzled because he missed all 3 of his shots, 2 from deep. 

Second Half –  Duke 42 v Pitt 23

As the score indicates, the Blue Devils dominated the second half on both ends of the floor.  The Duke lead never dipped below 10 (43-33 with 15:01 left in the game.)  The lead was as high as 17 before the Panthers reduced it to 11 with 7:51 left (58-47).  Pittsburgh never scored again in the remaining time, while the Blue Devils finished the game on an 18-0 run for the game’s final score 76-47!!!

The Python-like defense simply squeezed the life out of the Panthers, who were held to 31% shooting (10-32, including 3-14 from behind the arc, without even attempting a free throw).  After excessive fouling in the first half, Duke committed only 3 second-half fouls.

Cooper (14 points) and Sion James (7 points) played the entire second half.  Kon played 17:30 (6 points) while Tyrese starred for 16:26 (10 points). Khaman played almost 15 minutes, scoring 5 points.   Maliq (5:05), Caleb (3:34) and Isaiah (3:01) failed to score.

Kon sinks a three from the corner

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Sion sinks a three from the corner

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

All the Duke starters scored in double figures.  The bench scored only 6 points, Mason scored 5 in the first half, but remained on the bench watching the Cooper Flagg show in the second half.  Maliq scored 1 point.

(14) Sion James (35:52)  scored 10 points (4-10 from the field, including 2-2 from behind the arc). Sion grabbed 7 rebounds, handed out 4 assists and blocked 2 shots.  He played every second of the final period, which tells us that his coach trusts and relies heavily on him.

(7) Kon Knueppel (35:00) scored 17 points (5-12 from the field, including 4-7 from deep, plus 3-4 from the foul line) to go with 4 rebounds & an assist.  Kon led Duke in scoring in the first half with 11 points .  Coach Scheyer appreciates Special K: “Kon is just a complete player … he guards his position really well.  At his size, 6’7”, he’s guarding everybody.  He can move his feet.” and  “I thought his threes were important, and then his play-making has always been really good for us. … he just knows how to play the game and make the right plays.”

(5) Tyrese Proctor (33:06) scored an efficient 13 points on only 8 shots (4-8 from the field, including 3-4 from behind the arc, plus 2-2 from the foul line) to go with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. 

(2) Cooper Flagg (32:51) had a second half that will be long-remembered – a double-double, scoring 19 points (7-11 from the field, including 1-2 from deep, plus 4-6 from the foul line) to go with 10 rebounds.  He had 5 assists (but he committed 3 of Duke’s 7 turnovers).  He blocked a shot and made a steal.  

(9) Khaman Maluach (25:21) scored 11 points (4-5 from the field, including 0-1 from behind the arc, plus 3-4 from the foul line) while pulling down 8 rebounds, and blocking a shot. Coach Scheyer called Khaman “a little bit of a unicorn”…Even if you get by him as a guard, even if you get a step, you still have a 7’2” guy that can move, has timing that’s coming to chase after your shot.  I thought he did a great job.”

(6) Maliq Brown (14:38) scored a point on 1-2 from the foul line, without a field goal attempt, to go with 4 rebounds, and an assist.  He plays less when Khaman is on the court for substantial time.

(1)  Caleb (CFos) Foster (8:36) played sparsely because Sion and Tyrese were so effective.  CFos garnered a rebound.  He was minus 9 in +/- statistic (-9 is bad in a game where your team wins by 27).

(18) Mason Gillis (7:26) played only in the first half when Cooper was in foul trouble.  Mason scored 5 points (2-3 from the field, including 1-2 from 3land),  and handed out 2 assists. Mason ran the defense in Cooper’s absence, and Duke increased the lead while Mason was in the game.  

(3)Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (6:10)) missed all 3 of his shot attempts (2 from deep). Flamethrower failed to score.  He did garner a rebound.  

Mason steps up to organize the defense (while Cooper sat with foul trouble)

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ACC Play

Duke is now the only team without a conference loss, having just beaten two of the formerly unbeaten teams (SMU and Pitt) in a row.  At the same time, Louisville beat Clemson (the last unbeaten besides Duke), at Louisville. 

NEXT PLAY: Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Saturday, January 11, 2025, at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 12:00 p.m.  TV: ESPN.

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Duke Blue Devils 86 v. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 78 (Season 16; Issue 17; Game 16) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Breaking News:

Maliq Brown’s knee injury is serious, and, according to Coach Scheyer, “he will miss an extended period of time.  He’ll miss weeks.”  Mason Gillis and Patrick Ngongba II will take Maliq’s minutes in all probability.  As ESPN notes: Ngongba was the No. 26-ranked recruit in the 2024 class, but he has dealt with foot injuries dating back to his senior year of high school.

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #16 (January 11, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 86  – Notre Dame Fighting Irish 78 at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Guess who was the big story by setting the ACC freshman scoring record?

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Duke jumped out to a quick 15-0 lead, and it looked like it was going to be an easy game.  All I can say is that 3’s are worth 50% more than 2’s and the Irish shot them as though they were playing in the NBA.  And the Blue Devils defended them as if they were mesmerized (like the rest of us) by the performance of Cooper Flagg.  That is, Duke simply forgot to play offense or defense.

Additionally, I can say that, now that he has developed a consistent three point shot, Cooper Flagg is the best freshman I have ever seen in all aspects of the game.   And that includes Jerry West, who is my idea/model of the perfect teammate, and who I saw when he was a sophomore play against Duke.  I am not old enough to have seen Dick Groat, who led the nation in scoring without the benefit of the three point shot.   J.J. Redick really could put on a scintillating shooting performance, but he was not 6’10” and could not dominate a game in as many ways as Cooper does.

Alan covers the details of the ebb and flow of the game extremely well. I will just say that this game better be a wake-up call for the Duke players to remember DEFENSE is the baseline for this team to win from here on out (offense is not only already good, but will get better).).

Duke’s improvement in free throw shots deserves to be pointed out.  In this game, for instance, they shot 30-35. That’s 86%, which is championship level.  Had they not improved from about 68% at the beginning of the year, they might have lost to Notre Dame. 

Also, the improvement of Maluach along with his additional minutes is a big reason for the improvement of the performance at both ends.

Khaman on his way to a double-double – 19 points and 10 boards in 32 minutes!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

An ACC Home  – Duke 86 v Notre Dame 78

It was Cooper Flagg’s best game of the year so far.  He set the ACC Freshman scoring record with 42 points, 27 of them in the second half.  Cooper’s amazing stat line:  He achieved that incredible score on only attempted only 14 shots (11-14, including 4-6 from behind the arc, plus a noteworthy 16-17 from the foul line). He also contributed 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and a steal during his time on the court.

Khaman Maluach also had his best game of the year so far, logging 32 minutes of playing time to produce his second double-double (10 rebounds and 19 points on 6-7 from the field and 7-8 from the foul line).

As a team, the Blue Devils shot 53% (24-45, including 8-24 from deep). But the team, when Cooper’s stats are removed, was a dismal 4-18 from behind the arc. The team shot a gaudy 30-35 from the stripe – Khaman was 7-8 and Kon, 6-6.  Duke handed out 17 assists on 24 field goals.  It was Duke’s 8^th game this season scoring over 80 points, and 10th win in a row (the streak started when Sion James moved into the starting lineup against Auburn).

However, the Duke defense – the same one that has been described by at least one ACC coach as the best he has seen in his 6 years as a head coach – was shockingly shredded by a terrific Notre Dame offense.  Duke had given up more than 70 points in only 3 games this season — in November and early December:78 points in beating Auburn, 77 in losing to Kentucky, and 75 losing to Kansas.  Notre Dame is the 4^th team to score 70 points or more against Duke, including an outrageous 44 points in the second half.  

With 5:41 left in the game, the Blue Devils led by 18 points (79-61) in what seemed like a blowout.  Notre Dame scored 13 points while Duke went 5 minutes before scoring the next point when Sion James went 1-2 from the stripe (Duke 80 v ND 74 with 39 seconds left).  The Fighting Irish’s best player, Markus Burton, made a layup to draw ND within 4 points (80-76) of Duke with 36 seconds left. That was the closest the Fighting Irish would come. Duke made the last 6 free throws (Khaman 2; Cooper, 4) to close out the victory.  

One thing that was so disappointing about Notre Dame shooting (and making) 3-pointers was that the attempts were largely uncontested.  It was superior shooting aided by a lackadaisical defense.

Notwithstanding the promising start when Duke scored the game’s first 14 points in the first 4:23 of the game, Notre Dame outscored Duke 78-72 in the final 35+ minutes of the game.  Given that the Fighting Irish are now 7-9 overall and 1-4 in the ACC after successive ACC losses to Georgia Tech, UNC, NC State (and now Duke) this was not a great Blue Devil performance at home against a team with a losing record.

Sion initiates the offense, growing more comfortable as the starting point guard.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

First Half  — Duke 44  v. ND 36

Duke opened with a 14-0 run with amazing defense and connected offense.  However, in the final 15 minutes of the first half, the Fighting Irish outscored the Blue Devils by 36-30.  Duke’s offense continued to smoothly hand out 12 assists on 14 field goals (14-26 from the field, including 7-17 from deep, plus 9-12 from the foul line).

Defensively, Duke was excellent from inside the arc but gave up 8-12 to Notre Dame from behind the arc.  The starting lineup defended a bit better than the reserves, but ND got open from behind the arc and shot 67% with amazingly quick releases.  The fighting Irish scored only four 2-point goals compared to eight 3-pointers.

Duke committed 7 first-half fouls.  Maliq hurt his knee in a collision with a teammate and was ruled out of the game going forward.  This opened playing time for Patrick Ngongba II.  The Blue Devils owned the glass (17-9) for the game and kept the Fighting Irish off the offensive glass, the Fighting Irish retrieved only a single offensive rebound (5 for Duke).

Patrick Ngongba II scores! and will be counted on to spell Khaman in Maliq’s absence.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Second Half –  Duke 42  v ND 42

Duke relied on Cooper Flagg during the entire second half to keep the Blue Devils in the lead.  Cooper scored 27 second-half points (7-8 from the field including 1-1 from behind the arc, plus a gaudy 12-13 from the stripe).  Duke’s only substituted in two bench players – Mason Gillis (6:57) and Caleb Foster (5:22) – neither of whom scored.  In fact, Tyrese Proctor (13:53) also failed to score, missing his only shot.  Sion James (17:55) scored 1 point, while Kon Knueppel (18:06) scored 4 points.  Khaman Maluach (17:52) teamed with Cooper  (19:55) to preserve the Duke win.  Khaman was perfect from the field (2-2) and the stripe (6-6) to go with 6 boards and a blocked shot.  Duke was only 1-7 from 3land  but hit 21-23 from the foul line.

Duke’s defense was the worst of the year in any half.  Notre Dame shot 50% from behind the arc (6-12) and 47% from the field (15-32).  The Blue Devils forced only 2 Fighting Irish turnovers and did not record a single steal.  Duke gave up 42 second-half points, the most points given up in a half during the entire year.  It was not less than a defensive disaster after two outstanding defensive efforts (SMU and Pitt).

When you set the ACC all-time scoring record for freshmen, plus you can dunk so dramatically, you get two pictures in the DBP

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

Duke’s 3 freshmen starters scored 74 of Duke’s 86 points (Cooper 42, Khaman 19, and Kon 13).  The bench scored only 5 points –Mason scored 3 in the first half, while Patrick Ngongba II scored 2 on a nice post move, also in the first half.  He backed up Khaman after Maliq was injured in the first minute that he was on the court. Caleb and Isaiah “the Flamethrower” both failed to score.

(2) Cooper Flagg (35:55) had a game for the ages!  He scored 42 points (the most ever scored by an ACC freshman) on an efficient 14 shots (11-14, including 4-6 from 3land, plus an amazing 16-17 from the foul line).  Whenever Duke needed to hold off the Fighting Irish, Cooper scored.  Flagg led the Blue Devils in both rebounding with 10, and in assists with 7.  What a great game!

(7) Kon Knueppel (33:53) scored 13 points (3-8 from the field, including 2-7 from deep, plus 5-6 from the foul line) to go with 3 rebounds, and 5 assists.  Kon also grabbed 3 rebounds. Not a bad game overall, but not his best.

(14) Sion James (30:06)  scored only 4 points (1-4 from the field, including 1-2 from behind the arc, plus 1-2 from the foul line), but Sion also grabbed 4 rebounds and handed out 3 assists.  Sion was the primary defender against Notre Dame’s best player, Markus Burton, but did not play his usual effective defensive game…  Burton scored 23 points, 14 in the second half.

(9) Khaman Maluach (32:08) played the most minutes he has played in any game this year.  The South Sudanese Olympian, one of the 5 youngest college players in American basketball, posted a double-double:19 points  (6-7 from the field, plus 7-8 from the foul line) to go with 10 boards.  He blocked only a single shot, but also made Notre Dame players hesitate near the rim in general.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (27:45) had a subpar game in what has been a superb year for Tyrese.  He scored only a single basket for 3 points (1-6 from the field, including 1-5 from behind the arc, without attempting a free throw).  Tyrese also grabbed a pair of rebounds, handed out an assist, made a steal, and blocked a shot.

(18) Mason Gillis (17:46) played an excellent game as Duke’s most (only) effective bench player.  The Purdue transfer scored only 3 points (1-1 from the field, plus 1-2 from the stripe) butgrabbed 4 valuable rebounds and handed out an assist. 

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (10:36) failed to score, missing all 3 of his 3-point attempts.  

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (6:08) entirely failed to score, missing his only shot attempt, a 3-pointer.   

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (4:53) made his only shot (2 points) and corralled a rebound in his short stint.  He played after Maliq was injured.

(6) Maliq Brown (0:52) collided with Mason Gillis going for a rebound and hurt his knee. Maliq did grab one rebound, but did not return to the game after the injury, and it has now been reported that Maliq will miss “weeks”.

Mason’s value to the team increases with Maliq’s injury

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ACC Play

Duke is 6-0, the only unbeaten team in ACC play.  Louisville (5-1 in the ACC) beat Pitt in Pittsburgh while Clemson (5-1) clobbered Florida State at home.  UNC (4-1) nipped NC State in Raleigh while Wake Forest (4-1) beat Miami.  Every other team in the ACC has lost at least 2 games in conference play.

NEXT PLAY: Miami Hurricanes, Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 9:00 p.m.  TV: ESPN.

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Duke Blue Devils 89 v. Miami Hurricanes 54 (Season 16; Issue 18; Game 17) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #17 (January 14, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 89 – Miami Hurricanes 54 at Cameron Indoor Stadium

No conning, Kon’s 3-point shot is back!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Duke lost another tip-off. It’s a mystery to me how a 7’2” center can get so many dunks and rebounds but lose so opening many tip-offs. Oh well, order was soon restored by hot shooting as Duke took the lead 15-8, and then added 6 more for a 21-8 lead. Interestingly enough, Cooper Flagg, who set an ACC freshman record for scoring last Saturday against Notre Dame, chose to feed his teammates who were hot—especially Kon Knueppel (Special K ), who scored 18 points in the first 20 minutes of the game as Duke led 54-26. It may be my paranoia, but it seems the better the Duke offense gets the more their defense slips… or maybe every opponent shoots threes because it is the only hope some teams have to win against these Devils.

Whether it was a gift from Santa or more extra practice time, it looks as though both Cooper and Special K have come back from Christmas break with a more accurate three point shot.

It is interesting to note how their respective techniques differ. Kon is 6’6” 220 lbs and built like a football player. I never was worried after a hot start when his long ranger jumper was MIA, because he has consistently shot free throws in the 90% range ( my benchmark of how accurate of a shooter a player basically is). Anyway, I think the key for Special K is getting his feet set and his entire muscular body set and balanced before releasing the ball. He shoots  heavy which, when accurate, goes through the net like a shotput. Cooper, on the other hand, is about three inches taller and 15 pounds lighter and has a longer, more fluid jump shot. It starts behind his head and appears softer and more poetic, if you will, rather than muscular. It caresses the rim and net. Also, Flagg has exceptional thrust, verticality, and ambidexterity which gives him time to survey the court to decide whether to pass or what kind of shot to shoot. 

The bottom line is that the more Duke players get more comfortable and consistent with their shot, the more lethal Duke becomes. If no one gets hurt or a big head, and Khaman Maluach continues to improve and play major minutes, this team has unlimited potential.

“when almost all of your field goals are assisted…it’s really fun to play that way”

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Home: Duke 89 v Miami 54

Even acknowledging that Miami is having a very down year, Duke played a wonderful game, winning their 10^th game in a row (8 of those wins coming by at least 20 points).  There is nothing that Duke did not do superbly in this game.  The rut was on early.  After 10 minutes of play, the Blue Devils already led by 17 points (27-10).  With 2:53 remaining in the first half, Duke was up by 28 points (47-19).  Miami never had a chance.

Offense

Kon (Special K) Knueppel had his best game of the season so far, scoring an efficient 25 points on 11 field goal attempts in 26 minutes (9-11 from the field including a breathtaking 6-8 from behind the arc, plus 1-2 from  the stripe).  He was part of an offense that moved the ball with amazing aplomb.  Duke registered 25 assists (Cooper, 6; Sion James, 5; Caleb Foster, 4) on 34 field goals. Kon said it best: “It’s awesome.  A lot of unselfishness leads to a lot of open shots, and I thought we did a good job of making the extra pass tonight. It’s beautiful basketball when almost all of your field goals are assisted, and it’s really fun to play that way.  I think everybody enjoyed that tonight.”

Coach Scheyer agreed with Kon: “I think we have found out how good we can be when we share it. I think our guys have fallen in love with that …Cooper’s passing, I thought, was terrific. … I think he’s a big reason.  It’s not just the assists, it’s making the right basketball play. I’ll tell you what I love. Spencer comes in in the end; Spencer could have shot it, makes the extra pass to Caleb.”  The play does tell about the way this edition of the Blue Devils thinks and operates.

In addition to Kon’s breakout night, Cooper scored 13 (5-11 from the field, including 2-5 from 3land, plus 1-1 from the stripe); Khaman added 12 points (6-7 from the field) and 15 rebounds; and Mason Gillis scored 12 points on 4 shots from behind the arc on 6 attempts. 

Duke defends with passion and cohesion

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Defense

Coming into the game, The Hurricanes were averaging 77.5 ppg shooting 48 % from the field.  Duke held Miami to 54 points and 39% shooting average.  Kon’s assessment is how winning teams look at their play, “I thought our defense could’ve been a little better tonight, but I thought we did a good job on that end for the most part.”  

In the first half, Miami’s offense was primarily from post player, Lynn Kidd, who scored 14 points on 7-10 shots in the post.  Khaman Maluach and the rest of the Duke defense could not stop him.  Khaman said,  “I came into the locker room [at halftime] and [the coaches] just told me, “You’ve got to stop him, get some stops, and try and make everything hard for him.  And I just went out there and did that.”

Khaman, growing fierce

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Bench

Duke received valuable minutes from its substitutes, Mason Gillis, Caleb Foster, Isaiah the Flamethrower, and Patrick Ngongba II. Caleb scored all 9 of his points in the second half to go with 4 boards and 4 assists without a turnover.  The Flame Thrower scored 8 points, while Patrick played almost 19 minutes as Maliq’s replacement, scoring 4 points while grabbing 5 boards and handing out an assist.

Caleb and Patrick (21) are Duke’s “bench punch”

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

First Half: Duke 50 v Miami 26

Duke played a superb first half, absolutely on fire shooting.  The Blue Devils shot 65% from behind the arc (19-31 from inside the arc).  Moreover, Duke handed out 17 assists on those 19 field goals.  What a great offensive basketball half!  Kon (Special K) Knueppel scored 18 points (7-9 from the field including 4-6 from 3land) while Mason Gillis has found his shot (finally).  He was 3-3 from deep for 9 points.  It is a pleasure watching him rediscover his game.  Khaman Maluach pulled in 7 rebounds while going 3-3 from the floor for 6 points.  Duke’s super freshman, Cooper Flagg, handed out 6 assists, grabbed 3 boards and scored 8 points (3-5 from the field including 1-2 from deep, plus 1-1 from the stripe).  Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans was 2-4 from deep to go with a pair of rebounds.

