Tag: Jon Scheyer

Staff predictions for Tuesday’s matchup between Duke and Kentucky

Duke basketball is gearing up to take on Kentucky on Tuesday, check out our Duke Wire staff predictions for the game.

The Duke Blue Devils brought championship expectations into the 2024-25 season, but head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and his team will need to prove themselves pretty quickly in November.

After back-to-back wins over Maine and Army to begin the season, the men’s basketball team will play the Kentucky Wildcats in Atlanta on Tuesday night. That rivalry battle, part of the State Farm Champions Classic, kicks off a four-game stretch that includes the Arizona Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks.

Freshman superstar [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] has averaged 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks to begin his collegiate career, but he’s exited the second half of both games with cramps.

“I’m not happy about it for him,” Scheyer said after Friday’s win over Army. “We’ve got to help him, and we will…We can’t have that happening. Bottom line.”

With Flagg’s second-half status and the emergence of Kon Knueppel (18.5 points per game), can the Blue Devils start stacking ranked wins before Thanksgiving?

Here are our staff predictions for Tuesday’s game.

Ryan Haley, Duke Wire site editor

If there’s one thing both of these rosters will do, it’s fire off 3-pointers. Exactly half of the Blue Devils’ attempts came from behind the arc through two games. The Wildcats aren’t far behind with 41.7% of their attempts from distance, and both teams are connecting on at least 40% of their triples.

However, in a battle of high-octane offenses, the Duke defense will win a war of attrition. Flagg and Khaman Maluach make enough plays in the interior, but the Blue Devils’ size on the perimeter can’t be understated. Every member of the backcourt being at least 6-foot-5 with excellent lateral quickness will ensure the Wildcats don’t get many free looks, and that tenacity has shown its ability to win out over 40 minutes.

Flagg notches at least four combined steals and blocks, Knueppel makes at least four 3-pointers, and the Duke basketball hype reaches another pitch.

Duke 94, Kentucky 76

Bryant Crews, Staff Writer

In earnest, Duke’s season officially begins with this game. The games against Maine and Army were nice tune-ups that counted but now rubber meets the road, literally and figuratively. Duke will leave North Carolina for the first time this basketball season to take on fellow blue blood starting a new era themselves. Mark Pope, a former Wildcat himself, is running things in Lexington after John Calipari left for Arkansas.

Kentucky isn’t as freshmen-heavy as we’ve come to expect when these teams have met over the last six years, and in some ways, it’s hard to say Duke is.

Nonetheless, Duke’s major three freshman starters will play a massive role in the tremendous jump up in competition and intensity. It’s always intriguing to see how these highly touted freshmen play when the level of play needs to rise tremendously. I have no doubt that Flagg, Kneuppel, and Maluach will be ready to rock in Atlanta.

I have Duke winning this game. Kentucky will be a problem and seeing Maluach go head-to-head with Amari Williams will be fun. I think Flagg has his early-season marquee moment much like Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero had against this same program. Tyrese Proctor knocks down multiple 3-pointers, and Sion James records at least one block, steal, assist, and rebound apiece on top of dropping a few points to really show his worth as a glue guy extraordinaire.

Duke 81, Kentucky 72

Josiah Caswell, Staff Writer

Duke has arguably the most talented team in America, and that’s been on clear display so far in the season. Whether it’s their returning talent, transfer talent, or most notably their freshman talent, the Blue Devils have it all.

The thing is, relying on so much freshman talent can have its ups and downs. It could mean nothing, but it could also mean something if a learning bump arises given the early schedule.

Regardless, I don’t think that will matter against Kentucky. The Wildcats have a new coach, who is a good one, and an entirely new team. As a result, there’s just as much novelty for them as there is for Duke.

The Blue Devils have the better coach and the more talented team in my opinion. Duke will win.

Flagg’s recent cramping issues are worth noting, however. He’ll need to stay well-hydrated and do his best to stay on the court as much as possible.

Duke 92, Kentucky 81

The Duke Blue Devils are heavily favored to beat Kentucky, per ESPN BPI

Duke basketball plays Kentucky in Atlanta on Tuesday night, and ESPN Analytics think the Blue Devils should be heavily favored.

The Duke Blue Devils play their first ranked opponent of a grueling non-conference schedule when they battle the Kentucky Wildcats in Atlanta on Tuesday night, and ESPN Analytics thinks they’ll start that stretch with a win.

According to the ESPN Matchup Predictor, the Blue Devils have a 70.8% chance to dispatch the Wildcats and new head coach Mark Pope.

