Duke basketball fans awaited Cooper Flagg’s debut, but Kon Knueppel made sure everyone in Durham knew his name by the end of the night.
In the opening minutes of Duke’s game against Maine, five-star freshman Kon Knueppel saw the ball rolling lose on the court.
Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown swiped a pass from Black Bears guard Jaden Clayton seconds earlier, but he couldn’t corral the ball as he tried to work his way up the court, sending it tumbling toward Knueppel’s feet.
So Knueppel did what any player of his caliber would do. He picked it up, quickly set his feet underneath him, and fired up a quick 3-pointer.
The ball buried itself in the back of the net and earned him a trip to the free-throw line, adding four points to the board.
That sequence, part of a 22-point Duke basketball debut for Knueppel, contributed to a 96-62 Blue Devils win to start the 2024-25 season.
While the Cameron Crazies awaited the debut of top-ranked freshman [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] on Monday night, it was Knueppel who got the Cameron Indoor Stadium crowd riled up in the opening 10 minutes.
The 6-foot-6 forward from Wisconsin shot better than 50% from beyond the arc during his two exhibition games, and he quickly assured the fans that he could shoot in the regular season as well. He made a layup for the first points of the day, and the aforementioned four-point play was his second triple within a minute.
The star of offseason camp scored 13 of Duke’s first 23 points and finished the first half with 15. He shot 8/14 from the floor for the night, including a trio of 3-pointers on eight attempts.
Flagg still found a way to shine alongside his new teammate. The Maine native assisted on three of Duke’s first seven field goals, ending the night with five dimes, and he jumped up for a thunderous one-handed dunk late in the first half.
That passing prowess should alarm the rest of the country considering that Flagg’s generational reputation revolves around his athleticism and defense. He still ended the night with 18 points, seven rebounds, and three steals, but if the presumed No. 1 draft pick can also emerge as a three-level offensive ballhandler, the Blue Devils offense could morph into something scary.
The esteemed prospect gave Duke fans a brief scare in the final four minutes when he fell to the court near the baseline and remained on the ground, pointing to his calf, but he seemed to indicate he was just cramping and looked relatively content and unbothered on the bench.
Duke’s national championship pedigree entering the season rode upon the promise of an exceptional defense, anchored by Flagg and 7-foot-2 center Khaman Maluach. Despite the Blue Devils forcing two shot-clock violations early on, however, the Black Bears found a way to score in the opening half. Maine put up 33 points in the first 20 minutes after shooting 15/33 (45%) from the floor, trailing by just 11 at the break.
The Blue Devils pulled away in the second half, however. Duke opened the final 20 minutes on a 20-10 run, creating a 19-point lead that swiftly removed any drama from the room. Maine ended the night shooting 36.8%, making three of their 14 3-point attempts.
Former Tulane guard Sion James scored eight points after the break, part of 11 on the night for him, as the three major transfers played a large role. James, Brown, and former Purdue sharpshooter Mason Gillis all played at least 20 minutes
After a lengthy offseason, the Blue Devils only need to wait until Friday for another game. Duke hosts the Army Black Knights at the end of the week.