Duke’s defense held the Hurricanes to 26 first-half points.  Lynn Kidd scored 14 of those.  What a half!

Second Half – Duke 39 v Miami 28

Duke was 15-31 from the field, including 6-15 from deep.  The Blue Devils dominated the glass (25-10).

The starters scored 20 of Duke’s second-half points (Kon, 7; Khaman, 6; Cooper, 5; and Sion, 2).  The bench scored 19 (Caleb, 9; Patrick, 4: Mason, 3; Isaiah, 2; and Darren Harris, 1).  Miami could manage only 28 points on 38 % shooting.  

Spencer Hubbard played 1:33 and made the play that captured the spirit of the game.  The Crazies always cheer for Hubbard to score.  With little time left on the clock, Spencer drove for a layup with a good look.  However, instead of shooting, Hubbard made a sensational over the shoulder pass to an open 3-point shooter.  Swish!  It was that kind of game.

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (28:20) had a quiet game after his 42 point performance against Notre Dame.  Quiet for him.  Cooper scored 13 points (5-11 from the field, including 2-5 from 3land, plus 1-1 from the foul line) to go with 7 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal.  The only negative was 6 of Duke’s 10 turnovers.

(7) Kon Knueppel (26:11)) had his best game of the year, scoring 25 points (9-11 from the field, including 6-8 from deep, plus 1-1 from the foul line) to go with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.  

(5) Tyrese Proctor (22:57) failed to score (0-4 from the field, including 0-2 from behind the arc, without attempting a free throw).  Tyrese also grabbed a rebound and handed out 2 assists.  Tyrese had 0 turnovers and played great team defense.

(18) Mason Gillis (20:48) played another excellent game as he continues to play as he did at Purdue.  His improvement this year has been electrifying.   The Purdue transfer scored 12 points (4-6 from deep) and handed out 2 assists.  He is becoming so valuable as demonstrated by his increased playing time.  Coach Scheyer, “Mason Gillis was incredibly sharp with everything that he is doing right now. …Mason played the five [Center position] some for us, which I thought was a good look.”

(14) Sion James (19:24)  is the steadying influence on offense and is an intense defender.  Against Miami, Sion scored 5 points (2-5 from the field, including 1-2 from behind the arc).  Sion played an effective floor game with 5 assists, 3 blocked shots, 2 rebounds and a steal.

(9) Khaman Maluach (19:59) had another double-double and is improving every game he plays.  Khaman scored 12 points (6-7 from the field) to go with 15 rebounds and a blocked shot.  He is more aggressive and more confident in each game.  He is becoming a real game changer.

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (18:27) got his first extensive playing time of the year because of Maliq’s injury, and he did not waste the opportunity or disappoint.  Patrick grabbed 5 rebounds, played excellent defense (especially in the second half) and scored 4 points (2-3 from the field) while handing out an assist.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (18:21) had a very good game, and a terrific second half.  In addition to scoring 9 points – all in the second half (3-6 from the field, including 2-3 from 3land, plus 1-2 from the stripe).  Caleb also corralled 4 boards and handed out 4 assists.  His best game in a long while.  He is an aggressive defender.

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (14:49) got back into shooting and playing form, scoring 8 points (3-8, including 2-6 from deep).  He collected a pair of rebounds and is continuing to improve on defense.

(8) Darren Harris (7:56) missed his only shot from the field, but scored from the foul line (1-2).  He also contributed a rebound and an assist in his cameo appearance.

(55) Spencer Hubbard (1:33) had the one spectacular assist described above as the crowd embraced him (remembering he hails from Southern California).

Scheyer: “Spencer comes in in the end; Spencer could have shot it, makes the extra pass to Caleb.  Proud of our guys for playing that way.”

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

NEXT PLAY: Boston College Eagles on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass. at 8:00 p.m.  TV: ESPN.

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Duke Blue Devils 88 v. Boston College Eagles 63 (Season 16; Issue 19; Game 18) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #18 (January 18, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 88 – Boston College Eagles 63 at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass. 

Tyrese can’t even look as Isaiah the Flame Thrower sinks yet another 3-pointer

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Another lost jump ball to start a game! Then the B.C. center, Chad Venning, treated Maluach as if he were a statue, winning baby hook shots and lay-ups. It appeared as if Khaman has less interest in defense than slam dunks. Patrick Ngongba II, the freshman back-up center, was replaced late in the first half by Mason Gillis, who amazingly neutralized the B.C. centers with crafty positioning for most of the rest of the game. Deep into the first half, the Duke players on the floor gave Flagg and Proctor some offensive help.  Interestingly, Special K was held to 0 points following his impressive scoring game against Miami. The Flamethrower (Isaiah Evans) made an early and extended appearance by doing what he does best—shooting threes and baiting the student section—along with some newfound interest in defense and assists. 

The Flamethrower baits the BC students with another hot 3-point shot

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Maluach’s development is the major key to the lofty goals of this team—especially defensively.  Stay tuned.  Tougher teams to come.  In the meantime, give a lot of credit to Coach Scheyer and his staff for the type of players they have recruited and the manner in which they are bringing them along.

ALANALYSIS

ACC Home: Duke 88  v BC 63

Duke simply pummeled the Boston College Eagles in the second half (48-29) after meeting stiff opposition from the Eagles in the early going of the first half.  With 11:36 left in the opening half, BC led the Blue Devils by 18-11.  Duke rallied, but Khaman Maluach committed his second foul of the half with 7:18 remaining and went to the bench with 6:55 with the score tied at 24.  Then, Coach Scheyer and Mason Gillis turned the game completely around. Instead of substituting Patrick Ngongba II for Khaman, Gillis came in to play center (the 5 position) as Duke went small.  It turned out to be genius not only in the first half, but even more substantially in the second half.  BC scored only 10 more points in the first half while Duke pushed to a 40-34 half time lead.

Three minutes into the second half, Khaman committed his 3^rd foul, and was again relegated to the bench.  Less than 2 minutes later Ngongba committed his 3^rd foul, and Gillis again entered the game to play center for the Blue Devils, with Duke leading by 8 (50-42).  Gillis was simply superb.  Seven minutes later, Duke led by 22 points (65-43), and the game was effectively over.  The lead ballooned to 27 with 4:26 (garbage time) left in the game.  

Sion steadies the offense

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Offense

The Blue Devils scored 88 points on 53% shooting (30-57 from the field, including 8-24 from deep, and a satisfying 20-25 from the free throw line – 80%).  The Blue Devils notched 18 assists on their 30 field goals.  Duke shot 57% in the second half; 39% from 3land.  Tyrese (3-7) and the Flamethrower (4-9) were a combined 7-16 from deep.  We cannot complain about an offense that scores 88 points, including 48 in the second half.  Duke is so deep that if Kon is off, Isaiah picks up the slack.  And so it goes.

The Duke defense held BC to 29 second-half points

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Defense

Scheyer’s use of Mason Gillis at center in a small Duke lineup turned the game around.  With both Khaman and Patrick in foul trouble, Mason defended the BC bigs (it is fair to say) brilliantly.  While the Blue Devils did not hold the Eagles under 60 points, Duke did hold BC to 29 second-half points.  However, it was not the superb python-like defense that we saw against SMU and Pittsburgh.  Coach Scheyer put the point succinctly, “Our post defense has to be better.  We have to just straight up guard the ball better.  … [W]e weren’t moving five guys on the string like we have been.  That’s something we have to get back to in practice.  We have to take a jump with that. … [W]ith 15 minutes to go in the second half, our connectivity was so much better.  Our intention to protect the paint was so much better.”

The Bench

The Blue Devil bench produced dramatically.  Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans had a great game, scoring 16 points, 11 in the second half.  He had Duke’s highest +/- rating with +27  (for comparison, Cooper was next with + 25).  Gillis has been improving in every outing.  He has played 150 games in his college career (winning 80%).  He is now playing like the Big 10 Sixth Man of the Year (which he was last year).  His value will continue to expand.  Patrick Ngongba II is also improving every time he has an opportunity to play; four points, four rebounds, a great assist (hit Cooper cutting to the basket) without a turnover is exemplary.  His problem is fouling on defense (4 in 14 minutes).  Caleb had a wonderful second half in the last game.  He is still rounding into form (slowly). 

 Mason Gillis now makes vital contributions on both offense and defense

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

First Half: Duke 40 v BC 34

Duke could not stop BC in the first five minutes and kept missing open shots.  With 12 minutes gone, Duke was shooting 33% while BC shot 58%.  It was not until Mason became the defender of the post that Duke stopped BC and moved from a 7 point deficit to a 6 point halftime lead.  It was not one of Duke’s best halves.  Cooper had 15 first-half points while Tyrese scored 10 points and Isaiah had 5.

Second Half Duke 48 v BC 29

Cooper said after the game, “It was a really physical game.  We went into halftime thinking about that, and just coming out, being stronger with the ball and just playing more physical and being ourselves.”  Flagg led a balanced second half scoring with 13 points, Tyrese scored 10, while the Flame Thrower tossed in 11.  The defense – better connected in the last 15 minutes – held BC to 32% shooting (27% from deep) for a mere 29 points.  

They came all the way from Maine to Boston to watch Cooper put on a show for them.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (31:26) turned in another superb performance for his Maine friends and fans who bought tickets this past summer and came to Boston to see him play.  He did not disappoint.  Cooper scored 28 points (9-14, including 1-3 from behind the arc, plus 9-11 from the foul line) to go with 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.  His 4^th foul was a technical that was never explained, and Cooper still has no idea what it was for. “There was a lot of energy, especially coming after that call, whatever that was.”  Cooper’s play was simply awesome.

(14) Sion James (26:36)  is on the court extensively because Scheyer trusts his steady ball handling, rebounding, and superb on-the-ball defense.  Sion handed out 6 assists without a turnover, grabbed 7 rebounds while scoring 6 points (2-3 from the field, without a 3-point attempt, plus 2-3 from the stripe). He is part of the glue that holds this team together on both ends of the court.

(7) Kon Knueppel (25:54) shockingly failed to score a point after scoring his lifetime high in the previous game!  Kon was 0-5 from the field, including 0-2 from deep without a free throw attempt.  Special K garnered 3 boards and handed out an assist.  Disappointing except for the final score of the game.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (25:45) was Duke’s second highest scorer with 20 points (7-12 from the field, including 3-7 from 3land, plus 3-3 from the stripe) to go with 3 boards, 2 assists and a steal.  After 2 quiet games, Tyrese was simply superb.

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (21:24) led a deep and valuable bench as Duke’s 3^rd leading scorer with 16 points (5-11 from the field, including 4-9 from deep, plus 2-2 from the foul line).  Flamethrower handed out a terrific assist. 

(18) Mason Gillis (18:39)  After the last game, Coach said, “Mason played the five some for us, which I thought was a good look.”  In this game, Mason stepping in to play center in a small Duke lineup, was the catalyst for the easy win.  Mason takes charge of the defense and is playing superb all around basketball after an agonizingly slow start of the season.  Mason scored 4 points, without a missed shot (1-1 from the field, plus 2-2 from the foul line).  Gillis had an assist and a steal to go with his efficient defense against the BC bigs.

(9) Khaman Maluach (17:36) scored 8 points in foul-shortened playing time, before ultimately fouling out (4-6, including 0-1 from behind the arc) to go with 4 boards, an assist, and a blocked shot.  Khaman proved surprisingly vulnerable on defense (Chad Venning, the BC big, scored 19 points).  

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (14:04) got his second extensive playing time of the year because of Maliq’s injury. He played quite well, scoring 4 points (2-2 from the field) to go with 4 rebounds and a gorgeous assist to a driving Cooper.  However, he committed 4 fouls in his short playing time.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (14:00) scored 2 points (2-2 from the foul line, but 0-2 from the field including missing his only 3-point attempt).  CFos had an assist and a steal, but committed 2 turnovers.

(8) Darren Harris (5:06) missed his only shot from the field, a 3-point attempt. He contributed a rebound and an assist in his cameo appearance.

Tyrese’s shot and offensive skills were on display as he scored 20 points.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

National and ACC standings

Saturday was a day of upsets, nationally and in the ACC.  Nationally, many of last week’s highly ranked teams lost:

• #2 Iowa State lost to West Virginia; 
• #6 Tennessee lost to Vanderbilt; 
• #7 Marquette lost to Xavier; 
• #13 Oregon lost to Purdue; 
• #14 UConn lost to Creighton; and 
• #16 Gonzaga lost to Santa Clara.  

Duke is now #2 in Monday (January 20) polls (behind Auburn, who Duke has beaten this year).

In the ACC, Duke alone is unbeaten in league play (8-0) with 3 single-loss teams following, plus two 2-loss teams.  Clemson (7-1)won a road game against Pitt in overtime , Louisville (7-1 and #25 in new AP poll) beat UVA easily, while Wake Forest (6-1) trimmed the Virginia Tech Hokies.  Stanford, led by the heroics of Duke transfer Jaylen Blakes, beat UNC (6-2) on a buzzer beater.  SMU (5-2) is in 6^th place in the ACC.  

After this Saturday’s away game against The Demon Deacons (14-4; 7-1 in the ACC), the Blue Devils are home against Big 4 rivals NC State and the Tarheels of UNC.  Then, Duke has 2 ACC road games – against Syracuse (9-9; 3-4) and Clemson (15-4; 7-1).  Clemson is looking formidable after beating Pittsburgh on the road.

Next Tuesday, UNC plays Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Winston Salem.  Duke does not play again until next Saturday, when the Blue Devils will remember last year’s loss to the Demon Deacons in Winston Salem, N.C and the subsequent celebratory court-storming by the Wake students that injured Flip Filipowski (whether by accident or intentionally was never determined).

NEXT PLAY: Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at LJVM Coliseum, Winston Salem, NC at 4:30 pm.  TV: ESPN.

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Duke Blue Devils 63 v. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 56 (Season 16; Issue 20; Game 19) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #19 (January 25, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils  63– Wake Forest Demon Deacons 56 at LJVM Coliseum, Winston Salem, NC

 Devils defense beats down Demons

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Holy Coach K, Batman! Did anyone think that going to a zone halfway through the second half  would be the turning point in the game? Raise your hand if you thought, at that point, that the Blue Devils would win the game!

Duke’s different defensive look is possibly the factor that saved the win that was slipping away from them. Wake Forest had seized the momentum on their home court, where they had upset Duke the last two games in a row. There are all kinds of forgotten little turning points in a season, small moments with lingering impact. With Wake Forest on the verge of pulling away, Duke needed to turn the tide and this defensive gambit certainly was the catalyst in this one. In addition, the referees “let them play” (which is a euphemism for not calling fouls– a tactic that in this case played right into the Deacons wheelhouse of roughing up a more talented opponent). Nevertheless, the Blue Devils better get used to facing this style because future opponents will see this tape and integrate this style of play into their own game plan.

Although Duke held a comfortable lead at the half, mostly by Cooper looking for Kon (Special K) Knueppel and giving him assisted baskets to get his confidence back after being shut out of scoring in the Boston College game, otherwise, the rest of the squad was shooting blanks. Late in the second half, after Duke rallied to regain a slim lead, they made two impressive plays: a three-pointer by Flagg to start their rally, followed by a half court pass by Flagg to Mason Gillis in the corner for a unguarded three -– which more or less sealed the deal. This brings up the construction of the squad. A successful squad is not only McDonald’s All Americans. It’s adding veteran transfers like Gillis and Brown, who have the experience to deliver in the clutch, because they have been there and done that.

Tyrese stalks the ball

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Road Game: Duke 63 v Wake Forest 56

Duke played the worst 10:10 minutes of basketball this season in the opening minutes of the second half [turning a 15 point lead (35-20), with 10 seconds left in the opening period into a 6 point deficit (45-39), with 8:17 left in the game – in those 10 minutes, the Blue Devils were outscored 23-4]. 

But, the next and last 8:09 against Wake Forest in this game may have been the most valuable minutes of the season; Duke switched to a previously-unused zone defense and clawed their way back to a 6 point lead (56-49 with 2:18 left in the game), and then held on for the ACC road win.

Winning Time

Cooper started the comeback with a jump shot (assist from Kon) to make it 45-41 with 8:09 to play in the game.  The zone defense earned a stop. Kon made a turnaround jump shot with 7:42 left in the game (45-43). After a Wake score (47-43 with 7:03 remaining), Mason hit a 3 from deep (assist from Tyrese) to make it 47-46 for Wake – 6:25 to go.  

When the defense made another stop, Cooper drove for a layup to give Duke the lead 48-47 with 5:44 left.  The defense again provided a stop.   Proctor was fouled and went 1-2 from the stripe with 5:16 left (Duke by 49-47). Once again, Wake could not score against the zone, and Cooper followed with a drive ending in a dunk (51-47 with 4:32 left in the game).  Duke’s defense provided yet another stop as Kon retrieved the rebound.  Cooper was again fouled and sank both free throws.  Duke led 53-47 with 3:53 to go.  But the game was not yet won!

Cooper turned it over, and Patrick Ngongba II fouled Hildreth (Wake’s star point guard), who made both foul shots.  (53-49 with 2:49 left).  Then Tyrese, who had a difficult shooting night, hit what looked like the dagger, a 3-pointer.  56-49 with 2:18 to go.  But all was not in the bag yet! 

Patrick again fouled the Wake big man, Efton Reid, who made 1-2 (56-50 with 2:05 remaining).  Proctor committed a turnover, but the Demon Deacons could not score.  Flagg and Gillis each missed shots, and Wake had the ball with a minute left, when Patrick committed his 5^th foul. Wake went 2-2 to trail by 4 (56-52).  

Then, Mason Gillis put the final dagger in the Demon Deacon heart with a 3-pointer earning a 7 point Duke lead (59-52 with 41 seconds left)!  It was a gallant comeback to earn a tough ACC road win.  Scheyer thought having to win a game like this one was so valuable: “You have to win one of these games in the tournament.  You have to win one of these games in ACC play. … it’s just huge that we could get a win and find a way without having our best stuff.”

Duke won the rebounding battle for the game (46-29), but the totals in the second half were nearly even (20-18 for the Blue Devils). Wake did not retrieve a single offensive rebound in the closing period, while Duke corralled 6. Duke’s leading rebounders were Kon with 9, Tyrese at 8, Cooper with 7, and Gillis grabbing 6.

Mason Gillis displays his leadership

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Defense

After the last game against BC, Coach Scheyer admitted that the defense was not the python-like defense of previous games, “Our post defense has to be better.  We have to just straight up guard the ball better.  … [W]e weren’t moving five guys on the string like we have been.”  Going into this game, I thought that getting the defense back to “python” was going to decide this crucial game.”  

In fact, the defense in this game was python-like, completely shutting down Wake point guard Cameron Hildreth and holding Wake (season average 70 ppg) to 56 points.   Moreover, the defense got the needed stops at winning time when Scheyer switched to a zone defense for the first time this year.  Scheyer: “We haven’t played it.  We’ve played it one possession all year. … We were trying to stand them up a little bit.  Sometimes, late in the game, that’s what it can do. … The coaching staff said, ‘let’s do it’, and I thought it was great timing to go to the zone.”

Duke’s defense (except for the 10 minutes to start the second half) was not the problem (only allowing 32 points in the other 30 minutes).

Efton Reid, the Demon Deacon 7-footer, was difficult to defend.  He drew 7 Duke fouls, mostly on Khaman (who carried 4 fouls) and Patrick (who fouled out of the game).  Khaman was torched on both ends of the court, 18:10 of playing time without scoring a point. Patrick didn’t score in the second half, but was simply more effective than Khaman and logged 21:12, before fouling out with a minute left in the game.   

Duke committed 22 fouls in the game.  Too many!  Duke also committed 16 turnovers in the game.  Too many!

The Bench

The bench contributions came primarily from Mason Gillis (23:19) and Patrick Ngongba II (21:12, including 4 first-half points, a rebound, and 2 steals).  Gillis was superb, scoring 11 points (3^rd highest scorer of the team, 4-7 from the field, including 3-6 from behind the arc – one of which was The Dagger!) with 6 rebounds and wonderful defense.  Caleb failed to score (10:07) but did get 2 boards and an assist.  Isaiah (no Flame Throwing) Evans also failed to score or even take a shot in his 3:34 on the court.