Duke has won each of its first two games by at least 30 points thanks to its freshman tandem of [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag].

Knueppel, the ACC Rookie of the Week, paced the Blue Devils in scoring against Maine and Army to average 18.5 points per game. Flagg, the top-ranked freshman and presumed No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA draft, has averaged 15.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks against the Black Bears and Black Knights.

There’s more to the team than those two, however. Six different Blue Devils scored at least 10 points in both games, something that had never happened under head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] in his previous two seasons.

The Wildcats reached triple digits in both of their first two games under Pope, defeating Wright State 103-62 and Bucknell 100-72. Koby Brea, who transferred to Kentucky from Dayton this offseason, paces the team with 19.0 points per game to start the year.

Duke basketball drops one spot to sixth in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Despite two dominant wins to start the season, the Blue Devils dropped one spot to sixth in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Duke Blue Devils opened the 2024-25 men’s basketball season with comfortable wins over Maine and Army, but events around the country still dropped head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and his team down one spot to sixth in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Kansas Jayhawks, Alabama Crimson Tide, and two-time defending champion Connecticut Huskies remained the top three teams in order, but big wins for the Auburn Tigers and Gonzaga Bulldogs jumped them into the top five.

Auburn beat the Houston Cougars, who started the season fourth in the rankings, and the Bulldogs beat the Baylor Bears by 38 points in one of the more emphatic statements of the opening week.

The Blue Devils play the Jayhawks and Tigers in the next month. The Kentucky Wildcats, whom Duke plays on Tuesday, shuffled up to 18th, and the Arizona Wildcats stayed within the top 10 ahead of next week’s road matchup.

Check out the complete coaches poll below:

Ranking Team Record Points
1 Kansas 2-0 759 (21)
2 Alabama 2-0 724 (4)
3 UConn 2-0 702 (3)
4 Auburn 2-0 660 (2)
5 Gonzaga 2-0 651 (1)
6 Duke 2-0 608
7 Iowa State 1-0 576
8 Arizona 2-0 516
9 Tennessee 2-0 502
10 Houston 1-1 488
11 North Carolina 1-1 456
12 Purdue 2-0 437
13 Creighton 2-0 385
14 Baylor 1-1 328
15 Marquette 2-0 308
16 Indiana 2-0 234
17 Cincinnati 2-0 230
18 Kentucky 2-0 182
19 Florida 2-0 179
20 Illinois 2-0 151
21 Arkansas 1-1 150
22 Ohio State 1-0 148
23 Texas A&M 1-1 99
24 Rutgers 1-0 84
25 St. John’s 2-0 79

Dropped Out

No. 19 Texas; No. 22 UCLA; No. 25 Ole Miss

Receiving Votes

Texas Tech 75; Ole Miss 60; Texas 54; Xavier 38; Oregon 37; Michigan State 29; BYU 29; UCLA 18; UCF 17; Wake Forest 12; Saint Mary’s 12; Kansas State 9; Clemson 9; New Mexico 8; Dayton 8; North Florida 7; Maryland 5; Providence 4; Mississippi State 4; Nevada 2; San Francisco 1; Grand Canyon 1

The Duke basketball offense is deeper than it ever has been under Jon Scheyer

Through the first two games of the 2024-25 season, the Duke Blue Devils aren’t just prolific on offense. They’re unprecedentedly deep.

Maybe this shouldn’t be a surprise given the anticipation that surrounded this Duke basketball roster, but this is the deepest unit to play at Cameron Indoor Stadium in years.

The Blue Devils beat the Army Black Knights 100-58 on Friday, and through two games of the regular season, Duke is averaging 98.0 points per game. A big part of that success stems from the fact that every member of the team can stack points at any moment.

Six different players scored at least 10 points on Friday, the second time that has ever happened under head coach Jon Scheyer. The first time? Monday’s victory over Maine.

Despite the hype surrounding potential No. 1 overall pick [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] or fellow five-star freshman [autotag]Kon Knueppel[/autotag], no one Blue Devil has complete control of the offense.

Against the Black Bears on Monday, Knueppel scored 13 of the first 23 team’s points but only scored nine the rest of the way. All 13 of Flagg’s points on Friday came in the first 16 minutes. Those two are the only Duke players averaging more than 12.0 points per game, but Tyrese Proctor, Sion James, Caleb Foster, Mason Gillis, and Khaman Maluach are all averaging at least 8.5.

The offensive potency becomes even more dangerous when defenses remember how many perimeter shooters Scheyer collected this offseason. Exactly half of the Blue Devils’ attempts have come from behind the arc, and six different players have attempted at least six triples.