First Half: Duke 35 v Wake Forest 22

Duke had 5 turnovers in the first 4 minutes, Cooper 3 and Kon 2.  Very sloppy start on both ends.  Duke scored 2 to Wake’s 10 in the first 6 minutes.   Then the Blue Devils started to strut their stuff, using the bench (Patrick, who was 2-2 from the stripe; Mason Gillis, who was 1-1 from behind the arc; and Caleb Foster who ran the point and recorded a rebound and an assist).

The Duke defense was awesome (almost Python), except for the fouling (12 in the half – 2 each on Cooper, Knueppel, Khaman, Tyrese and Ngongba).  Duke dominated the boards (27 to Wake’s 10), giving up only 3 offensive rebounds.

Duke shot 45% (13-29, including 5-15 from behind the arc, plus 4-5 from the stripe), handing out 10 assists on the 13 field goals.  The offense was marred only by 10 turnovers, but most occurred in the first few minutes. 

Special K found his stroke for 12 first-half points (4-8, including 3-6 from 3land, plus 1-2 from the foul line), to go with 5 rebounds, an assist, and a block.  Cooper scored 9 points (4-8 from the field, including 0-3 from behind the arc, plus 1-1 from the stripe) to go with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and a block.  However, Cooper also committed 5 turnovers (though 3 were in the opening minutes).  

The bench chipped in with Mason Gillis scoring 5 points (2-4, including 1-3 from deep) to go with 4 rebounds, and Patrick scoring 4 points without a miss (1-1 from the field and 2-2 from the stripe) to go with a rebound, 2 steals, and a block.  

Second Half Duke 28 v Wake Forest 34

Wake came out on fire in the second half, scoring the first 7 points.  The Blue Devils failed to score in the first 4 minutes.  In the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Demon Deacons outscored Duke 23-4 to take a 45-39 lead.  Duke had already committed 7 fouls.  It was quite simply the worst 10:10 minutes of the season for Duke.  

Cooper, who played all 20 minutes of the closing stanza, scored 15 second-half points, more than half the total of Duke’s 28 second-half points.  The Duke players who did not score a second-half point were: Khaman (7:23 of playing time in the second half); Sion (7:28); Caleb Foster (3:21); Patrick (11:59) and Isaiah Evans (1:12).  Tyrese (17:21) scored only 4 points in the half (1-7 from the field, including 1-6 from deep).   Special K scored 3 points (1-4, including 0-1 from behind the arc), after scoring 12 in the first half.  Must have been a very uninspiring halftime “pep” talk!

However, the comeback at winning time ameliorated the bad feeling from the substantial amount of terrible play in the second half.  

Cooper delivered against Wake when it counted

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (38:58) turned in another superb performance, scoring 24 points (8-16, including 1-6 from behind the arc, plus 7-9 from the foul line) to go with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and a blocked shot.  He simply carried Duke in the second half, including at winning time, by scoring 15 second-half points (Duke only scored 28 points).  Cooper is still turning the ball over too much (7 against Wake).  Kon said after the game, “I turned the ball over too much (5 times).  Cooper turned the ball over too much … but if we kept rebounding like we did today, we knew we’d be all right.” 

(7) Kon Knueppel (34:00) was Duke’s second highest scorer with 15 points (5-12 from the field, including 3-7 from 3land, plus 2-4 from the foul line).  He scored 12 of his points in the first half.  Special K also led Duke in rebounding with 9.  Kon handed out 3 assists and blocked a shot.  But oh those 5 turnovers!

(5) Tyrese Proctor (32:57) had a terrible shooting game but played spectacular defense (he was the main defender against Wake’s high-scoring point guard Hildreth, who was held to 4 points before he fouled out).  Tyrese scored 6 points (2-12, including 1-7 from behind the arc, plus 1-2 from the foul line.)  Despite his shooting woes, Tyrese grabbed 6 boards, handed out a pair of assists and had 2 steals, while commiting just a single turnover.

(18) Mason Gillis (23:19)  was (after Cooper) the Most Valuable Duke player.  He scored 11 points (4-7 from the field, including 3-6 from behind the arc) with 6 rebounds.  Kon said, “Mason just keeps us calm and knowing what to do.  He’s done so much.”  Scheyer and Cooper each mentioned Mason’s mental and physical contributions.  Mason said, “we didn’t throw the game away.  We didn’t put our heads down.  We were able to look each other in the eye, say ‘we got this, we’re going to win the game.’ And we went out there and executed.”

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (21:12) played more time at center than Maluach and played well, before fouling out.  Patrick scored 4 points (1-2 from the field, plus 2-2 from the stripe), all in the first half.  Patrick grabbed 3 rebounds and made 2 steals.  He has trouble avoiding fouls.  He fouled out of this game near its conclusion.  His value – and skill – is growing, as exemplified by his having a +19 in the +/- category (for comparison, Cooper’s +/- was +12).

(9) Khaman Maluach (18:10) had his worst game of the year.  He not only lost the opening tip-off (again), but he failed to score or even take a shot.  He did grab 3 rebounds and block 2 shots, before fouling out.

(14) Sion James (17:45)  did not have a good game.  He scored 3 points (1-6 from the field, including 1-4 from deep, without a free throw).  Sion had 2 assists and 3 rebounds without a turnover.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (10:07) failed to score (0-2 from the field – both were 3-point attempts).  CFos grabbed 2 rebounds and handed out an assist. 

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (3:34 ) failed to score or even take a shot.  He did grab a pair of boards in his cameo appearance.

Sion James shows his valuability on both ends of the court.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

National and ACC standings

Duke is now #2 in both AP and Coach’s polls (behind Auburn, who Duke has beaten this year).  Louisville, the second ACC team to be ranked, is now # 25 in both polls.

In the ACC, Duke alone is unbeaten in league play (9-0). 2 single loss teams, Clemson (9-1) and Louisville (8-1) stand ready to pounce. Wake Forest is 7-2 after losing to Duke.  

The Blue Devils are home against Big 4 rivals NC State (9-10 (overall record; 2-6 in ACC) on January 27 (today) followed by a game in Cameron against the  Tarheels of UNC (13-8, 6-3).  Duke then has 2 ACC road games against Syracuse (9-11; 3-6) and Clemson (17-4 ; 9-1).  The Clemson game on the road will be a big game.

NEXT PLAY: North Carolina State Wolfpack on Monday, January 27, 2025, at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 8:30 pm. TV: ESPN.

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Duke Blue Devils 74 v. North Carolina State Wolfpack 64 (Season 16; Issue 21; Game 20) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #20 (January 27, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 74 – North Carolina State Wolfpack 64 at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Tyrese and Cooper trying their best to take care of the ball for the Duke offense

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

When I first tuned on the game, I thought I was watching a rerun of the Wake Forest Game, or a rugby match or, perhaps, a Duke intramural fraternity team had put on varsity basketball uniforms and were playing with an overinflated to 23 ½ pounds basketball, and State players were shooting an WNBA ball.  But no, this was the real game.  

State, among the worst shooting teams in the ACC, was shooting like Duke, and Duke was shooting like State. Consequently, the Blue Devils were never ahead. It was so bad that Maluach got sick to his stomach and threw up right on the playing floor. You really don’t want to see the contents of a 7’2” 250 lb. athlete’s stomach in the middle of a basketball game – The Revenge of the Lemon-Lime Swamp. It took a hamper of towels from the men’s locker room to clean it up.

Maluach was no sicker with how Duke was playing than me—or Coach Scheyer, who reached his breaking point and declared,  “It goes against my upbringing but it worked against Wake. Let’s go to the zone—and Cooper, finish this game off like usual.”

Game, set, match, as the Super Teen finished the game off like the POY should. The play of the game was Flagg,  utilizing a high pick by fellow teen backup center Ngongba II, driving the lane in his patented Spider Man fashion and dealing a perfect pass to Patrick flawlessly following Cooper in the other side of the lane for an easy layup.

Damn, Cooper Flagg makes this game seem so easy. Why wait so long to show us?

The bottom line is that in these last couple of games, Duke is playing like a pretender not a contender, and unless they improve and play a full forty minutes, the season will be shorter than we would like.

I should comment on the improved foul shooting.  If Duke had not hit 86% (24-28) for the game, they could well have lost.  Foul shots are free, undefended points and a team that does not cash in on them is usually toast in close games. 

KON’S SHOT RETURNS: 19 POINTS!

Photo credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Home Game: Duke 74 v North Carolina State 64

After an intense Saturday game against Wake Forest, Duke, with only 1 day in between the two games, came out without energy or passion for this Wolfpack  game.   Scheyer admitted that the team did not do anything physical on Sunday, but playing with one day in between is not unique and happens every weekend of the NCAA tournament. So, no excuses! 

Duke came out so flat in a back and forth first half that the Blue Devils trailed by 13 points (35-22) with 4:14 left in the half.  In those last 4 minutes of the half, Duke scored 11 points, to 2 for the Wolfpack. 

Khaman played one of his best games holding the Wolfpack big men in check, while signalling ToUCHDOwn!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

While Duke outscored NC State by 14 (41-27) in the second half, the game was a nail biter until the last 4:41 of the game.  Duke led 63-62.  Khaman tried to re-enter the game after cramping, but threw up from all the fluid he drank, and did not play for the remainder of the game. With or without Duke’s 7’2” center, it was “winning time”!  Here is the play by play:

Winning Time in the Last 4:41 of the Game

Duke scored 11 points, while the Wolfpack managed only a single point.  Cooper started the winning drive by being fouled and converting both free throws (65-62, Duke leads).  Duke’s zone defense produced 2 defensive stops, and Duke retrieved 3 offensive rebounds (Patrick 2 and Tyrese 1), but neither team scored until Tyrese was fouled when he grabbed a defensive rebound. Tyrese was falling out of bounds when he was grabbing for that rebound!, which would have given NC State the ball.  In a heady play, Kon grabbed Tyrese’s leg to keep him from falling out of bounds. Tyrese was then fouled, and went 1-2 (66-62) with 3:01 remaining.  

NOT SO FAST, YOU! or Kon improvises brilliantly to save a possession

Photo Credit: ESPN

When the zone produced a stop, Cooper grabbed a rebound and drove for a layup (68-62) with 2:17 to go.  The Wolfpack scored almost immediately (68-64 with 1:56 left).  Cooper fed Patrick for a beautiful layup with 1:26 left in the game (70-64).  Proctor made a steal and was fouled with 50 seconds left.  Tyrese made 1-2 (71-64). 

The defense made yet another stop, and Cooper retrieved the rebound in one of the game’s best plays, and he was fouled.  Cooper made 1-2 for a 72-64 lead with 30 seconds to go in the game.  The defense made a final stop; Kon grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws for 74-64 with only 13 seconds left.  It can be argued that the 11-1 advantage at winning time was more important to the Duke season than the sloppy play against a team with a losing record.  Stay tuned.

Defense

The Blue Devils gave up only 27 points in the second half.  Duke again employed the zone defense at crunch time, which  baffled the Wolfpack.  Adding the last 4 minutes of the first half, where NC State could only score 2 points, means that Duke held the Wolfpack to just 29 points in 24 minutes.  Scheyer approved, “Our team’s defense in critical moments has been the story for me throughout this year and was tonight.”  When the defense revived at the end of the first half, and the beginning of the second period, Duke achieved 11 consecutive stops.

The early lapses of the defense were partly the result of terrific offense by NC State.  The ball moved to give the Wolfpack wide open 3s.  NC State, who had made very few 3s in the year, suddenly was on fire from 3land (10-22).  

The Bench

The Duke bench contributions were sparse in this game.  Patrick’s 4 points in 8:27 led the bench in scoring.  Mason played 15:33 and added 2 free throws.  Neither CFos (6:46) nor the Flame Thrower (2:34) scored.  

First Half: Duke 33 v. NC State 37

Another terrible start by Duke.  8:10 in, Duke was 3-13 from the field including 1-7 from deep. 5 turnovers.  Terrible defense – especially Khaman on switches, but later he played good defense. Early on, State 3-5 from deep (open 3s) 6-14 from the field.  

Then, Duke called time out and Gillis replaced the guards with 9:26 remaining and Duke trailing  23-11. The Wolfpack had shot 5-8 from deep and 9-18 from the field up to that point. The Duke defense was MIA!

For the entire first half, State – 7-12 from deep – 49% from the field.  Duke 3-16 from deep (19%). 

However, Duke finished on a 7-0 run for the last 1:32 – Proctor layup, K steal leads to Mason making 2 free throws. Proctor missed a 3 with 13 seconds left, but Sion got the rebound and made a layup and the foul shot.

Cooper flies through and over the Wolfpack 

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (36:55) produced another second half where he snatched defeat from the jaws of defeat by scoring 23 (6-10 from the field, including 1-2 from deep — crucial at the time, plus a gaudy 10-11 from the foul line) for his game-high 28 points. After a quiet opening half, the Blue Devil savant freshman grabbed 5 defensive rebounds, handed out a pair of assists, and blocked a shot without a single turnover in the closing period.   

(7) Kon Knueppel (35:09) was Duke’s second highest scorer with 19 points (5-15 from the field, including 3-10 from 3land, plus a sparkling 6-6  from the foul line).  He was the Blue Devil high scorer in the first half (11) and Cooper’s helper in the closing stanza.  Special K contributed 6 rebounds and 3 steals with only a single turnover.

(14) Sion James (34:20)  had a superb all-around game.  Scheyer demonstrated his reliance on Sion by playing him for all 20 minutes of the closing half.  The Tulane transfer scored an efficient 13 points (5-8 from field plus 3-3 from the stripe) to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal.  Scheyer: “Sion sparked us on defense.”   

(5) Tyrese Proctor (32:50) had Duke’s best +/- statistic in the game (+22) despite a poor shooting game where he scored only 4 points (1-6 from the field, including  0-2 from 3land, plus 2-4 from the foul line).  Tyrese might be the Blue Devils best perimeter defender (2 steals) as well as a reliable ball handler (3 assists).  He is a calm presence at crunch time.

(9) Khaman Maluach (27:26) played one of his best games of the year (including winning the opening tip- finally!) until with 4:21 left in the game, he was taken to the locker room.  It turned out he was cramping and therefore forced so much Gatorade that he got sick.  (No long term problem),  In the game, he was terrific on defense after a few early faulty switches, which resulted in easy Wolfpack layups.  He completely shut down State’s vaunted big man, Ben Middlebrooks, who failed to score a single point.

(18) Mason Gillis (15:33)  was the bench player who logged the most minutes in the game. He scored 2 points (2-2 from the stripe) while missing his 2 shots from the field, one from deep.  He contributed 3 rebounds and stout defense.

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (8:27) contributed significantly in his abbreviated time on the court (3 personal fouls).  Patrick scored 4 points (2-2 from the field, including a beautiful layup on a pass from Flagg with the shot clock expiring).  He garnered 3 rebounds.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (6:46) failed to score (0-1 from the field).  CFos grabbed a rebound and handed out an assist. 

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (2:34 ) failed to throw any flames, not even a spark as he missed his only shot, a 3-point attempt.  

Sion’s muscles send him up & over!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

News

Maliq Brown has not yet practiced with the team but participated in warm up drills before the game.  Coach Scheyer said he hopes Maliq’s knee has healed enough to have him at practice this week.

Duke is now #2 in the polls (behind Auburn, who Duke has beaten this year), and is on a 14 game winning streak.  Louisville, only the second ACC team to be ranked, is now #25 in both polls.

In the ACC, Duke alone is unbeaten in league play (10-0) with 2 single loss teams, Clemson (9-1) and Louisville (9-1) ready to pounce. Wake Forest is 7-3 after losing to Duke and Louisville.  

Jay Bilas famously proclaims that “Duke-UNC NEVER DISAPPOINTS!”NEXT PLAY: North Carolina Tarheels on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 6:30 pm. TV: ESPN.

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Duke Blue Devils 87 v. UNC Tarheels 70 (Season 16; Issue 22; Game 21) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #21 (February 1, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 87 – UNC Tarheels 70 at Cameron Indoor Stadium 

The Cameron Crazies reach fever pitch as Cooper increases the Duke lead

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com 

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

The Tar Heels must have believed the press stories that declared them unlikely to beat Duke, because from the opening tip they played like they didn’t think they could win the game . Their play did not do much in support of head coach Hubert Davis, who is reported by Johnny Tar Heel to be halfway swept out the door after only four years at the helm. 

Rallying behind a terrific start by Cooper Flagg, the Blue Devils jumped out to an 18-6 lead – Flagg either hit or assisted on every basket to that point. Because Carolina is a small team, you would think the ‘Heels would have an advantage in quickness. However, even their patented fast break off of opponents’ made-baskets was MIA. But this is the team Coach Davis recruited and, as much as I regret saying it, they miss Armando Bacot, who I had always thought was overrated. However, it appears he was the catalyst that gave RJ Davis the room to operate. Bacot’s replacement, Elliot Cadeau, is only another small guard who just gets in RJ’s way and does not help defensively.

It appears that the rest of the Tar Heels are a year or so away from being ACC-ready and that they either do not like each other or that they have not learned to play together. Duke, on the other hand, has Cooper Flagg, a generational talent who is mature beyond his years, as their leader, and a group of players who both like each other and like playing with each other. Because Cooper is an extraordinary passer who loves to share the ball, everyone on the team loves to share the ball. Scoring is the second of five skills at which Cooper excels.

It is enjoyable watching our young team mature – in the coming weeks and months we will see if they are ready for the toughest part of the schedule.

Tyrese rises out of his shooting slump to drop 17 points on UNC

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Home Game: Duke 87  v North Carolina 70

For 32 minutes, Duke played its best basketball of the year (on both ends of the court), leading UNC by 32 points (yes, you read that correctly!) with 9:04 left in the game (77-45).  The Blue Devils (aided by the return of Maliq Brown) produced what I have called the python-like defense  that squeezed the Tarheels to only 25 first-half points.  Thus, the defense limited UNC to 45 points in 31 minutes of play.  Simply great defense, switching on every screen!  UNC had no way to penetrate.  Coach Scheyer: “The defense was great. … I thought the talk and the switching was terrific.”  Scheyer also praised Maliq, “He comes in and on the first play, comes up with the ball and we get something from it.  And then Sion and Tyrese, their defense is so good.”  Even holding UNC to 70 points was good defense when you take into account that the Tar Heels  came into the game averaging 82.2 ppg.

Duke shot the lights out (53% overall for the game from 28-53, including a gaudy 10-20 (50%) from behind the arc, plus 21-25 (84%) from the foul line).  The Blue Devils gave assists on 20 of the 28 field goals (topped by Cooper Flagg with 7 assists; Kon (Special K) Knueppel with5), while committing only 8 turnovers.  87 points is excellent offense!  Kon: “We got out in transition a lot more than we have been in recent games, especially early. We made good, on-time and on target passes, and it led to making more shots.”

Kon stands tall as Duke’s high scorer with 22 points

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Then, inexplicably, the Duke defense melted away, lost intensity…. and ultimately gave up 25 points in the final 9 minutes.  The Duke lead shrunk from 32 points to 16 points (79-63) with 3:31 left in the game.  While the outcome of the game never felt in doubt, UNC outscored Duke 18-2 over that period.  The Blue Devils clearly started playing the score rather than playing the game.

I learned to appreciate the Duke women’s coach, Kara Lawson, when she chastised her team for losing intensity in a similar situation.  When the press suggested that losing intensity when the game was clearly won was simply “human nature”, Kara replied, “that is true of ordinary people, ordinary competitors.  It is not true of elite competitors.  Those competitors never play the score, they compete on every play.  In fact, elite competitors don’t care if it is a game or practice.  They play for the beauty of the game.”  

Her team competed differently after that.  This edition of the Blue Devils needs to learn that or face the potential of a game-losing meltdown in the postseason. 

First Half: Duke 47  v. UNC 25

The Duke defense held UNC to under 30% shooting from the field (8-27, including 3-11 from behind the arc).  If not for UNC going 6-6 from the line, the Blue Devils might have held the Tarheels to under 25 points for the half!  With Maliq Brown returning for 6:18 first-half minutes and Mason Gillis playing 5:24, Duke was deep and talented.

At the same time, Duke scored 47 points on 56% shooting (15 -27, including 5-11 from behind the arc, plus a gaudy 12-14 from the stripe).  Cooper led the first half scoring with 13 points (4-7 from the field, including 2-3 from 3land, plus 3-5 from the stripe) to go with 5 assists, 4 boards, 2 steals (which were both spectacular), and 2 blocked shots.  UNC had no answers for Cooper.  Tyrese broke out of his recent scoring slump with 10 first-half points (2-3 from the field, including 1-2 from deep, plus 5-5 from the foul line). Kon added 9 points (3-5 from the field, including 1-2 from behind the arc, plus 2-2 from the stripe).  Duke handed out 11 assists on 15 field goals with only 4 first-half turnovers.  Great offense; great defense; a 22 point lead.

Khaman is a force at the rim.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Second Half: Duke 40 v. UNC 45

The Duke defense allowed UNC to score 45 points on 65% shooting from the field (18-28), including 50% from behind the arc (4-8).  In the 5:00 that elapsed between Duke’s 32 point lead and its 16 point lead, UNC shot 8-9 from the field, including 1-1 from deep.  UNC went 3-5 in the last 3:31 of the game.  It felt as if the Blue Devils stopped even the pretense of defending and were just running clock to finish off the win.

Among other wonderful attributes, Cooper is a stellar shot-blocker

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (38:18) scored 21 points (6-14 from the field, including 3-5 from deep, plus 6-9 from the foul line) to go with one of the great all-around games by a Duke player.  Cooper handed out 7 assists, grabbed 8 boards, while making 3 dramatic steals and blocking 2 shots.  He decimated UNC, who had no answer for the savant freshman.   

(7) Kon Knueppel (35:29) led Duke in scoring with 22 points  (7-11 from the field, including 2-4 from 3land, plus a sparkling 6-7 from the foul line).  Kon also played a great all-around game by grabbing 5 rebounds, handing out 5 assists, with 2 steals, and a blocked shot.  Special K was, indeed, special.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (32:10) found his missing offense to score 17 points (5-10 from the field, including  2-5 from 3land, plus 5-5 from the foul line).  Tyrese might be the Blue Devils’ best perimeter defender (2 steals) as well as a reliable ball handler (3 assists with only a single turnover).  Tyrese also grabbed a pair of tough rebounds.

(14) Sion James (31:55) also scored in double figures with 13 points (4-7 from field, including 1-3 from behind the arc, plus 4-4 from the stripe) to go with 3 assists and a steal.  Sion had the highest +/- statistic (+26).  For comparison, Cooper was +19.   

(9) Khaman Maluach (20:55) again won the opening tip and played simply great defense.  At 7’2”, he can switch out and guard the perimeter or  switch to protect the rim against a penetrating guard. Khaman scored 6 points (3-5 from the field to go with 6 rebounds.  He was far more valuable than the box score alone indicates.

(6) Maliq Brown (15:38) made a welcome return to the court and demonstrated why he is such a great defender, with a nose for the ball and a talent for disrupting offenses with his many deflections.  Maliq collected 3 rebounds, handed out 2 assists, and made 2 steals, while also scoring 2 points (1-2 on layups). Welcome back, Maliq.

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (7:34) When UNC went to a zone defense, Scheyer put Isaiah in the game and he immediately hit a 3-pointer (1-2 from deep).  UNC came out of its zone.  The Flamethrower also grabbed 1 rebound and made a steal. 

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (7:23) failed to score (0-1 from the field).  CFos grabbed a rebound, while handling point guard duty and avoiding any turnovers. 

(18) Mason Gillis (6:51)  scored 3 points (1-1 from 3land) with a steal.  He was unfortunately foul prone (4 fouls in his abbreviated time on the court).

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (2:59) was anchored to the bench more than he has been  the last 4 games because of the return of Maliq.  He made a brief “garbage time” cameo.

(8) Darren Harris (0:48) had no statistic in his cameo in the last minute of the game.

Scion: an unstoppable player & growing into a forceful point guard

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

News

Maliq Brown looked good (moved well; did not appear rusty) in his return to the court.  He created chaos for the ‘Heels with his deflections. It will be interesting for him when Duke plays his former team, Syracuse, on Wednesday, February 5.

Duke is now #2 in the polls (behind Auburn) and is on a 15 game winning streak.  Louisville, the second ACC team to be ranked, lost to Georgia Tech, which could drop them out of the top 25.  There is a feeling among the media that Clemson will gain a ranking in the top 25 when tomorrow’s polls are released.

In the ACC, Duke alone is unbeaten in league play (19-2 overall; 11-0 in the ACC) with Clemson (18-4 overall; 10-1 in the ACC) the only team with only a single loss in conference.  Duke plays Clemson at LittleJohn Coliseum on Saturday, February 8, at 6 pm.  Clemson has always been difficult to beat on their home court.  It looks like it will be a BIG GAME!

NEXT PLAY: Syracuse Orange on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY at 7:00 pm. TV: ESPN2.

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Duke Blue Devils 83 v. Syracuse Orange 54 (Season 16; Issue 23; Game 22) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #22 (February 5, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 83 – Syracuse Orange 54 at JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY

This Duke squad is just as excited for teammates’ successes as for their own

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Ask any of the 50,000 Syracuse fans in attendance if they would be happy with limiting Cooper Flagg to 7 points, 6 offensive rebounds, and a 19-16 overall advantage in rebounding before halftime, they would take it in a heartbeat. Yet, Syracuse still trailed by 14 points. 

The Blue Devils won this game with their early defensive work, forcing seven turnovers on 28 possessions and letting Syracuse shoot just 10/28 (35.7%) from the field and 3/10 (30%) from 3-point range. This Duke offense showed its ability to stack points in a hurry after halftime, but a defense that lets the Blue Devils win even without those runs is one reason why they’ve won 16 straight games. 

I’m beginning to believe the hype BUT I will wait until they play Clemson and Illinois before comparing it to the 1991-2 or 1999 teams. What I will say is that this team is deeper than those two. Caleb Foster is the only top ten player who is struggling.  And, by the way, what keeps Isaiah ‘Flamethrower’ Evans from playing more minutes. The man is instant offense, his defense and ball sharing have both improved dramatically.  Proctor has been supplanted by Special K as the number two offensive option, but the Aussie is getting more consistent. What really strikes me about this group is that they really seem to like each other and play accordingly. That can only happen when Cooper, their best player, plays all facets of the game with the same enthusiasm and energy and appears to enjoy his teammates’ successes as much as his own.

Maliq Brown returned to his former home court and put together one of his best games of the season, logging six points, eight rebounds, and three steals. He also helped hold Syracuse forward Eddie Lampkin Jr. to two points on three shots, denying any interior presence for the Orange. Even in 22 minutes of playing time, Maliq is the engine for everything mentioned above about the Duke defense, and he’s a piece that is so critical to Duke’s success.

Cooper reaches the heights of achievement, both on the court and in the classroom

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Road Game: Duke 83 v Syracuse 54

Cooper Flagg only attempted 7 shots, scoring only 11 points, but he completely controlled the game, proving himself a great player and a wonderful teammate.  Given the hype and the attention Cooper’s play has generated, one could forget he is simply a freshman in college and barely 18 years old.  Therefore, I believe his best statistic is academic — a 4.0 GPA in his first college semester.   Remember, he should still be a high school senior because he advanced his college career by a year.  Cooper’s twin brother, Ace, graduates from high school this spring. Cooper really is, as Jack Armstrong used to be called,, the All-American Boy!

The Blue Devils looked totally invincible on both offense and defense.  Tyrese Proctor suggests some reasons: “The biggest thing is we feel like we grew up a lot.  …You’ve got to learn how to figure it out, and that’s what we did.  We’ve got a lot of freshmen in the rotation.  Granted, they’re among the best freshmen in the world, but they’re freshmen nonetheless, so we still have to go through it and learn how to win games like that together.”

Tyrese gets a beautiful pass from Kon, helping the freshmen “figure it out”

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Defense

Duke’s switching on defense was beautiful and made the Orange work hard for every basket.  The Blue Devils held the Orange to a season low 54 points (23 in the first half). The truth is Syracuse played well, made some difficult shots, hustled and fought, but were completely outmatched.  The Python-like Duke defense just squeezed the life out of the Syracuse offense.

Khaman can guard smaller players on the perimeter, permitting Duke to switch on every Syracuse screen.  Maliq is such a wild card with his ability to disrupt offenses with his amazing deflections.  Scheyer about using Maliq at the same time as either Patrick Nogongba II or Khaman is also in the game, “was a good look for us tonight.  I think we found something there.”

Duke made 12 steals (& forced 14 turnovers)

A high-flying star, Maliq lights up the sky against Syracuse

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Offense

Duke’s passing was absolutely breathtaking, (18 assists on 30 made field goals with only 6 turnovers in the game).  So often the ball zipped around, with each player seeming to have a good shot, but the next pass gave the next Duke player an even better shot. One sequence had about five passes, with each passer refusing what was a good shot, until Sion hit Maliq for a wide open layup at the rim. Here is how that sequence went:

Isaiah Evans launched a three that missed. Maliq Brown tipped the ball out to Cooper who zipped a gorgeous no-look cross court pass to Sion James. James zipped it out Caleb Foster. Then Foster dribbled to his  left and hit Flagg in the lane, who made another impressive pass to get it to Brown under the basket. But wait! James is wide open in the corner! So Brown hits him. 

James drives in though and gets it back to Brown, who gets an easy layup. Total dribbles: four.

It was more ballet than hoops and was absolutely amazing.  The Blue Devils shot 57% from the field (69% in the second half) including 39% from deep (9-23).   

Duke was consistent, beating the Orange by 14 points in the first half and 15 in the closing period. Duke’s scoring was balanced with 5 double figure scorers (Proctor, 16; Kon, 12; Cooper, 11; Sion, 10; and Isaiah, 10).  Duke fans never feared an upset in this game.

Sion is becoming a force on both ends of the court

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Second Half: Duke 46 v. Syracuse 31

With 4 minutes left in the game, Duke led Syracuse by 31 points (77-46).  The Blue Devils shot 69% (18-26 with 12 assists).  Eight Duke players recorded at least 1 assist (Sion, 3; Isaiah, 2; and Caleb, 2)

All ten Duke players who were on the court for at least 5 minutes in the half scored (Tyrese and the Flame Thrower, 7; Maliq and Caleb, 6; Sion, 5; Cooper and Darren Harris, 4; Kon, 3; while Patrick and Khaman each scored 2). 

The 31 point lead with 4 minutes left in the game says it all.

Caleb – back on the hunt

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(5) Tyrese Proctor (27:49) was Duke’s high scorer with 16 points (5-12 from the field including 4-10 from deep, plus 2-4 from the stripe) to go with a pair of rebounds, a pair of assists, and a steal, all without a turnover.

(2) Cooper Flagg (27:39) scored 11 points, taking only 7 shots from the field (4-7 from the field, including 1-1 from deep, plus 2-2 from the foul line) to go with another great all-around game — 5 boards, while making 2 steals and blocking 2 shots.  The freshman handed out 2 assists and played great team defense.  (All with having a 4.0 grade average  for his first semester!)   

(14) Sion James (26:07) was one of five Duke players who scored in double figures with 10 points (an efficient 4-5 from field, including 1-1 from behind the arc, plus 1-1 from the stripe), to go with 4 assists (0 turnovers) and 3 steals.  Sion’s improvement on both ends of the court has been palpable.

(6) Maliq Brown (22:23) made his return against his old team a complete triumph. Maliq led Duke in rebounding with 8 and had the highest (+24) +/- total for Duke.  Maliq had 3 steals, demonstrating what a great defender he is with his many deflections, as well as a blocked shot.  On offense, Maliq scored 6 points (2-4 from the field, including 0-1 from behind the arc, plus 2-5 from the foul line).  He also handed out a beautiful assist.  

(9) Khaman Maluach (21:34) again won the opening tip! and played excellent defense.  At 7’2”, he can switch out and guard the perimeter or  switch to protect the rim against a penetrating guard.  His post defense needs a little work. Khaman scored 6 points (3-5 from the field) to go with 3 rebounds.  Scheyer played both Khaman and Maliq together for power defense.

(7) Kon Knueppel (Special K) (21:14) was Duke’s second leading scorer with 12 points  (3-8 from the field, including 1-4 from 3land, plus a sparkling 5-5 from the foul line).  Kon grabbed 2 rebounds, with 2 steals.  Special K is a dogged defender and excellent ball handler (0 turnovers).

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (20:16) had one of his best games, scoring 10 points (3-6 from the field, including 2-4 from 3land, plus 2-2 from the foul line).  But Isaiah wasn’t just throwing flames, he was handing out 4 assists, grabbing 3 boards and blocking a shot.  Isaiah is producing all over the court.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (15:23) had a great bounce-back game, scoring 6 points (3-5 from the field, including 0-2 from deep).  CFos penetrated for driving baskets, grabbed 2 rebounds, while handing out  2 assists and making 2 steals.

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (8:34) was productive in his short stint in the game.  Patrick scored 2 points (1-1 from the field) to go with a tough rebound, 2 assists (Patrick is a surprisingly good passer), and a steal.

(8) Darren Harris (5:21) was also productive in his short stint scoring 4 points (2-2 from the field) to go with 2 rebounds.

(55) Spencer Hubbard (1:50) played at “garbage time”.  If Spencer gets in the game, it is always a good fact for Duke because it means Duke is so far ahead there is no danger of losing the game.  The Cameron Crazies’ favorite committed a foul and a turnover.

Isaiah “The Flamethrower” isn’t just a 3-threat…he can also drive and slam!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

News

Mason Gillis was ill and did not travel to Syracuse.  He tried to make the trip, but Coach advised him to stay home and recuperate. Duke is so deep that his absence was without negative impact.  

Duke is still #2 in the polls (behind Auburn) and their winning streak is now 16.  Louisville, the second ACC team to be ranked, lost to Georgia Tech, which dropped them out of the top 25.  Then, last Monday, Clemson also lost to Georgia Tech, which left Duke as the only ACC team in the top 25 in both polls.

In the ACC, Duke alone is unbeaten in league play (20-2 overall; 12-0 in the ACC) while the Clemson Tigers are 18-5 overall; 10-2 in the ACC.  The Tigers are 11-2 at home so far.

NEXT PLAY: Clemson, February 5, 2025, at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, S.C. at 6:30 pm. TV: ESPN.

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Duke Blue Devils 71 v. Clemson Tigers 77 (Season 16; Issue 24; Game 23) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #23 (February 8, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 71 – Clemson Tigers 77 

Duke fought hard , but didn’t take home the Win…just the floor burns.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Duke had an opportunity to move up in the polls because Auburn lost to Florida. Maybe the loss was supposed to be a wakeup call that Duke should not be satisfied with resting on their laurels. If Clemson played football as aggressively and passionately as their basketball team plays against Duke, they would be undefeated! 

The young Blue Devil team was ready for North Carolina last week, but not for the more talented and motivated Tigers this week. Welcome to the ACC and what the Duke name brings out in virtually every team – their fiercest effort. I wrote a note to myself at half time: “I don’t like the way this game is unfolding. Duke is in trouble, because the odds are against Proctor and Special K combining for nearly as many points in the second half [as the 29 that the two had, combined, in the first half], plus Duke is being outfought.”

But there were three Clemson players in particular who made the difference: Viktor Lakhin, 7’ 2”  raw boned Russian who looks closer to thirty than twenty; Ian Schieffelin, who looks like he wandered in from the Beer Garden but can do a pretty good Charles Barkley basketball impression; and Chase Hunter, who has been on the Clemson team for 6 years. (Hopefully, he will graduate this year). The first two dominated the paint and eventually fouled out Duke center Khaman Maluach, which left the Blue Devils at a distinct disadvantage of low post presence.  And Chase was the closer at the foul line.

Then, at a critical juncture in the waning, winning/losing minutes Cooper Flagg slipped on some moisture on the floor area of Clemson’s basket and was called for travelling!  Now it seems to me that a venue is the responsibility of the owner, that time should be called and the moisture or debris cleaned up and the team be given the ball out of bounds, because a foreign substance should not cause a “travel” (or, in this case, a skate). If the venue is owned by an opponent, maybe leaving moisture on the floor should also become a technical foul. When Duke center Maluach threw up under a basket in the N.C. State game, time was called as the moisture was dried up with a hamper of towels.  Moisture or condensation can be dangerous, because it makes traction difficult, if not impossible, especially for these huge athletes.  As a matter of fact, Flagg aggravated his calf strain. 

All this explanation is not an excuse for Duke‘s loss but rather an opportunity to assess strengths and weaknesses of our team. It seems to me that the starting forwards and guards are its strengths, that neither Maluach nor Foster have improved much so far this season, and that Maliq Brown gives up too much size and heft to be the starter against better teams. Gillis and Evans are valuable substitutions when needed. Time to take inventory and play to our strengths.

Cooper scored 14 of Duke 30 second-half points

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Road Game: Duke 71 v Clemson 77

Duke played one of their worst halves of the season against Clemson, scoring only 30 points on 31% shooting (9-29, including 6-10 from deep, plus 6-8 from the foul line).  This means that Duke was a horrendous 3-19 inside the 3 point line – 6 points on 19 shots!

 Defensively, the Blue Devils allowed Clemson to score a season-high 42 points on 52% shooting (15-29), committed 13 fouls, and were outrebounded by 25-14 overall, and for offensive rebounds by 9-6 . 

Even so, Duke led by a point (71-70 with 58 seconds left in the game).  Duke never scored again, while Clemson scored the last 7 points of the game.  With 14 seconds left in the game, Duke trailed by 2 points (73-71) with the ball in Cooper’s hands.  Exactly the same situation as in Duke’s losses to Kentucky and Kansas.  Cooper, “Coach drew up the play.  Sion ghosted out and created a lane.  I think I had a lane and drove.  I tried to come to two feet and raise up but slipped or fell or whatever happened.”  Cooper slipped on a wet spot and was called for traveling (Bill’s suggested amendments to the rule in that situation are meritorious).  

The loss will not hurt Duke, in my opinion.  It may have cost a #1 ranking in the polls, but those rankings do not even rise to the level of meaningless.  Tyrese has it right, “Yeah, we haven’t lost since November or December.  It’s obviously a bad feeling, but it’s straight to the film room.  We have such a good locker room, and everybody is going to be looking at themselves in the mirror to learn from it.”

The Bench

Mason Gillis is still sick and did not make the trip to South Carolina.  Duke missed him dramatically in this game.  His absence made a hole in the Duke paint defense when Khaman and Brown were in foul trouble.  Maliq, who scored 2 points (1-2 from the field) was basically the bench combining at the center position with Kahman.  Isaiah played 14 minutes, scoring (3 on 1-2 from deep).  CFos (3:00) and Patrick (1:45) did not score.  The bench scored just 5 points.

Isaiah scores on a 3-pointer, – 3 of the only 5 points scored by the bench  

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Defense

The defense was not exemplary in the first half and downright porous in the closing stanza, where Clemson scored 42 points against Duke.  Duke previously had given up 40 only 3 times – 40 in the second half in the Kentucky loss, 41 to Kansas (in the first half) and 42 to Auburn (also in the first half).  

Scheyer: “We had a hard time getting stops.  They shot 69% in the first half and over 50% in the second half.  I think that’s the first time this season. … You have to be physically prepared for this game… and mentally. For me, it’s the defense. … I don’t know if our talk was as good as it needed to be.  Some rotations that needed to be there, weren’t there.”  

Cooper said (post-game interview) that the defense was “undisciplined”. “We weren’t really there tonight.  We didn’t do our jobs.  It’s hard to win the battle down low, boxing out, rebounding, giving up a ton of second chance opportunities.” The statistics bear Cooper out.  In the second half, Clemson got more offensive rebounds (9) than Duke retrieved defensive caroms (8).  That’s a truly bad statistic.

Kon defends as well as he scores, but it wasn’t enough this time

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Winning Time

Duke’s largest deficit was 7 points, trailing 56-49 with 9:47 to go in the game.  The Blue Devils tied the game at 59 with 5:18 left in the game.  It was winning time!  