Those six players are shooting a combined 42.9% from distance.

This depth will come in incredibly handy once the postseason rolls around and elimination hangs in the balance every night. Oh, Flagg hasn’t scored in 20 minutes? Knueppel missed multiple 3-pointers in a row? Yeah, that happened against Army, and Duke still won by 42.

The Hydra-style offense gives the Blue Devils an incredibly high floor, and considering the fact that only Proctor and Foster played here last year, it should only improve with more minutes.

Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer says team ‘has got to help’ Cooper Flagg with cramping

Cooper Flagg struggled with cramps for the second straight game on Friday night, and Jon Scheyer sounded determined to figure that out fast.

Superstar freshman [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] looked the part of a future No. 1 overall pick during the first half of Friday night’s game against Army, scoring 13 points and adding 10 rebounds before the opening 20 minutes were up.

However, he could only play 25 minutes of the game after he suffered from more cramps in the second half. He also sat out the final minutes of Duke’s Monday win over Maine with similar problems, insisting after the game that he felt hydrated and prepared before tipoff.

With the Kentucky Wildcats, Arizona Wildcats, and Kansas Jayhawks all on the November schedule, there’s unfortunately not much time for Flagg to ease his way into a collegiate workload or diagnose the issue. Understandably, head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] sounded determined to figure something out fast after the game.

“We’ve got to help him,” Scheyer said. “I’m not happy about it for him. We’ve got to help him, and we will.”

“Right after this, I can promise you, I’m going to be meeting, I don’t care if it’s all night, we can’t have that happening. Bottom line.”

Despite the cramps, Flagg leads the Blue Devils in assists (4.0), steals (2.5), and blocks (1.5) to start the season. He’s also second on the roster in scoring (15.5) and rebounding (9.0) after his Friday double-double.

“I thought he had it going, too,” Scheyer added. “That first half, he was really just controlling the whole game with his rebounding, his passing, his playmaking, his scoring, he was assertive shooting the ball.”

Duke plays Kentucky, another team within the preseason top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, in Atlanta on Tuesday.

“We’re going to fix that,” Scheyer concluded about the cramping problem.

Cooper Flagg confirms he was just cramping at the end of the Duke basketball opener

Duke basketball fans got a brief scare when Cooper Flagg needed a moment to stand late in Monday’s game, but he gave the all clear afterward.

Duke basketball fans in Durham and around the country held their breath in the final minutes of the season opener against Maine on Monday night when [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] fell to the court.

The top-ranked freshman and presumed No. 1 NBA draft pick tried to stand but quickly returned to the floor, and the Cameron Crazies surely imagined the worst. Flagg quickly gestured to his calf, however, and he confirmed afterward that he just felt a cramp.

In fact, according to a video from Carolina Blitz’s Vashti Hurt, Duke basketball head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] even turned the moment into a learning experience.

“Coach even came to me right after I started cramping and was telling me he wanted to give me the experience of playing extended minutes like that,” Flagg said. “And it’s definitely something different, something I haven’t experienced before with this long of a game.”

“So kind of just getting that feeling and understanding that it’s a different level of preparation, a different mindset, and a different way I have to come ready to play,” he concluded.

Flagg said he felt like he hydrated well before the game, but he’d discuss with the trainers how to avoid similar problems in the future.

The 17-year-old finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals in his regular-season debut.

College basketball award renamed after legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski

The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced on Monday that it would rename an award after five-time national champion Coach K.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches announced on Monday that the NABC Metropolitan Award would now be known as the NABC Mike Krzyzewski Award in honor of the five-time national champion.

“The newly-renamed NABC Mike Krzyzewski Award will continue to recognize basketball coaches and contributors for long and outstanding service to the game,” the association said in a release about the change.

The award was first given out in 1941, and Krzyzewski won it in 2009. He added two more national titles to his resume after the achievement, including one with current head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] in 2010.

ESPN announcer Dick Vitale won the award in 2024, and notable coaches like Tom Izzo (2019), John Calipari (2018), and former North Carolina Tar Heels coach Roy Willaims (2014) have been honored in the past decade.

The longtime Duke basketball coach retired following the 2021-22 season after leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four 13 times, including one last appearance in his final season. He finished with a 1,129-309 record during his 42 seasons in Durham, winning the ACC regular-season title 13 times and winning the conference tournament 15 times.

Coach K also won the NABC Coach of the Year award twice, first in 1991 after he brought Duke its first national championship before being honored again in 1999.