Duke took the lead 62-61 with 4:05 remaining.  The teams traded 1 point leads for a couple of minutes.  The game was again tied at 67 with 2:06 left.  After Chase Hunter sank a 3-pointer for a 70-67 Clemson lead, Flagg was fouled and made 1-2.  Clemson led by 2 with 1:16 left in the game.  With 58 seconds left on the game clock, Cooper sank a clutch 3-pointer for 71-70 Blue Devil lead.  Hunter made a layup to take back the 1 point lead (72-71) with 38 seconds to go.  That’s when Lakhin made the play of the game when he blocked Sion’s driving layup attempt to retake the lead with 23 seconds left.  When Sion fouled Lakhin trying to get the ball back, the Clemson center made 1-2 for a 2 point lead (73-71) with 14 seconds left. 

Duke’s last attempt had Cooper looking to tie when he slipped on the wet spot and was called for traveling.  Duke had to foul, and Clemson kept making the foul shots for the final margin.  The game was exciting for the fans.

Tyrese – on fire from the perimeter, locking down 23 points!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(5) Tyrese Proctor (38:36) was Duke’s high scorer with 23 points (9-15 from the field including 4-8 from deep, plus 1-1 from the stripe) to go with a pair of rebounds, an assist, and 2 steals (but 3 turnovers).  Coach Scheyer, “Tyrese has been great.  I thought he was a leader.  I thought he was shooting.  I thought he was just terrific tonight.”

(2) Cooper Flagg (38:00) scored 18 points, 14 of Duke’s 30 in the second half  –(6-17 from the field, including 3-6 from deep, plus 3-4 from the foul line) to go with another all-around game — 5 boards, while making 3 steals and handing out an assist.  The freshman also blocked a shot. After the game, Cooper said, “I was definitely cramping throughout the end of the game.  I’ve been a little bit under the weather with a cold, virus or whatever.  No excuses.  I’ve got to be able to play through it. … We were in a position to win the game.  We’ve got to come out and make those plays.”

(14) Sion James (32:12) played a terrific floor game.  While Sion scored only 8 points (2-5 from the field, including 0-1 from behind the arc, plus 4-5 from the foul line), he handed out 5 assists without a turnover. 

(7) Kon Knueppel (31:49) was Duke’s third leading scorer with 14 points  (5-9 from the field, including a blazing 4-6 from 3land).  Kon grabbed 3 rebounds, with an assist and a steal.  Kon was on fire in the first half with 11 points, including 3-4 from deep.

(6) Maliq Brown (20:25) scored only 2 points (1-2 from the field, including 0-1 from behind the arc). Maliq grabbed 2 rebounds and  made 2 steals. He only played 8 second-half minutes because he had  garnered 4 fouls.  His usual superb defense was missing when he had to guard Viktor Lakhin, Clemson’s powerful big man.

(9) Khaman Maluach (19:42) scored only 3 points (0-2 from the field, plus 3-4 from the foul line) to go with 5 rebounds and a blocked shot.  He had a bad statistical game but for one key piece of data   – Khaman had the only + in the +/- category, a shocking + 10.  For comparison, Cooper was -6; Proctor -7; and Kon, -8.  

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (14:32) scored 3 points (1-2 from 3land). 

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (2:59) without scoring (0-3), but it was all one play where CFos drove to the basket but missed the layup.  He retrieved the rebound from his miss, and missed again.  He got that rebound as well, but could not convert.  He is credited with a pair of rebounds on that one play.  In a close game, Scheyer doesn’t trust him with much playing time.

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (1:45) did not have a stat in his brief cameo.  Perhaps Scheyer did not trust him against a quality big man, even when Khaman fouled out and Brown had 4 fouls.

Sion scores on a pass from Kon;Cooper kvelling in the background

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

News

The Blue Devils still lead the ACC regular season by a game (Duke is 12-1 while Louisville and Clemson, (even after Clemson beat Duke) are still a full game behind at 11-2).

NEXT PLAY: University of California (Berkeley), Wednesday February 12, 2025, at Cameron Indoor Stadium. at 9pm TV: ACCN.

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Duke Blue Devils 78 v. University of California (Berkeley) 57 (Season 16; Issue 25; Game 24) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #24 (February 12, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 78  – University of California (Berkeley) 57  at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Flagg’s steal + whirling dunk combo ignites the Crazies!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

The Blue Devils’ schedule did them no favors by scheduling an away game with Clemson right after an always emotional meeting with UNC. A more mature team may have handled the game better than this team did. No matter, the schedulers did them a favor by scheduling them to play California (BerkEEEEEEley), a bottom feeder, as the next opponent. No one enjoyed the home environment more than Cooper Flagg, who apparently has recovered from a mild virus, and who celebrated by having a well-balanced game plus a steal followed by a baseline to baseline drive for an exclamation-point-360-degree-spinning-two-elbow dunk, which was graded by the announcers as better than his dunk against Carolina or Pitt!

While the game was never in doubt, it should be noted that Tyrese Proctor continued his maturing as the scoring guard in support of Flagg. This is not to disparage Special K’s talents, but Tyrese has two years more experience and maturity– and it shows. 

Also, I might comment on Khaman Maluach’s release and touch.  Khaman has shot 85% from the free throw line this year.  Any guard who shoots 85% from the free throw line is exceptional. Anyone who can shoot 85%, move fast, and is 7’2” is a true anomaly. Keep in mind Khaman has only been playing basketball for only four years.

The game also gave Mason Gillis, who missed two games with the flu, and Slim Jim Evans, who has improved his defense, and, apparently, has impressed the coaches with his efforts, extended playing time.

The Blue Devils have 7 games remaining, 3 on the road (UVA, Miami and UNC); 3 at home (Stanford, Wake Forest and Florida State), and one at Madison Square Garden against Illinois on February 22.  

Duke extends the lead thanks to Tyrese’s prowess on the layup

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Home Game: Duke 78  v. California 57

Duke responded to the loss at Clemson and the end of its 16 game winning streak exactly as a championship team should – by blowing out the University of California (Berkeley) Bears early in the game (and never even letting them into the game).  Cooper Flagg made the point in his post-game press conference, “I never say a loss is a good thing, but we definitely learned a lot of things from it.  Going forward, we’ll have that experience.  Collectively, as a group, we haven’t had a ton of experience of being in late game situations, so that’s a big experience for us, and we’ll definitely learn from it going forward.”

The Blue Devils played a magnificent first half shooting 43%, including 46% from deep (6-13), to open up a 15 point lead (38-23) while holding California to 27% shooting. .  Duke had 8 assists with only 4 turnovers.  Cooper led the Blue Devil first-half scoring with 13 points; Tyrese scored 9; Khaman 6.  

In the second half, Duke seemed to ease off a bit  at least on defense.  On offense, the Blue Devils scored 40 points (2 more than in the opening half) led by Cooper’s 14 points and Tyrese’s 9.  Duke extended its lead to 20 (49-29) after 3:12 of the second half had elapsed, and the lead shrank below that only twice – each time for only a few seconds (74-55 with 2:11 left in the game and 76-57 with 1:15 remaining). Duke led by as much as 26 in the second half, and was never threatened.

Defense

The Blue Devil defense in the first half was beyond outstanding, holding California to 23 first-half points. There were no uncontested shots for the Bears, and 0 fast break points.  Jim Boeheim (ex-Syracuse coach, enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and color commentator for this game) expressed his awe at how efficient the Duke defense was.  When California did score, it was on difficult (contested) shots.  As Boeheim told his audience, “California is getting nothing easy.”

Duke did lose intensity on defense in the second half, allowing California to score 34 points, but the lead never slipped below 19 points.

Khaman was integral to the defense, controlling the rim and the paint

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Bench

Mason Gillis returned to the lineup and was his usual reliable self. Isaiah Evans played 18 minutes without scoring but was valuable on defense and on the boards.  CFos (9:32) scored 2 points and grabbed a rebound.  Patrick (5:16) led the bench in scoring with 4 points and a rebound –a good performance in a cameo appearance.  Maliq fouled out in 13 minutes without scoring, though he did grab 2 rebounds.

Gillis’s return to the rotation gave Duke a needed lift

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(5) Tyrese Proctor (29:03) was Duke’s second high scorer with 18 points (7-15 from the field including 3-6 from deep, plus 1-2 from the stripe) to go with 3 rebounds, an assist, and 2 steals (only 1 turnover).  Coach Scheyer, “His defense and his shooting are big time.  And beyond the points, beyond the stats, it’s his look.  He’s got a veteran’s look. Competitive, poised, tough.”

(2) Cooper Flagg (28:58) played an almost perfect game, scoring 27 points (13 in the first half), grabbing 5 boards, while making 3 amazing steals and handing 3 assists.  On one steal, Cooper bolted the length of the floor ahead of the defense and made a whirling dunk that had the Crazies roaring and even made Cooper smile .  He was unstoppable, shooting 8-14 from the field, including 2-4 from behind the arc, plus another perfect night at the foul line, 9-9. His defense is truly amazing because of his ability to anticipate what the offense will try.

(7) Kon (Special K) Knueppel (28:15) had a quiet offensive game but is a critical part of the efficient Duke defense.  Special K scored only 6 points (3-8 from the field, including 0-3 from 3land). Kon grabbed 3 rebounds, with an assist.  Kon never stops hustling on every play.

(14) Sion James (27:05) is finally gaining recognition from the media for being a reliable point guard, with a dazzling assist to turnover ratio (however, in this game only 3 assists to 2 turnovers), a productive rebounder (9 in this game) and an excellent perimeter defender.  Sion scored an efficient 8 points (2-4 from the field, including 2-3 from deep, plus 2-2 from the stripe). 

The multi-talented Scion sinks a corner 3

Photo Credit:GoDuke.com

(9) Khaman Maluach (22:12) notched a double-double (12 rebounds; 10 points)  to go with 3 assists and a blocked shot.  Khaman anchored the Duke defense (especially in the first half) with his pick and roll defense.  His Help Defense shut down the California penetration – when Cal guards attempted to drive by the Duke defender on the way to the basket, Khaman slid off his man to help out –  and was still quick enough to also protect the Duke rim.  

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (18:11) is earning playing time, even when he does not score, as in this game (all his shots — 0-4 – were from deep).  Isaiah is very quick and is playing improved defense.  He also grabbed a pair of rebounds.

(5) Mason Gillis (15:09) made a welcome appearance after missing the last 2 games with illness.  He scored 3 points (1-2 from the field, which were both from behind the arc).  He grabbed a pair of rebounds.  Cooper gushed in a post-game interview, “Mason is a glue guy at his finest.  He does everything well, and he’s so unselfish that it helps everyone else out and gets everyone else open.  He rebounds and plays really good defense.”

(6) Maliq Brown (13:09) fouled out (including a well deserved Flagrant-One foul) without scoring or even attempting a shot.  Maliq, who was on the court less than he usually plays because of his fouling, did grab a pair of rebounds.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (9:32) finally (after not scoring in his last 2 games and not scoring well all year) Caleb scored 2 points in this game (1-2 from the field, including 0-1 from 3land).  CFos made a beautiful driving layup but also committed a pair of turnovers.  He is trying so hard, but struggling.

(21) Patrick Ngongba II (5:16) made the most of the opportunity given him by Maliq’s foul troubles.  In his short appearance, he scored a bench-high 4 points (1-1 from the field, plus 2-2 from the foul line) to go with a tough rebound.

(8) Darren Harris (3:10) grabbed a rebound and made a steal in his cameo appearance.

Kon reaches high to score at the rim

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

News

ESPN held a mock NBA draft (the real one is next Spring).  Three Duke players were projected to be taken in the first 7 picks – Cooper at # 1, Kon at #6, and Khaman at #7.  

Patrick Ngongba’s mother, Tajama Ngongba née Abraham, graduated from George Washington as the all time leading scorer (2,134 career points) and then played 2 years in the WNBA.  Following her professional career, she continued her career in basketball as a college coach. Patrick’s father, Patrick Ngongba I, also played at George Washington.

NEXT PLAY: Stanford Cardinal, Saturday, February 15, 2025, at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 4pm TV: ABC.

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Duke Blue Devils 106 v. Stanford Cardinal 70 (Season 16; Issue 26; Game 25) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #25 (February 15, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 106  – Stanford Cardinal 70 at Cameron Indoor Stadium  

Intensity! Kon’s hustle – part of his immense value to the team 

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

The basketball contest between two of the elite universities in this country turned into a “Fast and Furious” contest in Cameron Stadium. The Cardinal Coach Smith is looked upon as an analytics genius who chooses to let his 7’2” center shoot more threes than duces, which, of course, gives an opponent a better chance of out-rebounding Stanford. 

Well, in this particular contest, the Blue Devils proved the swiftest and most accurate (106-70). Center Khaman Maluach had, perhaps, his most impressive showing, particularly on unimpeded pick and roll, for jams. Proctor was on target from everywhere. And even Caleb Foster broke out of his slump to demonstrate his scholastic deadeye shooting prowess reputation.

The Blue Devil players’ willingness to share the ball and to make that extra pass to an even more open man was impressive. The Stanford 7’1” center, French National Team member, Maxine Raynaud, has a rare long-range shooting touch, but like many centers appears to prefer to be a shooting guard. His father and mother, who once played on the French National Women’s team, attended the game, no doubt another beneficiary of the NIL ruling. 

Duke appears to be peaking. The Virginia game Monday night is yet another opportunity to validate that perception.

Khaman blasted out 17 points – 8-8 

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Home Game: Duke 106  v. Stanford 70

Duke outscored the Cardinal by15 points in the first half (49-34) to put the game almost out of their reach.  Then, the Blue Devils crushed Stanford by 21 points in the closing period (57-36) to obliterate the Cardinal by 36 points. 

It was arguably Duke’s best game of the year – certainly the Blue Devils’ best offensive effort of the season.  Five players scored in double figures, including Caleb Foster’s 10 points in the final 6:12 of the game.  Tyrese Proctor led the scoring with 23 points while handling the ball and playing superb defense.  Cooper Flagg scored 19 and handed out 6 assists without a turnover.  Cooper also added 5 boards and 2 steals.  Khaman Maluach scored 17 points with 8 field goals and 1-1 from the foul line.  The only shot he missed was a 3-point attempt!  Sion James added 14 points to go with handing out 6 assists while committing only a single turnover.  

Tyrese‘s accurate shooting stuns Stanford

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Blue Devils shot 58% in the first half and even better — 67% – in the last period, including 54% from behind the arc.  For the game, Duke was 40-64 for 63% from the field, including 14-29 from deep.  Oh, by the way, the Blue Devils went 12-13 from the stripe for 93%.  That constitutes an offensive explosion!!!  The magic behind the offensive explosion was the amazing passing and teamwork which created uncontested wide open field goal attempts.  The Blue Devils handed out 23 assists on 40 field goals.  And here is a statistic worth savoring – only 5 turnovers (just 2 by the starters).

Duke’s defense was almost as good as the offense, even though giving up more than the season’s average of 60.8 points per game.  Stanford’s star, Maxine Raynaud (On the French National Team, and likely ACC Player of the Year if Cooper were not eligible) scored 19 points (however on an inefficient 21 shots) including a gaudy 4-9 from deep.  Overall, Stanford shot 41 % from behind the arc (12-29).  

Jaylen Blakes transferred from Duke to Stanford, where he is having a surprisingly successful season.  Coach K attended the game and had a nice pre-game meeting with Jaylen.  Coach Scheyer: “he’s graduated from Duke in three years. He’s not going to be in a bad position, getting his undergrad from Duke and graduate degree from Stanford. But this is the only game I was rooting against him.”  The Duke defensive pride was in evidence as the Blue Devils shut Jaylen down completely, holding him to 2 points (1-10 from the field, including 0-4 from behind the arc without a free throw attempt.  

Maliq Brown: Defends! Dishes! Scores!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Bench

The bench was simply outstanding, contributing 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists.  This was the comeback game for CFos that the coaches have been waiting for.  CFos, who played only the last 6:12 of the game (clearly “garbage time”) scored a dazzling 10 points (4-6 from the field, including 2-3 from behind the arc) to go with 3 rebounds and a steal.  It will be a huge boost for the Blue Devils if this is the beginning of Foster’s resurgence to his form as a McDonald’s All-American in high school.  

Maliq rebounded, from a dismal outing against California, with a superb game, 3 points on 1-1 from the field plus 1-1 from the stripe to go with 3 boards and 3 lovely assists.  Mason Gillis provided glue for the reserves, as well as 3 points and 2 boards.  Isaiah Evan’s contributions were more on defense and rebounding than scoring (2 points on 1-4 from the field, including 0-2 from 3land).  His improved defense and floor play has moved him into the second round in ESPN’s projected NBA draft for next year (Don’t go, Isaiah).  Patrick Ngongba was effective in his 6:12 of playing time with 4 rebounds, and 1-1 from the field on an elegant soft baby hook shot.  Darren Harris also played the 6:12 of garbage time, scoring 2 points (1-3 from the field, including 0-1 from deep) to go with a rebound and an assist.

Smooth dancing: Cooper  steals, passes to Kon, to Sion and back to Cooper for the dunk. All without a dribble

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION 

(7) Kon Knueppel (Special K) (30:03) had another quiet offensive game, but was critical to the Blue Devil effort.  Though Special K scored only 9 points (3-7 from the field, including 1-3 from 3land, plus 2-2 from the stripe), Kon grabbed 4 rebounds, with 2 assists and 2 steals.  It is telling that Kon had the highest +/- statistic on the team at +35 (for comparison, Cooper was +33 and Tyrese +25).

(14) Sion James (29:15) had a superbly efficient game scoring 14 points (3-3.  from the field, including 1-1 from deep, plus 7-8 from the stripe) to go with 6 assists (only 1 turnover), 2 rebounds and a steal. In the last eight games, Sion has distributed 32 assists to just six turnovers, a 5.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. James ranks third in the ACC in that category (2.8).  Sion (transfer from Tulane) is simply blossoming into the reliable point guard Duke needs. 

(5) Tyrese Proctor (28:31) was Duke’s high scorer with 23 points (9-13 from the field including 5-8 from deep) to go with 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and a steal.  Coach Scheyer, “He’s going to be in the NBA for a long time and make a career.  It’s his shooting, his competitiveness and his defense. ”  Tyrese and Cooper play so well together.

(2) Cooper Flagg (28:06) scored 19 points (7-13 from the field, including 3-6 from deep, plus 2-2 from the foul line), while handing out 6 assists and grabbing 5 boards, while making 2 steals.  On one steal, Cooper poked the ball away from Raynaud, then out-sprinted him for the ball. Cooper to Kon to Sion and back to Cooper for a superb slam without a single dribble. It was beautiful basketball!   Cooper’s play just keeps making the team better and better.

(9) Khaman Maluach (20:56) scored 17 points (8-9 from the field, his only miss was his only 3-point attempt, plus 1-1 from the stripe).  Khaman grabbed 6 boards and blocked a shot.  His defense in the post, at the rim, and on the perimeter helped to shut the Cardinal down. 

6) Maliq Brown (16:00) played his usual valuable game, scoring 3 points (1-1 from both the field and the stripe) to go with 3 rebounds and 3 assists.  He hustles everywhere and is simply a great defender.

(5) Mason Gillis (12:46) scored 3 points (1-3 from the field – all attempts from behind the arc).  He grabbed a pair of rebounds.  He is trusted by his teammates  and has become an emotional leader – “the glue guy”.

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (11:01) scored 2 points on a superb driving layup (1-4 from the field, including 0-2 from behind the arc).  Isaiah is very quick with real “hops”, and is now contributing on the defensive end.  He also grabbed a rebound.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (6:12) finally had a breakout game, scoring 10 aggressive points in his brief time on the court (4-6 from the field, including 2-3 from 3land).  Caleb’s aggressiveness and growing confidence led to 3 rebounds and a steal.   Welcome back, CFos!

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (6:12)  In his brief appearance, he grabbed 4 rebounds, while scoring 2 points (1-1 from the field, on a soft hook shot from the post).  Patrick is becoming a real asset.

(8) Darren Harris (6:12) scored 2 points (1-3 from the field, including 0-1 from behind the arc) to go with an assist and a rebound.

(55) Spencer Hubbard has not played in either of the last 2 blowouts, much to the disappointment of the TV announcers as well as the Cameron Crazies.  If there is a story, we do not know it.

Sion – delighted– 

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

NEXT PLAY: University of Virginia, Monday, February 17, 2025, at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va. at 8pm TV: ESPN.

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Duke Blue Devils 80 v. University of Virginia Cavaliers 62 (Season 16; Issue 27; Game 26) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #26 (February 17, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 80  – University of Virginia Cavaliers 62 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The unstoppable Cooper shoots with his left hand!  (1 of 3 of Duke’s 17-point scorers in this game)

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

No. 3 Duke improved to 23-3 for the season and 15-1 in ACC play following a convincing 80-62 win over Virginia on Monday night in front of 14,445 fans at John Paul Jones Arena. Star freshman Cooper Flagg had a strong night, finishing with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Isaiah Evans led the Blue Devils in scoring with 17 points each. Evans’s three quick 3s were reminiscent of his effect on the Auburn game –giving Duke a crucial working margin. The “Slim Jim Fireman” (Isaiah) could be an important factor for the rest of the season as his defense and rebounding has improved greatly since bursting on the scene.

However, potentially the most important development was when Maliq Brown pulled up with a mysterious injury, holding his shoulder despite no contact on the play.  He left the game and reappeared in the second half on the bench with his arm in a sling. That could be a real problem going forward, especially for the tournament games. Maliq is an important part of the puzzle! Unless he is able to recover quickly, Malauch is going to have to man up, stop getting in foul trouble, and be the consistent rim protector originally envisioned. Behind him is freshman Patrick Nogongba II, who has shown good instincts and promise but, apparently, has not gained the confidence of the coaches for more playing time. Time will tell if he is ready for prime time.

Virginia, under head Coach Tony Bennett, had been a tough out—especially on their home court in Charlottesville. He always seemed to get the most out of his underrated players —especially after they had been in the program a year or two. Shockingly, Bennett had resigned before the first game of the season, admitting that he could not coach in the era of the transfer portal and bidding for players by promising money (NIL). His abilities and demeanor will be missed.

Maliq played 10 efficient minutes before separating his shoulder. 

 Duke players, coaches, and fans hold their collective breath waiting for medical news

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

Maliq Brown was injured after playing 10 minutes in the first half when it seems he separated his shoulder, keeping out of the remainder of the game.  After treatment in the Duke locker room, he reappeared on the bench wearing a sling.  This was the only negative for Duke in this game.

Keeping up with the basketball credentials of the mothers of current team members, Kon’s mother, Chari (née Nordgaard), had her jersey from her college career at Green Bay Wisconsin retired and hung in the rafters last January as the program’s all-time leading scorer (Green Bay is also where UVA’s Tony Bennet had his jersey retired and hung in the rafters).

Kon drives  toward 2 of his 17 points!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ACC Road Game: Duke 80 v. UVA 62

The Bench

The performance of the Duke bench – even without Maliq – was one of the main stories of this game.  The most dramatic contributors were Isaiah (Flame Thrower) Evans and Patrick Ngongba II.  

Isaiah logged 22:17 (13 in the second half) while scoring 17 points, grabbing 3 rebounds and playing great defense (2 blocked shots).  Scheyer: “ Everybody knows his shot making, but what I’m seeing is the blocked shots, the defending and the rebounding.” 

Patrick played all 11:14 in the second half (replacing Maliq as Khaman’s backup), scoring 8 points and grabbing a rebound in that role.  Scheyer: “And then the job Patrick did, stepping up (when Maliq was injured).  For Pat to step up and be ready, proud of him and what he’s done.”

Mason Gillis played 15:22 without scoring, but grabbed 3 boards, handed out an assist and made a steal. 

Isaiah goes from just shooter to well rounded player (though still the third 17 point scorer).

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The First Half  Duke 43 v UVA 29

Duke reached its first double digit lead at the 10 minute mark (24-14).  The margin never retreated to single digits for the remainder of the game.  Duke’s largest lead was 17 (43-26 with 38 seconds left in the half) and smallest was 10 points (32-22 with 5:53 remaining). 

Cooper had a double double in the first half (11 rebounds and 10 points) with a pair of blocked shots.  Kon also scored 10 first-half points (3-7 from the field, including 2-3 from deep, plus 2-2 from the stripe) to go with 3 boards and a steal. Kon played even more aggressive defense than his usual aggressive defense.  

The Flame Thrower was 3-3 from deep in his 9 minutes,to go with a blocked shot and rebound.  The starting backcourt also added 10 points – 5 from Proctor and 5 from James. The Blue Devils handed out 8 assists with only 3 turnovers. 

Defensively, Duke held the Cavaliers to under 30 first-half points, despite UVA shooting 5-10 from deep and 4-5 from the stripe.  The Blue Devils blocked 4 UVA shots and made 2 steals.  

Duke won the second half 37-33 with the bench logging substantial playing time.  The largest Duke lead was 27 (72-45 with 6:43 left in the game), which shrunk to the lowest during “garbage time” – 18 at game’s end.

Sion rises to superior guard play

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(5) Tyrese Proctor (30:35) did not score or compile the gaudy statistics as he has in the last several games but still logged the most Duke minutes because of his value on the defensive end and his ability to control the offense.  He scored 7 points (3-7 from the field, including 1-3 from behind the arc).  Tyrese handed out 4 assists (2 turnovers) and blocked a shot

(2) Cooper Flagg (29:46) was not only one of 3 Duke players to score 17 points (8-16, including 0-3 from deep, plus 1-2 from the foul line), but he also set his own personal high in rebounds with 14 (yet another double double).  Cooper also handed out a pair of assists while contributing 2 steals and 2 blocked shots while playing superb defense.

(7) Kon Knueppel (Special K) (29:28) was also one of the 3 Duke players to tie for the scoring lead with 17 points (5-12 from the field, including 3-6 from 3land, plus 4-4 from the stripe), Kon grabbed 7 rebounds, with an assist and a steal.  Kon has a motor that never stops.  He is a most energetic defender, diver on the floor for loose balls, and reliable ball handler.

(14) Sion James (21:28) had another efficient game scoring 9 points without missing a shot (3-3 from the field,  plus 3-3 from the stripe) to go with 3 assists (a single turnover), and 3 rebounds.  He makes so few mistakes.  Even his one turnover was just a slip in a wet spot on the floor.

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (22:17) really strutted his stuff against UVA.  In the first half, he scored 9 points in under 9 minutes (3-3 from behind the arc), in addition to a rebound and a blocked shot.  He added 8 points (tied for second-half high scorer with Patrick Ngongba II) to go with 2 boards and a blocked shot, playing 13:20 in the second half.  For the game, the Flamethrower was also tied for Duke’s best scorer with 17 points (6-7 from the field, including 5-6 from behind the arc).  Isaiah’s floor game has become excellent.  He corralled 3 boards and had 2 great shot blocks while playing intense defense.  Kudos!

(9) Khaman Maluach (18:46) scored only 2 points (1-2 from the field).  Khaman grabbed 4 boards.  Maliq and Patrick played so well in a total of 21:14 (Maliq for 10 minutes in the first half and Patrick for 11 in the second half) that Khaman played fewer minutes than usual.  Duke controlled the backboards out rebounding UVA by 41-21

(5) Mason Gillis (15:22) failed to score (0-3 from the field, including 0-2 from behind the arc).  He grabbed 3 rebounds, handed out an assist and made a steal.  He seems to have returned to his shooting slump but is trusted by Scheyer and his teammates to spell Cooper and keep the defense organized. 

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (11:14 all in the second half)  Patrick had a star turn because of the injury to Maliq, and Khaman picking up a second-half foul.  He scored a team-high second half total of 8 points (tied with Isaiah for team lead in the closing stanza), shooting 4-5 from the field at and around the rim.  He didn’t hurry his shots, and he also grabbed a rebound.

(6) Maliq Brown (10:00) was injured (shoulder) while deflecting a UVA pass and left the game for good.  He reappeared on the bench with his arm in a sling.  He had scored 2 points (1-1 from the field), handed out 2 assists and grabbed a rebound before his injury. This game was a homecoming for Maliq who is from nearby Culpepper.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (6:57)’s shooting woes returned after his offensive explosion against Stanford (0-3 from the field, wide open from behind the arc, plus 1-2 from the stripe) scoring only 1 point.  CFos handed out a pair of assists and grabbed a rebound.  

(8) Darren Harris (4:07) failed to score or even take a shot. No statistics recorded for him in this game.

Khaman scores on a ferocious dunk

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

NEXT PLAY: University of Illinois, Fighting Illini, Saturday, February 22, 2025, at Madison Square Garden (The World’s Most Famous Arena) in New York City, at 8pm TV: Fox.

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Duke Blue Devils 110 v. Illinois Fighting Illini 67 (Season 16; Issue 28; Game 27) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #27 (February 22, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 110  – Illinois Fighting Illini 67 at Madison Square Garden (The World’s Most Famous Arena) in New York City

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

In Duke’s 60th game at Madison Square Garden (aka: Cameron North, “The World’s Second Most Famous Arena”), the Blue Devils won for the eighth straight time and reached 100+ points, the second time in three games this season that Duke has reached the century mark. This is the first time that’s happened since the 2017-18 season.  It is fair to mention that Illinois was hampered by injuries and a flu bug that undoubtedly affected their performance, but nevertheless…..

Duke lost the opening tip but started fast, and the outcome was quickly never in doubt except for a brief lull to end the first half, cutting the margin to 54-37.  The victory was helped by the Illini inept three-point shooting  (2-27 or 7.7%. Live by the three, die by the three.) 

On the other hand, the Blue Devils had seven players in double figures, led by Isaiah Evans with 17 points in 17 minutes. The two remaining centers—freshmen Maluach and Ngongba—are benefiting from the additional minutes of playing time since transfer Maliq Brown’s unfortunate injury. Kon (Special K) Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor have been consistently excellent.

Kon does it all – scores from deep and at the rim, handles the ball with aplomb, defends in the paint and on the perimeter.

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• Coach Scheyer has forgotten more basketball than I ever knew.  Two of this team’s best wins have been against Auburn and Illinois. In each game, Isaiah Evans came off the bench early in the first half and provided Duke with the working margin that propelled them to both wins. Why not utilize this strategy going forward?
• Several announcers have speculated that Evans is an early draft pick for the NBA. This is crazy.  He does not have an NBA body.  He needs to physically mature or he will be stuck in the G League for a discouragingly long time. Sion James, on the other hand, does have an NBA body and all-round game.

“Spen-CER Spen-CER!”

Photo Credit: Editorial Board’s iPhone

• One of the admirable traits this team has is camaraderie. Watch the starters on the bench late in the game celebrate by standing and waving towels after former team manager Spencer Hubbard’s three-point shot. Heartwarming!
• I have read that North Carolina University has more graduates in the state of North Carolina than Duke has in the world. Duke appears to have more graduates in the city of New York than Carolina has in the world.

Isaiah –17 points in 17 minutes!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

The goal for the post-season Blue Devils is a # 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.  The ESPN guru (Joe Leonardi) has Duke currently as the 3^rd ranked # 1 seed, but a loss in the remaining games or the ACC tournament, could push Duke to a second seed if SEC teams or other conference teams make a run in their tournaments.

In this week’s AP Poll, Duke has moved up to #2 behind Auburn, followed by Florida, Houston, Tennessee, Alabama, St. John’s and Michigan State.

ACC Neutral Site Game: Duke 110  v. Illinois 67

The Blue Devils were simply awesome on offense, shooting 55% from the field, including 12-23 from behind the arc (52%).  Duke handed out 28 assists (only 6 turnovers) on 40 field goals.  The 110 points scored were evenly balanced, led by Isaiah’s 17 points.  Cooper scored 16; Kon, 15; Khaman, 13; Tyrese and Caleb, 12; and Sion, 11.  Scoring 110 points warrants an exclamation point!

Duke’s defense was superb in the second half, holding Illinois to 30 points (29.6%).  Scheyer: “There’s an edge on the defensive end, individually, but then also the edge they have to be in the right position off the ball. … We talk about who’s the helper and always making sure you’re there and then covering him.  These guys embrace that.  They take pride in the little things.”

The only negatives for Duke was first-half defense in the paint (Illinois was 15-18 inside the arc) and committing 23 fouls in the game. The Blue Devils straightened out the defense in the second half, holding the Fighting Illini to 6-17 inside the arc.  These are just quibbles in a game where the final margin of Duke’s win was 43 points.

Sion provides steady backcourt leadership and rugged defense

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Bench

The contributions of the Duke bench – even without Maliq – was noteworthy.  The most dramatic contributors were Isaiah (Flame Thrower) Evans, and Patrick Ngongba II.  Isaiah scored a team high 17 points, grabbing 2 rebounds, while handing out a pair of assists and playing excellent defense.  Patrick scored 5 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and handed out 3 assists without a turnover in 14:18 of playing time.    Mason Gillis played 18:50  scoring 3 points, grabbing 4 boards, while handing out 2 assists and making a steal. 

Ngongba & Gillis – valuable bench players help the starters

Photo Credit:GoDuke.com

The First Half  Duke 54  v Illinois 37

With 3:16 left in the opening period, Duke led by 23 (50-27), but allowed the Fighting Illini one little hope by letting the lead dwindle to 17 at half time.  The Blue Devil offense was dynamic and the ball moved unselfishly, with 14 assists on 18 field goals  (5-10 from deep).  The Flamethrower and Tyrese each scored 10 points in a half of balanced scoring – Sion, 9; Khaman, 8; Kon, 8.  Cooper only 1-4 from the field (4-4 from the line) for 6.  Patrick scored 3 points.

Duke’s defense was good, but they committed 9 fouls!  Illinois was 0-16 from deep (some uncontested), but the Fighting Illini shredded Duke’s interior defense,  making 15-18 near the rim.

Caleb Foster Strikes a Pose after his best game of the season – 12 points in 7 minutes

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(7) Kon Knueppel (Special K) (27:54) scored an efficient 15 points (6-9 from the field, including 1-2 from 3land, plus 2-2 from the stripe). Kon grabbed 4 rebounds, with 2 assists and a steal. Scheyer, “Some games he is going to shoot a lot of 3s, and then other games, he can hurt teams with his penetration and finishing at the rim.” Kon’s defense is superb, and he NEVER stops hustling, diving on the floor for loose balls, or making precisely the right pass.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (27:26) scored 12 points (4-9 from the field, including 1-3 from behind the arc, plus 3-4 from the foul line).  Tyrese is steady and reliable as a passer, handing out 4 assists (without a turnover).  He blocked a shot as part of his role as an awesome defender..

(14) Sion James (24:59) scored 11 points (4-9 from the field, including 2-5 from behind the arc, plus 1-2 from the stripe) to go with 6 assists — without a single turnover — and he grabbed 3 rebounds and made a steal. Scheyer, “It’s not just his playmaking.  He’s in control of the game. Obviously, you can look at his assist-to-turnover ratio, not just in this game but throughout the whole season, especially the last couple of months. He makes everybody better. That’s the biggest thing.  He makes everybody better.”

(9) Khaman Maluach (23:29) scored 13 points (6-9 from the field, including a missed 3-point attempt, plus 1-1 from the stripe).  Khaman grabbed 7 boards (tied with Cooper for team lead) and handed out a pair of assists.  Duke controlled the backboards, out-rebounding the Fighting Illini 44-30.

(2) Cooper Flagg (23:28) scored 16 points (5-10, including 1-1 from deep, plus 5-5 from the foul line).  As always, Cooper leads Duke in every way.  He grabbed 7 rebounds & handed out 5 assists. Cooper does not force scoring in a game where Duke has the big advantage.  He only scored 6 points in the first half but could not resist shredding the Illinois defense with his second half drive and dunks.

(5) Mason Gillis (18:15) scored 3 points (1-2 from the field, both from behind the arc).  He grabbed 4 rebounds, handed out 2 assists and made a steal.  Gillis is so steady and has earned Scheyer’s trust as a superb defender, tough rebounder and team leader when he is playing.

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (17:46) showed why his name is turning up as being a second round draft pick in the NBA draft next spring.  Isaiah led Duke in scoring  with 17 points — in 17+ minutes (5-8 from the field, including 3-5 from 3land, including 4-6 from the foul line).  The Flamethrower has become an energetic defender (committing 4 fouls however), rebounder (2) and passer (2 assists without a turnover.

(21) Patrick Ngongba II (14:18)  Patrick played a terrific all-around game grabbing 6 rebounds and handing out 3 assists without a turnover.  Patrick scored 5 points (2-6 from the field plus 1-2 from the stripe).  He is taking advantage of Maliq’s absence.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (7:10) played his best game of the season in just the last 7:10 of this game.  CFos scored 12 aggressive points in that short span (5-6 from the field, including 2-2 from 3land).  He drove aggressively for 3 layups and handed out an assist.  A consistent Foster solidifies the Duke backcourt even more.

(8) Darren Harris (6:35) scored 3 points (1-2 from the field, including 0-1 from behind the arc, plus 1-2 from the stripe).   Darren also handed out an assist.

(55) Spencer Hubbard (2:13) nailed his only shot, a 3-pointer!  The Duke bench at the time (the starters) erupted in spontaneous joy, jumping around while hooting, hollering, and hugging.  A great team sight! What was significant, the joy wasn’t just cheering for a teammate.  It was like they all had that success when Hubbard made that shot.  It was natural joy, so unscripted.  Joyous really is the right word – the personification of our Team!

Cooper provides whatever Duke needs, with elan
Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

NEXT PLAY: Miami University Hurricanes, Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida at 7pm TV: ESPN.

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Duke Blue Devils 97 v. Miami University Hurricanes 60 (Season 16; Issue 29; Game 28) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #28 (February 25, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 97  – Miami University Hurricanes 60, at Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida

Breaking News – Proctor Will Return This Season!!

Tyrese Proctor’s injury has been reported as a bone bruise.  Scheyer: “Basically, it’s about his pain tolerance, and it’s about his movement and strengthening. We’ll be very cautious with that, and smart. I don’t want to give an exact time table, because it depends on how we can get him moving over the next days or weeks or however long it takes. But we’re gonna get him back, which is the most important thing.”  

Because Isaiah and Caleb will get more minutes and experience during Tyrese’s absence, it may benefit Duke in the long run.

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Although this was an away game against a broken program, the Blue Devils took care of business in an impressive manner. At this point in the season, you have to be impressed with the young recruits and transfers that Coach Scheyer and his assistants have recruited and how well they have been coached and blended.  I especially like how they recently have started every half strongly to set an opponent back on their heels. 

Although the regular season and ACC Tournaments are not over, and at least one meeting with the always tough UNC Tar Heels remains, the team appears to be on a good trajectory for an impressive run. Warning: Anything can happen in a one and done tournament. 

The injury to Proctor could be devastating in any other year—and may be in this year, but the Blue Devils are deeper than usual. “Flamethrower” Evans is coming into his own, and Mason Gillis might be a steadier closer.  And Caleb Foster is playing, and, especially, scoring better than ever.  Special K has become a mature, reliable player in every way.

If Proctor gets healthy—and even if he doesn’t—with any luck, Duke is deep enough to make an impressive run in the tournaments.

Caleb Foster, back in blue (and back in the rotation)

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Road Game: Duke 97  v Miami 60

Duke led from start to finish, steadily increasing its lead to a high of 39 points with 12 seconds left (97-58). Scheyer: “I love the killer instinct our team has had. I love the approach to each game.  They haven’t big-timed anything.  We know what’s ahead. We know the battles we are going to be in … and that’s the way I want these guys to approach every game.”  My favorite statistic is that after allowing The Hurricanes to grab 11 first-half offensive rebounds, Duke permitted Miami only 2 in the second half!  A tribute to Scheyer’s insightful half-time adjustments.

We are holding our collective breath about the extent of Tyrese Proctor’s late first-half knee injury.  He did not return to the game.  Nor did Maliq Brown play at all; his shoulder is still not healed.

Duke’s defense was even more intense in the second half, holding Miami to 28 points after allowing 32 points in the opening period.

Kon lights it up! scoring 20 points

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Second Half: Duke 50 v Miami 28

Kon exploded in the closing stanza, scoring 15 second-half points on perfect shooting in only 10:38 of playing time (4-4 from the field, including 3-3 from 3land, plus 4-4 from the stripe).  What a performance!  