Duke basketball strengthens hold atop 2025 recruiting rankings after Henderson commitment

Following the commitment of Shelton Henderson, Duke remained the No. 1 class for the 2025 recruiting cycle according to 247Sports.

Duke basketball coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and his program received yet another commitment on Saturday when five-star forward Shelton Henderson joined the Blue Devils’ 2025 recruiting class.

As a result, Duke remained atop the 247Sports’ team recruiting rankings for the Class of 2025.

Henderson is the 15th overall player and the third-ranked small forward in the 247Sports player rankings, meaning all four of Scheyer’s commitments rank within the top 21.

The two most notable members of the class are the Boozer twins, led by No. 2 overall player Cameron Boozer and No. 21 overall player and fourth-ranked point guard Cayden Boozer. Power forward Nikolas Khamenia (No. 19) joined them in late October.

“Duke has been my dream school since I started watching basketball,” Henderson said in a story from 247Sports’ Brandon Jenkins. “I liked Coach Scheyer, Coach Lucas, and the environment. Both coaches told me what they see in me. They feel I can come in and fit right away.”

“I like the atmosphere that they have and the players that they have sent to the NBA. That is my dream, so if they can do it with them, they can do with me.”

The Blue Devils sit ahead of the Kentucky Wildcats, Connecticut Huskies, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and LSU Tigers in the 2025 team rankings. Scheyer also finished with the No. 1 class in 2022 and 2024.

Five-star 2025 forward Shelton Henderson commits to Duke basketball over Texas, Louisville

The Duke Blue Devils picked up their fourth 2025 commitment on Saturday when five-star forward Shelton Henderson announced his decision.

Duke basketball added a fourth player to its 2025 recruiting class on Saturday when Shelton Henderson, a five-star small forward from Texas, announced his commitment.

Henderson, who plays for Bellaire High School, averaged 21.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.9 steals, and 1.4 blocks as a junior to lead his team in every category. As the 15th overall player in 247Sports’ 2025 player rankings, he becomes the third five-star member of Duke’s 2025 class and the 14th five-star prospect who’s committed to Jon Scheyer since the Class of 2022.

“A physical specimen from the wing position who arguably has the best long-term tools in the national class,” 247Sports recruiting analyst Brandon Jenkins wrote in his scouting report. “He operates as a playmaking forward who is loaded with intangibles that are off the charts.”

Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas, who also attended Bellaire High School and was selected a McDonald’s All-American before his graduation in 2007, visited Henderson in person last month.

Henderson picked the Blue Devils over the Texas Longhorns and Louisville Cardinals.

At the start of October, Scheyer and his staff didn’t have a single commitment from the 2025 class. Cameron and Cayden Boozer, twin brothers from Florida who are both five-star players, announced their joint commitment on October 11 before four-star forward Nikolas Khamenia picked Duke over the UCLA Bruins and Gonzaga Bulldogs on (Tuesday).

Cameron, the taller of the Boozer brothers, is the second-ranked player in the class, and he’s routinely credited as the player with the highest floor in the country. He stands 6-foot-9, one inch taller than Khamenia, and Henderson compliments that duo as a playmaking wing. Cayden Boozer, who still measures out at 6-foot-4, is the dominant ball-handling guard in the class.

Five-star 2026 basketball recruit Jordan Smith Jr. takes official visit to Duke

Days ahead of the 2024-25 season opener, a top basketball recruit in the Class of 2026 took an official visit to Duke.

Despite the 2024-25 regular season ready to tip off, recruiting won’t stop anytime soon for Duke basketball coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer’s[/autotag] team. Most recently, five-star 2026 guard Jordan Smith Jr. made it to campus on an official visit.

Smith made his visit known through a story he shared on his Instagram account on Friday that showed the school’s campus. League Ready’s Sam Kayser confirmed his visit later that same day.

Smith, who attends Paul VI Catholic in Fairfax, Virginia, is the No. 8 overall player in the nation according to the 247Sports Recruiting Rankings, making him the third-best shooting guard in the class and the best overall player from Virginia.

The 6-foot-2 guard, the former high school teammate of current Duke freshmen Darren Harris and Pat Ngongba II, is clearly among Duke’s top targets in the 2026 class. Scheyer visited him at school in September, and associate head coach Chris Carrawell came to see him in October.

Smith has 17 other offers from schools like the Michigan Wolverines, Florida State Seminoles, Kentucky Wildcats, and North Carolina Tar Heels, among others. He recently visited Louisville and Syracuse.