Tyrese obviously didn’t score because he didn’t play.  Surprisingly, Isaiah, who started in place of the injured Tyrese, also failed to score in 12:19 of playing time (0-4, including 0-2 from deep) with a turnover.  But what a first half Isaiah had!

Gillis’s 150 college games provide experience for off-the-court advice, too

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The bench was shining in the closing stanza, with Caleb Foster continuing his return to form with 8 points (3-5 from the field, including 2-2 from deep) and 3 assists (1 turnover) and a rebound in 13:34 of second-half playing time.  Mason Gillis played 12:48 in this period, scoring 6 points (1-3 from deep, plus  3-3 from the stripe) to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal, all without a turnover.  Patrick Ngongba, II (11:15) played more minutes than Khaman (8:45), and scored 4 points (2-2 from the field) to go with 3 rebounds and an assist.

Duke handed out 10 assists on 16 field goals with only 4 turnovers.  The Blue Devils shot 7-12 from behind the arc (even with Isaiah being 0-4).  

Isaiah throws flame at the Hurricanes – five 3-pointers!!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The First Half : Duke 47 v Miami 32

In 13:23 of playing time, Isaiah demonstrated why he has called himself a flamethrower.  He led Duke in first-half scoring with 16 points on 5-6 from deep, plus 1-1 from the stripe.  His barrage of 3-pointers took the heart out of Miami.  Cooper scored 11 points in 16:52 on 5-7 from the field, including 1-2 from behind the arc.  Patrick scored 6 opening-half points in 6:21 of playing time (1-3 from the field, including 3-3 from the foul line) to go with a rebound, an assist, and a blocked shot without a turnover.  Ngongba is quite simply blossoming.

Patrick Ngongba, dancing his way into the rotation

Photo Credit:GoDuke.com

On defense, Duke had 6 steals (Tyrese, 2) and 4 blocked shots (Khaman 2, Patrick and Sion each had 1).

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (27:19 ) scored an efficient 16 points (6-9, including 1-2 from deep, plus 3-3 from the foul line). The amazing freshman handed out 6 assists without a turnover while grabbing 5 rebounds.  As always, Cooper led Duke in every way on offense and defense.  

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (25:42) blew the game open in the first half when he scored all 16 of his points on 5-6 from deep, including 1-1 from the stripe.  Shockingly, Isaiah, who replaced the injured Proctor, did not score in the second half.  For the game, Isaiah was 5-10 from the field, including 5-8 from deep, plus 1-1 from the stripe.  Coach Scheyer was raving, “His defense has been off the charts. He’s guarding the ball as well as anybody. He knows exactly where to be.”  Isaiah will replace Tyrese in the starting lineup until Tyrese can return.

(7) Kon Knueppel (Special K) (24:08) scored a team high 20 points (15 in the second half), shooting 6-8 from the field, including a gaudy 4-5 from deep, plus 4-4 from the stripe.  Kon also contributed 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.  Scheyer loves Kon, “It’s fun coaching a guy where it’s not about the scoring.  He’s pissed …if he didn’t get a rebound, if he missed somebody on a pass.  He understands what other people call “small things”.  He understands the value of all those plays.  It’s fun coaching him because you tell him about the block out and he has value with blocking out.”

(14) Sion James (22:44) scored only 4 points (2-4 from the field ) with a rebound, an assist and a steal.  Not his best offensive performance, but he anchors the perimeter defense and has a great presence on both ends of the court.  In his 4 years at Tulane, he had a 4.0 GPA every semester!

(9) Khaman Maluach (22:24) scored 6 points (2-4 from the field, plus 2-4 from the stripe).  Khaman grabbed 4 boards, handed out an assist, made a steal, and blocked 2 shots.  

(21) Patrick Ngongba II (17:36) is demonstrating his value in a big way, especially with Maliq being out of action.  Patrick scored 9 points (3-5 from the field, plus 3-3 from the foul line) to go with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a blocked shot.  Amazing production from the freshman third string center.

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (17:23) is playing his way back into the rotation at just the right time (with Tyrese injured).  He played his best game of the season and made his appearance on the court in both halves.  CFos scored 10 points (4-6 from the field, including 2-2 from 3land).  Foster handed out 3 assists and retrieved a rebound.

(5) Mason Gillis (15:56) scored 6 points (1-3 from behind the arc, plus 3-3 from the stripe).  He grabbed 3 rebounds, handed out 2 assists and made a steal.  Gillis’s value is on display in every game now.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (14:21) scored 7 points (2-5 from the field, including 1-3 from behind the arc, plus 2-2 from the foul line).  Tyrese handed out 2 assists and made 2 steals before his injury.

(8) Darren Harris (9:22) grabbed a rebound and handed out an assist even though he failed to score (0-2 from the field, including 0-1 from behind the arc). 

(55) Spencer Hubbard (did not play) much to the anguish of the Editorial Board.  Spencer seems more likely to appear at game’s end in Cameron than on the road.

Cooper continues to amaze – effortlessly

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

NEXT PLAY: Florida State Seminoles, Saturday, March 1, 2025, in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7pm TV: ACCN.

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Duke Blue Devils 100 v. Florida State Seminoles 65 (Season 16; Issue 30; Game 29) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #29 (March 1, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 100 – Florida State Seminoles 65  in Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. 

News

Neither Tyrese nor Maliq were available to play due to still being injured.  

Illinois beat Michigan in Ann Arbor 93-73 today (March 2). An interesting outcome after Duke simply destroyed Illinois in Madison Square Garden on February 22.

The Athletic listed the top 100 for next year’s NBA draft.  The Duke players  listed (and their anticipated pick position) are : 

#1 – Cooper Flagg

#6 – Kon Knueppel

#12 – Khaman Maluach 

#37 – Tyrese Proctor

#41 – Isaiah Evans (shocking?)

#63 – Sion James

We think 6 players listed from one college is unprecedented.  Certainly no team has had 4 freshmen on such a list. The only Duke players in the rotation that did not make the top 100 are: Maliq Brown, Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba II, and Mason Gillis.  

Cooper re-entered with a roar

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

If Coach Scheyer’s goal is for the team to be improving every game, he is reaching his goal. However, the Always Tough Tar Heels are waiting in a week and possibly lurking in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments as well. Also, there is the possibility of more injuries. So far, the injuries to Brown and Proctor appear minor and only a temporary setback.  Time will tell.

The most excitement against Florida State was the possibility of Cooper Flagg being seriously injured.  Coach Scheyer reported, “Fortunately, it wasn’t anything with his eye itself, it was his eyelid.  He got bruised, basically.  So, once the doctor told us that – obviously, we weren’t going to risk anything – but once we saw and felt very confident that it wasn’t something that could get worse, Cooper had some vision issues in the first half, but then tested it out, and he said he was good to go. And he was, so he wasn’t lying. He was good. And we’ll see the bruising tomorrow, of course, but he’s so tough. His mom’s yelling at him if he’s going back in the game to be sure to rebound and defend, so I didn’t really have to say a whole lot.” 

The development of the Special K, Mason Gillis, Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba II, Sion James, Darren Harris as quality depth on this team is impressive – “the next man up” is no mere slogan but a challenge!

Anyway, so far, so good. This team has earned “good luck” the rest of the way!

Spencer – airborne!

Photo Credit: Editorial Board’s iPhone

ALANALYSIS

ACC Home Game: Duke 100 v. Florida State 65

The 35 point win against Florida State was an impressive wire to wire outing.  Duke led by as much as 22 in the first half and then outscored the Seminoles in the second half by 53-35 (with an extra long garbage time).

The cherry on top of the whipped cream was Spencer Hubbard’s play in the last 3:29, which had Cameron Indoor Stadium in an uproar yelling “SPEN-cer..SPEN-cer”and the Duke bench celebrating wildly.  SPEN-cer stole the ball and made a driving layup followed by a 3-pointer from about 4 feet behind the arc.

The most important takeaways were: 1) Duke outscored the Seminoles 33-19 in the 11:19 of the first half, when Cooper was receiving medical attention and not in the game; 2) the 19 points scored by Isaiah Evans, (who made his first Duke start replacing Tyrese Proctor), even after missing his first four 3-pointers  (good shooters keep shooting); and 3) the overall play of Kon (Special K) Knueppel, who was the point guard for a period when Sion James was on the bench with foul trouble.  Kon dished out 5 assists without a turnover.  

Kon levitates the ball, while hovering (well, he’s good at everything else, so we’re not surprised)

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Blue Devils racked up 17 assists against only 4 turnovers.  Scheyer: “ I think this game was about as well as we’ve ever done with valuing the ball while still being aggressive. … we’re missing Tyrese and Maliq, Cooper goes out in the first half; it was really what a team is all about.  Darren Harris steps up and comes in.  Mason Gillis and his minutes.  Isaiah starts and wasn’t making shots (I think we’re used to him making shots all the time) and then he stuck with it.  He ends up being our leading scorer.  Kon Knueppel ended up playing point guard for us, he led us in assists, no turnovers.”

 Isaiah – There’s that man again doing his thing again

Photo Credit:GoDuke.com

The First Half : Duke 47 v. Florida State 30

After Florida State had scored 11 straight points to reduce a 10 point Duke lead to 3 (14-11), Cooper Flagg was fouled in the face and left the game with 11:27 left in the half.  He did not return.   Things did not look great – a bad defensive performance giving up the 11 points and Cooper going out, Yet, without Cooper, the Blue Devils increased the lead by 19 points to 45-23, with 1:55 left in the half.  That may tell what we need to know about this Blue Devil team.

Cooper scored only 4 first-half points but contributed 3 boards and 2 assists without a turnover. The Blue Devils maintained balanced scoring, without any double digit scorers – Isaiah, Kon, and Mason Gillis each scored 9, while Khaman Maluach had 8 points.  Mason played very well in place of Cooper.  The Blue Devils handed out 12 assists on 16 field goals and grabbed 12 offensive rebounds.

Mason Replaced  Cooper –Duke soared
Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Second Half: Duke 53  v Florida State 35

Five straight Florida State points in 57 seconds  (47-35) did not portend well for Duke.  It was a ragged start to the closing half with each team committing 4 fouls in the first 95 seconds.  

However, The Blue Devils had Cooper Flagg, who returned to the lineup and simply dominated. Flagg scored 12 second-half points, handed out 2 assists, grabbed 3 boards, made 2 steals, and blocked a shot (without a turnover).  The Blue Devils scored 15 straight points in the next 4:35 to lead 62-35, effectively ending any chance of a Florida State comeback.

The Blue Devil lead reached 32 with 8:19 remaining and kept increasing to a high at game’s end of 35 points.

Summing Up

Scheyer on Duke’s play since the defeat by Clemson: “We really focus on making sure we’re getting better each week, getting better every game, and the team has embraced it.  … [I]t’s been a different way of winning while still having the sharing on offense and the competitiveness on defense.  That’s been what kept us going.  And then the biggest thing from the Clemson game, we didn’t get enough loose balls and rebounds, and consistently since then, that’s been a big thing for us to come away with.”  [It is worth mentioning that Duke played its worst half of the season in the second half against Clemson and still had a chance to win with 14 seconds left in the game.] 

Kon “We killed them on the offensive boards, didn’t turn the ball over, and I thought we out-toughed them.  We got a bunch of rebounds, we got to the free throw line about double the times they did, and we didn’t turn the ball over.  Those were the three keys to the game, and we executed them very well.”

THE ROTATION

(7) Kon Knueppel (Special K) (30:25) was the Duke Player of the Game, who simply did whatever Duke needed him to do to win.  Kon scored 14 points (4-10, including 1-4 from deep, plus 5-5 from the foul line).  But Kon did so much more than score.  He played point guard when Sion James was in foul trouble and passed out 5 assists without a turnover.  Special K also grabbed 5 rebounds and blocked a shot.

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower) Evans (23:49) made his first start of the season and missed his first four 3-point attempts.  Nervous?.  Then, Isaiah erupted to score 19 points as the highest scoring Blue Devil (6-17, including 4-13 from behind the arc, plus 3-4 from the stripe).  Isaiah has also improved all other aspects of his game.  He made driving layups, retrieved a pair of rebounds, handed out an assist, and made a steal, all without a turnover.  His defense just keeps getting better.

(9) Khaman Maluach (21:37) had a double double, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 14 points (4-5 from the field, plus 6-6 from the stripe).  Khaman is such a good foul shooter for a big man, really for anyone.  Khaman’s defense has been admired because of his speed and dexterity defending on the perimeter, while still moving fast enough to be a force protecting the rim.

Khaman double-doubles – 14 points and 10 boards

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

(14) Sion James (20:48) scored 7 points (3-5 from the field, plus 1-1 from the line) with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.  Sion was in foul trouble the entire game, which limited his playing time. Shockingly, Sion committed half of Duke’s 4 turnovers. His defense on the perimeter frustrated the Seminoles.

(5) Mason Gillis (20:11) substituted for Cooper when he was hurt or being rested (before he was hurt) and played brilliantly (perhaps Mason’s best game of the year).  Mason scored 9 points (2-6 from behind the arc, plus 3-4 from the stripe).  He grabbed 5 rebounds and handed out an assist, without a turnover. Duke did not miss Cooper because of Gillis.

(2) Cooper Flagg (19:39 ) played only 7:19 in the first half and scored only 4 points in the opening period.  After medical treatment (eye injury turned out to be an eyelid injury), he returned to start the second half and led Duke in scoring with 12 points in the final period.  For the game, Cooper scored 16 points (5-9 from the field, plus 6-6 from the foul line).  Scheyer “He’s so tough.  His mom’s yelling at him to rebound and play defense if he was going back in the game, so I didn’t really have to say a whole lot.”

(8) Darren Harris (16:17) had his best game of the season –Duke needed his playing time (the most he’s had this season) and wow did he deliver.  Darren scored 6 points (3-7 from the field, including 0-3 from 3land, plus 0-1 from the foul line) to go with 4 boards, an assist and a steal without a turnover.  Scheyer: “Darren’s been an awesome guy to coach…As a staff [we see] the work he does every day – he’s working on his defense, he’s working on every aspect of his game.  …A couple of days ago, I told him “Listen, you keep coming on with what you are doing.  Be ready to go.  Don’t be surprised if you hear your name called.  I just love his competitiveness.  He’s got great competitiveness, great feel. He’s going to be a really good player for us.”

Darren Harris kills it!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

(1) Caleb (CFos) Foster (15:12 ) scored 4 points but did not shoot well, (1-7 from the field, including 0-1 from 3land, plus 2-2 from the stripe).  Foster handed out an  assist and retrieved 2 rebounds.  Caleb committed 1 of Duke’s 4 turnovers.

(21) Patrick Ngongba, II (14:54) is earning his stripes with Maliq being out of action.  Patrick scored 4 points (2-2 from the field, plus 0-1 from the foul line) to go with 3 rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot.  Patrick’s improvement has been dazzling.

Patrick grows before our very eyes

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

(55) Spencer Hubbard (3:29) became the star of the game for the fans at Cameron.  SPEN-cer was simply superb.  After missing a layup, he scored 5 points (2-3 from the field, including 1-1 from very deep). Spencer stole the ball at half court and converted the contested layup, with his left hand.  On his 3, Spencer was several feet behind the 3-point line when he drilled it.  Cameron Indoor Stadium was holding a SPEN-cer festival.  [Our editorial board brought down the house!]

NEXT PLAY: Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Monday, March 3, 2025, in Cameron Indoor Stadium at 7pm TV: ESPN.

Hubbard single-mindedly drives down the court after picking FSU’s pocket

The Cameron Crazies love it

The teammates love it

The Coaches love it

Take 2! Hubbard lines up for a second shot, a deep three-pointer,

…and lets it fly!

Photo Credits: Editorial Board iPhone

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Duke Blue Devils 93 v. Wake Forest Demon Deacons 60 (Season 16; Issue 31; Game 30) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #30 (March 3, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 93  – Wake Forest Demon Deacons 60 in Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina 

Connections run strong in this Senior Night game

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

News

Tyrese Proctor was back in the starting lineup for Duke.  Maliq is still out with his injured shoulder.  Strangely, Caleb Foster did not play at all, which was not mentioned by the announcers or writers.  Whether he was injured, or his performance against Florida State was the reason, remains a mystery.

Senior Night (the last home game of the season): Goodbye to Cameron Indoor Stadium for Sion James, Mason Gillis, Stanley Borden, Neal Begovich, and Spencer Hubbard (graduated and honored last year’s senior night, and then he decided to come back as a grad student to use his last year of Covid eligibility).  There were freshmen playing their final game at Cameron as well, but those farewells will await the season’s conclusion.

The Return of the Jedi Tyrese Proctor: very good news for the Blue Devils

Photo Credit:GoDuke.com

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

This is the type of game the Blue Devils might have lost earlier in the season. It was a classic “trap game” against an easy-to-overlook, scrappy, physical team with a desperate need to beat Duke for even an outside chance to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.  Also, it is just before Duke plays the hated rival, the Always Tough Carolina Tar Heels.  

Fortunately, this game was played in Cameron. Well, it started with neither team being able to score, and the referees “letting them play”, as the announcers like to say when it looks more like a football scrimmage or maybe a playground game. Back in my day, the best players were more or less protected by the refs.  No longer.  POY candidate Cooper Flagg leads the league in floor burns and body bruises while Lenny Rosenbluth [Star of the 1956-57 undefeated UNC Tarheel National Champions] was awarded fouls for being breathed upon.

Anyhow, Coach Scheyer loosened things up by substituting Easy Isaiah Evans, who never saw a shot he didn’t think he couldn’t make and BINGO, Easy hit 2, and Duke was up 40-27 at the half. Of course, Cooper, as is his style, managed to make or assist on about 36 of the 40 points. Game, set, and match! Duke relaxed in the second half, Mason Gillis and Sion James did a pretty good Easy Evans impression, and the Blue Devils rolled to a 93-60 blowout, which no one would have bet on in the first five or ten minutes.

I have mentioned how well the players have matured and no one has made more progress than center Khaman Maluach of South Sudan, who has begun playing up to his size and weight class these last several weeks and is seldom pushed around in the post.

Times have changed. Senior Night is no longer an emotional event that celebrates a long career. Parents used to be serenaded by “One more son”. Last night, Freshman Cooper Flagg was serenaded by “One more year!”

Grant Hill, who is now a trustee of the school, was announced yesterday as the commencement speaker.

Cooper puts on a show for what might be his final home game

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Home Game: Duke 93 v. Wake Forest 60

Since the Clemson loss on February 10, Duke has won 7 straight games – 5 by more than 30 points (33, 35, 36, 37 and 43) and the other two by 18 and 21 points, respectively! Is the ACC that bad or is Duke that good?  UNC coming up and the two postseason tournaments should tell us.  [Note: Duke’s 43 point win was in Madison Square Garden against Illinois of the Big Ten on February 22.  Illinois beat Big Ten leader Michigan State 93-73 at Michigan State last Saturday.]

Scheyer admired his team’s “toughness”:  “When we weren’t making shots in the first half, we defended.  They had 17 points at the under-four time out.  We were 6-20 from three in the half. … Just toughness throughout, the unselfishness throughout. … It was a great collective effort against a good team where we didn’t necessarily make all of the shots right away. … To get 93 points against this team is a big deal. … Tonight, we wore them down.  Early on we didn’t take some good shots, but overall, this team fights for great shots.”

Cooper Flagg explained: “We’ve been guarding at an elite level. … guarding at an elite level and letting that flow into our offense.  When we play defense at an elite level and guard to our strengths… it definitely helps us all around, getting us into transition and getting us some early easy looks.  Once we get out in transition a couple of times, we can slow it down and execute a play because we’ve got teams on their heels.”

Duke guarded at such an elite level that Wake’s two high scorers of the season failed to reach even double figures.  In fact, Cameron Hildreth (15 ppg) was held without a point in 27 minutes while Hunter Sallis (18 ppg) managed only 9 points in 32 minutes.  We have called it “Python defense” because it squeezes the life out of opponents’ offense. 

In the 7 games Duke has won since the Clemson loss, the smallest winning margin was 18 points.  Each of those 7 teams was “done” in the last part of the second half; it was as if the will to compete had been broken.  Duke beat Cal by 21; Stanford by 36; Virginia by 18; Illinois by 43; Miami by 37; Florida State by 35; and Wake Forest by 33.  Whether the quality of the ACC is so poor or the Blue Devils are so good will be learned in the postseason.

The Blue Devils shot 54% (21-39 from the field in the second half, including 50% from 3land – 8-19) while scoring 53 second-half points.  Duke’s passing produced uncontested shots, which creates a higher percentage of successful shots.

Cooper’s last game (maybe) at Cameron was one he will remember – 28 points on 16 shots, including 3-6 from behind the arc and 5-6 from the free throw line.  He also devastated the Deacons with 8 boards, 7 assists, 3 blocked shots and 2 steals.  

Cooper’s freshman running mate, Kon Knueppel scored 17 points on 9 attempts, including 2-4 from deep and 5-5 from the foul line.  Sion James and Mason Gillis each reached double figures (11 points on 4-8 shooting) in their final game at Cameron.  Sion was 3-5 from deep, while Mason was 3-7 from behind the arc.

Duke’s lead reached 40 points (91-51 with 2:24 left in the game), when Scheyer called off the dogs and cleared his bench so Cameron could appreciate what the players leaving the game have accomplished so far – and cheer for Spencer’s final appearance at Cameron.  

Duke was undefeated in Cameron this year (17-0). 

Kon has been a great running mate for Cooper and for Duke

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The First Half : Duke 40 v. Wake Forest 27

The game did not begin as a blowout.  Duke led 14-13 with a little over 10 minutes left in the half before creating separation.  The Blue Devil lead reached double figures (25-15) with 6:39 left in the half.  With 3:50 remaining, the Demon Deacons had only 17 points and trailed 30-17.  Offensively, Duke recorded 11 assists on 13 field goals. Cooper Flagg scored 10 points; Kon Knueppel, 9; Sion James, 8; and Isaiah Evans came off the bench and scored 5 points. 

Then, Wake made its only rally of the game scoring 15 points in the next 5 minutes on each side of the half time break.

The Second Half: Duke 53  v Wake Forest 33

Five straight Florida State points in 57 seconds cutting Duke’s lead to 8 points (40-32) did not portend well for Duke.  It was a ragged start to the closing half with Duke committing 4 fouls in the first 95 seconds. 

However, The Blue Devils had Cooper, who simply dominated in the second half. Flagg scored 18 second-half points on 10 shots, handed out 4 assists, grabbed 4 boards, made a steal, and blocked a shot (without a turnover).  After Wake’s run to open the second half, the Blue Devils scored 15 straight points in the next 4:35 to lead 62-35, effectively ending any chance of a Florida State comeback.

The Blue Devil lead reached 32 points with 8:19 remaining and kept increasing to 40 points before Scheyer replaced the starters with seniors and post graduates.

Sion contributes so much to this team

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(2) Cooper Flagg (33:52 ) played perhaps his best game in a fabulous season, scoring 28 points (10-16 from the field, including 3-6 from behind the arc, plus 5-6 from the stripe).  His control of both ends of the court was breathtaking.  He committed only 1 foul and 1 turnover while grabbing 8 rebounds, handing out 7 assists, blocking 3 shots, and making a pair of steals.  That is domination!

(7) Kon Knueppel (Special K) (30:41) scored 17 points (5-9, including 2-4 from deep, plus 5-5 from the foul line).  But Kon always does so much more than score.  He handles the ball passing out 4 assists.  Special K also grabbed 5 rebounds and made a pair of steals.  As always, Kon is a dogged defender.

14) Sion James (29:00) scored 11 points (4-8 from the field,  including a dazzling 3-5 from deep) with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.  Sion has been a great defender, a steady playmaker, and the kind of seasoned veteran that stabilizes the locker room.  Kon: “I’ve talked to Sion a bunch of times when I’ve had a game where I didn’t think I had played well. Just him saying ‘Stay the course.  College basketball is hard, especially as a freshman.’  He’s helped me a lot with just being consistent.”

(9) Khaman Maluach (23:55) controlled the backboards with 14 rebounds.  Khaman scored 4 points (2-7 from the field including 0-2 from deep – the second three-point attempt was a desperation heave as the shot clock was almost at 0).  Khaman handed out a pair of assists and blocked a shot. He was part of the defense that held the Wake Forest offense to 28% shooting in the first half.  As always, his speed and dexterity defending on the perimeter while still moving fast enough to be a force protecting the rim frustrated the Demon Deacons.  

(5) Tyrese Proctor (23:35) made a welcomed return to the starting lineup, scoring 12 points (5-11 from the field, including 1-6 from deep, plus 1-2 from the foul line).  Even though his shooting was a bit off, Tyrese was a terror on defense, guarding both Wake high scorers – Cameron Hildreth (scoreless in 27 minutes) and Hunter Sallis (9 points in 32 minutes).

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower, Easy, Slim Jim) Evans (17:09) scored 8 points (3-8 from the field, including 2-7 from 3land).  Isaiah grabbed 2 rebounds and handed out an assist.  His shot was not on against Wake, but he played with energy and defensive effort.

(5) Mason Gillis (15:16) had one of his best games of the season in his last at Cameron.  Mason scored 11 points (4-8 from the field, including 3-7 from behind the arc.).  His defense and his experience are admired by his coaches and teammates.  Cooper linked Mason with Sion when he praised them both, “They’ve shown me exactly what to do, how to do it, the rights and wrongs, and taken me under both of their wings. …I’ve learned so much from them this entire year and I’m so grateful for them….They’ve been so important.”

(21) Patrick Ngongba II (13:44) failed to score while backing up Khaman, but contributed stability on the glass with 6 rebounds and a steal. He committed 3 fouls getting tangled up defending Wake big man, Efton Reid (who scored 14 ).

(8) Darren Harris (3:24) played little after his breakout game against Florida State (maybe because this is NOT his last game at Cameron).  Darren missed his only shot from the field.  He did grab a rebound.

(55) Spencer Hubbard (2:21) also played his last game at Cameron. He got a shot opportunity, but did not convert.  A crowd pleasing over-achiever, Hubbard came from a humble beginning as team manager.  He earned yet another scholarship to  return this year, as a grad student.  Our editorial board salutes him and his achievements.

Gillis made his last home game his best game of the season

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Saturday is the Final Day of the Regular Season

Duke, Clemson and Louisville have clinched double byes in the ACC tournament.

The fourth double bye in the ACC tournament is still wide open among UNC, SMU, Stanford, and Wake Forest. The potential seedings (with games on Wednesday and Saturday) are too complex for this issue, but if Clemson (at BC, and home against Virginia Tech) wins out and Duke is beaten by UNC, Clemson will be the top seed.

Khaman’s game continues to grow

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

NEXT PLAY: UNC Tar Heels, Saturday, March 8, 2025, at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 6:30pm TV: FOX.

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Duke Blue Devils 82 v. UNC Tar Heels 69 (Season 16; Issue 32; Game 31) Alan Silber’s “Alanalysis” and Bill Miller’s “CliffsNotes”

Duke Basketball Playbook (DBP) 2024-2025 Game #31 (March 8, 2025) 

Duke Blue Devils 82 v UNC Tar Heels 69 at the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The ACC regular season Champions! 

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

News

Maliq Brown returned to action and played to his best form.  Caleb Foster played after not seeing the court in the last home game against Wake Forest, and provided an emotional spark to the Blue Devils – the ACC regular season champions.  

Duke won the regular season ACC title AND #1 seed in the upcoming ACC tournament.  If Duke had lost to UNC, there would have been a 3-way tie for the title and Duke would have been the #3 seed.  Beating UNC was critical for the Blue Devils, and Duke responded in the second half, which might have been the best half Duke has played all year.  Certainly the last 15 minutes was the best Duke has played defensively all year.

Duke Women

Overcame a 14 point first-quarter deficit to win the Women’s ACC tournament, beating NC State 82-76.  Kara Lawson’s team lost 4 ACC games during the regular season.  They beat UNC in the regular season rematch.  In the tournament Duke beat every team that had beaten them in the regular season: Louisville in the quarterfinals; Notre Dame in the semifinals and NC State in the championship game.

Bill’s CliffsNotes:

Forget the records, this was Duke versus North Carolina. And it didn’t disappoint! In many ways, this game was the culmination of a fine regular season and, also, the most impressive win of the season. Duke won a roller coaster of a game against an always difficult opponent playing on their home court, on Senior Night, in front of illustrious, even legendary, Tar Heels such as Tyler Hansbrough, Lawrence Taylor, and Julius Peppers. 

All of the impressive young Blue Devil recruits and older transfers were ready, willing, and able to contribute when called upon. It also demonstrated what a complimentary group Coach Scheyer and his staff have identified, recruited, and trained. Duke confirmed that they are the more talented and deeper team.  However, the Tar Heels are a  talented, hard playing team, and are better coached than they were, after a slow start to the season.

RJ Davis, a lethal offensive scorer for five years, had a brilliant first half for UNC with 15 points as Carolina closed out the first half on a 21-7 run. Basically, in the first half, UNC played with more intensity, forcing 14 Duke turnovers as the Tar Heels seemed to want this game more than Duke. 

The Tar Heels trailed 43-42 at halftime, then scored 17 points in the first 4:12 of the second half to lead 59-53. But, North Carolina only scored 10 points for the rest of the game. 

UNC started the second half just as hot, with a 10-4 spurt that forced Jon Scheyer to call a timeout at 17:34 and make a strategic, ultimately winning, move early in the second half and substitute liberally. It paid off in spades as Duke bounced back with a 12-0 run to take a 63-59 lead, courtesy of Caleb Foster’s driving layup.  

Foster’s steady play at the point, plus his timely drives, and Maliq Brown’s two rare three point shots, gave Duke a 68-61 lead, and, more importantly, neutralized the always dangerous R.J. Davis. Suddenly, the Blue Devils were playing Duke basketball at this juncture as demonstrated when Flagg had a spectacular block against Ven-Allen Lubin, and Sion James took the ball coast-to-coast to put Duke up 75-64, forcing UNC to call a timeout with 4:58 left in the game. That impressive run by Duke cooked the Tar Heels.

Maliq scoffs at gravity as a ‘heel looks on in confusion

Photo Credit:GoDuke.com

OTHER COMMENTS:

• Raise your hand if you thought Coach Scheyer made the right substitutions in the second half of: 1) Maliq Brown, who has just recovered from an injured shoulder from the Virginia game; 2) Caleb Foster, who did not even play in the prior game Monday against Wake Forest, or 3) putting Cooper Flagg in late in the first half with two fouls (he made a foolish third foul). But those substitutions all worked out for Duke and Cooper played like a veteran the entire second half without making another foul, while blocking four Tarheel shots.

• The closest comparison I can think of to the Batman and Robin pair of Flagg and Knueppel is Duke upperclassmen Art Heyman and Jeff Mullins [made Final Fours in 1963 and 1964] –except Flagg and Special K are both freshmen.

• Sion James, the starting point guard, put the win in rare proper perspective (for a participant): “Yes, we grew up a lot today. We learned a lot. We’ve been winning a lot of games big, which is great. I hope we keep doing that. But history says that it’s not going to be like that every game. We learned how to weather a storm, play through some physicality, and find a way to win.” 

• Kon Knueppel, when asked if Duke has lived up to his expectations: “And more. It’s an incredible place, on and off the court, with the best people in the world. I’ve made some incredible connections all over the place here. I’m just so grateful that I came here and got this opportunity. As far as the coaches, my teammates, those connections, and then just meeting random people in my dorm, in class, or whatever it is, just making connections. The people that go to school here are elite in their own respects. People that are the best of the best, are going to be somebody someday, so it’s just huge to make those connections and meet such people.”

• MVP: Coach Scheyer for savvy substitutions and feeling for the ebb and flow of the game. How many coaches can you name that were as successful when succeeding a famous coach? 

The best Duke defense of the season

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ALANALYSIS

ACC Road Game: Duke 82  v. UNC 69

Down by 6 points (59-53) with 12:48 left in the game, Duke played its best defense of the season to hold the Tarheels to just 10 additional points in the entire game, and in the next 11:17 out scored UNC by 21 points to take a 15 point lead (82-67), with 1:31 left in the game.  Duke had Maliq Brown and Caleb Foster on the court for most of that time, with Cooper, Kon and Sion.  A half where much happened to ensure being  ready for the ACC Tournament.

As Kon said, “To win the ACC regular season, it’s special. Great to not share with anybody either, and we want two more (ACC and NCAA tournaments). We’ll stay humble and keep working.”

Kon the Indispensable! 

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The First Half : Duke 43 v. UNC 42

Duke had a 15 point lead (36-21 with 8:09 left in the half), when UNC flipped the switch to play physical and intensive defense.  Led by last year’s National Player of the Year, R.J. Davis (who scored 20 first-half points), the Tarheels stormed back and had Duke on their heels.  UNC erased 14 of Duke’s 15 point lead by the end of the first half.  

Cooper Flagg committed 2 personal fouls in the first 7:07 of the half and went to the bench.  Scheyer trusted Cooper and reinserted him into the lineup with 5:18 to go in the half, but Cooper committed his 3^rd foul 2 minutes after returning to the court.  Understandably, this cast a pall over Duke and their fans.  The foul situation worsened when Maliq picked up his second foul with 7:43 left in the first half.  The Blue Devils committed 9 first-half fouls.

UNC and R.J. Davis were suddenly on fire while Duke, in foul trouble, seemed to lose its fire.  A sinkingly disappointing first half for sure. 

Defying Gravity🎶The defense ELEVATES in the 2nd half

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

The Second Half: Duke 39  v UNC 27

About face–The second half might have been the best half of the season for Duke, who reversed a 6 point deficit to take a 15 point lead, and ended the game winning by 13 points.  The Duke defense was at its best.  The Tar Heels were held to 27 second-half points, 14 of those scored by UNC in the first 4:16 of the closing half.  The Blue Devils’ defense just squeezed the life and fight out of UNC.  Cooper had 4 blocks.  Caleb also added a block. Thus, the Duke defense held the Tarheels to 10 points in the final 15:44 of the game!!  That is simply superb defense!  

Offensively, the Blue Devils were 17-28 from the field (61%), including 3-7 from 3land, while handing out 9 assists, led by Cooper’s 5.  Duke committed only 5 second-half fouls.(Thankfully Cooper did not commit a 4th).  Sion made 2 steals.  It was a bravura performance just before the ACC tournament.

Duke played only 7 players in the second half (starters plus Maliq and CFos).  Neither Gillis nor Evans played in the second half.

Sion:”Stand aside – I’m driving here” Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

THE ROTATION

(7) Kon (Special K) Knueppel  (39:04) played virtually the entire game, leading Duke in scoring with 17 points (7-10 from the field, including 3-6 from behind the arc, which means Kon was 4-4 from inside the arc) while playing a superb all-around floor game with 2 boards, 3 assists and a steal.

(14) Sion James (34:55) scored 16 points (6-8 from the field,  plus a dazzling 4-5 from the stripe) with a team-leading 8 rebounds, 3 steals and an assist.  He said  on winning on the road in the Duke-North Carolina rivalry: (in addition to what Bill wrote), “It’s awesome. I feel that we grew up a lot today. We played in a close game. They were really physical. They did a lot of things that a lot of teams are going to start doing to us and that we’re going to see for the home stretch of the season.”

(2) Cooper Flagg (29:07 ) played a superb second half, leading Duke to victory.  Cooper committed 3 first-half fouls (limiting his first-half playing time to only 9 minutes.  Cooper played all 20 minutes of the second half, without committing a foul, while leading the team in scoring (10 points), rebounding (7 in the final period), assists (5) and blocked shots (4).  For the game, Cooper scored 15 points (6-15 from the field, including 1-4 from deep, plus 2-2 from the foul line), pulled down 9 rebounds and handed out 6 assists.  He led a defense that allowed UNC only 27 second-half points.

(5) Tyrese Proctor (29:05) shook off the rust, which was apparent against Wake Forest, scoring 16 points (6-10 from the field, including 2-4 from deep, plus 2-3 from the foul line).  Tyrese also grabbed a pair of rebounds. 

(9) Khaman Maluach (21:09) was a force on the backboards with 9 rebounds.  Khaman scored 2 points (1-3 from the field).  Khaman also made a steal.  He played only 7:26 in the closing period because Maliq Brown was so effective on both ends of the court.

(6) Maliq Brown (15:57) playing after missing 4 games with a shoulder injury, looked good and played valuable minutes.  Maliq is an unusual defender who can guard virtually all offensive positions.  Against UNC in the second half he scored all his points, 8 (3-4 from the field, including 2-3 from 3land).  For the game, Maliq had 3 assists and 3 rebounds.  Duke is ecstatic to have him back for post-season play.

(5) Mason Gillis (10:53) played all of his minutes in the first half, with Cooper on the bench with foul trouble.  The Purdue transfer scored 3 points (0-1 from the field, plus 3-3 from the foul line).  He organized the defense in Cooper’s absence.

(3) Isaiah (Flamethrower, Easy, Slim Jim) Evans (8:44) played only in the first half, scoring 3 points (missing his only shot from the field, but making all 3 of his free throw attempts).  Isaiah grabbed 2 rebounds and handed out an assist.  

(1)Caleb (CFos) Foster (8:52) was Scheyer’s surprise substitution late in the second half, where Caleb played all of his intense minutes.  CFos changed the tempo of the game.  He hounded UNC on defense and was strong with the ball on offense.  He scored 2 points on an aggressive drive (1-2 from the field) to go with a rebound, an assist and a blocked shot.  Put simply, he really earned his stripes after not playing at all against Wake Forest, nor in this game until the last 9 minutes.

(21) Patrick Ngongba II (2:14) failed to score or have any statistics in his brief cameo.

Cooper played the entire second half without a foul and led Duke to the win. Can he do the same in the Tournament?

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

ACC Tournament — from Tuesday, March 11 (3 games); Wednesday, March 12 (4 games); Thursday March 13 (4 games);Friday March 14 (2 games); and then the championship game on Saturday March 15 at 8:30. 

As the #1 seed, Duke has a double bye into the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 13 at noon, where the Blue Devils will face the winner of Tuesday’s game between Georgia Tech and UVA.  The winner of that game (Duke, we hope) will face the winner of Thursday’s Wake Forest (4th seed) vs TBD [the winner of 5^th seeded UNC against the winner of Notre Dame vs. Pitt].  If, as we hope, Duke wins that semi-final game, the Championship game is on Saturday, March 15 at 8:30 pm on ESPN. 

DBP Schedule for ACC Tournament

DBP will publish one edition for the tournament, which will cover the games that Duke has played in. It will also set out the NCAA schedule for Duke as announced on Sunday March 16.  That edition will be published on March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day)

NEXT PLAY: Thursday, March 13 at 12:00 pm – The Quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, Duke vs the winner of the Georgia Tech vs Virginia game  at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina; ESPN 2.

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Duke Blue Devils (Season 16; Issue 33) Special Edition: Injuries Impact

DISASTER THREATENED BUT DUKE PULLS IT OUT: 

tonight’s game will tell if it was a once and done or on to the Championship tomorrow

Injuries threatened the tournament chances for the Blue Devils! Maliq Brown didn’t even make it to the 6 minute mark before seriously re-injuring his shoulder.  Even worse, Cooper Flagg sprained his ankle with 2:26 left in the first half and did not play in the final 25 minutes of the game. 

When Cooper went out, Tech led by 9 points and things indeed looked bleak for the Blue Devils.  Luckily (and as a result of good recruiting and coaching), the bench is deep and Duke was able to meet the challenge.  Patrick Ngongba II and Mason Gillis stepped in and…with 5 minutes to go in the game, Duke led by 11!  A great confidence builder that Duke could come back from the brink without Cooper (and Maliq).

It’s easier for a team to pull together to face disaster for a single game. It’s harder to keep doing it game after game for a whole tournament (or two tournaments…Maliq may not come back at all this year). We’ll see how stern the stuff of the team is in tonight’s game. Stay tuned!

Maliq– reinjured!

Photo Credit: Video still from The Duke Wire

Cooper, seconds before coming down on that yellow jacket foot & twisting his ankle, forcing him from the game

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Mason steps in big

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

Ngongba goes great lengths to the rescue!

Photo Credit: GoDuke.com

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