College basketball season is here, giving fans plenty to look forward to in the coming months. The games begin exactly on November 4, and one of those scheduled to play on opening day is none other than the iconic team from Durham, Duke basketball.
The Blue Devils already gave a glimpse of their capabilities via two exhibition games this past month. The first was against Lincoln, with Duke taking home a 51-point victory. Freshman sensation Cooper Flagg led the way as a total of 12 blue shirts contributed to the scoring. The next blowout win was against Arizona State, an ex-Pac 12 participant that’s set to debut in the Big 12 this season. The game showed why devils swathed in blue reign supreme over those in red and yellow. Despite a quiet game from Flagg, Duke trounced Arizona State by 56 — yes, 56 points — due to excemplary play on both ends of the ball.
As they prepare to face Maine this coming Monday, all eyes are on the Blue Devils. How will the team fare this season? What player storylines will be there to watch out for?
To answer those questions, here are bold predictions for the 2024-25 season.
Caleb Foster raises his scoring average to double digits
With all the attention centered around the incoming freshmen, people tend to forget that Duke still has quality holdovers such as Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor. Both will likely start this season, giving the Blue Devils an experienced backcourt. Foster, specifically, is due for a breakout campaign.
Amid the exodus of players during the offseason, Foster decided to stay in Durham for another year. He’s coming off a freshman season that saw him average 7.7 points on 43.7% shooting from the floor. He started just 15 games, playing mainly behind Proctor, Jared McCain and Jeremy Roach. Nevertheless, Foster shot 40.6% from deep when he stepped on the court — third best among everyone on the roster last season.
With McCain in the NBA and Roach headed to Baylor, the starting two spot arguably belongs to Foster (with Proctor at PG). During the preseason demolition of Arizona State, Foster tallied 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and three assists. The 6-foot-5 guard did a bit of everything, from attacking the basket and facilitating to sinking outside shots.
Locking up the SG role in the first five will certainly increase Foster’s numbers. Expect him to average double figures in scoring this season.
Kon Knueppel leads the ACC in made three pointers
This may be a debatable claim, considering how Knueppel is just entering his first year of college basketball. However, there’s a reason why he’s a five-star recruit. Knueppel isn’t the highest leaper or the fastest runner, but his fundamentals and IQ more than make up for it. His main weapon is the three-point shot, and the preseason games have conveyed the obvious: Knueppel is Duke’s top sniper this year.
He scored 17 and 19 points against Lincoln and Arizona State, respectively. The 6-foot-7 wingman sank a total of nine threes in both outings (combined), and it was clear that his confidence from outside is off the charts. With how things currently look, Knueppel’s long-range bombs will be a common sight at the Cameron Indoor Stadium.
There’s still a question mark on whether or not Knueppel will get the starting nod. With Proctor and Foster as the projected backcourt, Jon Scheyer might either go with a Knueppel-Flagg forward pairing or a lineup that puts Flagg at the three and defensive stalwart Maliq Brown at the four. Nevertheless, based on what he’s shown so far, Knueppel will undoubtedly be an integral part of the rotation, starter or not.
The ACC will have plenty of formidable, even more experienced sharpshooters this season such as Virginia’s Isaac McKneely and Syracuse’s Chris Bell. Can Kon Knueppel really outdo them in made threes? Assuming he gets a nod to the first five, why not?
Cooper Flagg is a consensus First Team All-American
Flagg is one of the names in the recently-released Naismith Award Watch List. He’s also ESPN’s number-one ranked college player on the network’s preseason poll, and many project him to be the top overall pick in next year’s NBA draft. All these claims are hardly contestable, looking at what the 6-foot-9 freshman can do.
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Flagg’s scoring highlights are all over the web, and every basketball fan (that’s active on social media) has probably seen at least a clip or two by now. The way he utilizes his length and athleticism when attacking the rim and the way he seamlessly creates and shoots off the dribble hints of a ceiling comparable to those of elite NBA stars.
Furthermore, one thing that fans should know is Flagg is as effective without the ball as he is with it. The highlights tend to overlook how much of a versatile defender and and aggressive rebounder he is. By versatile defender, this doesn’t just refer to the monster blocks, but the on-ball perimeter defense and sharp off-ball rotations/reads as well. He’s a two-way talent, and theres a big chance that his freshman season will result in an All-America First Team inclusion.
Honestly, the only reason why this prediction doesn’t vouch for Flagg as the Naismith Award winner is because of his age. As good as Flagg is at 17-years-old, there’s still plenty of room for him to grow before one can be certain that he’ll outperform established NCAA stars like RJ Davis (North Carolina), Mark Sears (Alabama), and Hunter Dickinson (Kansas).
Duke basketball reaches the Final Four
There’s a sensational quote that’s common in the sporting world. It basically states that “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” It’s been proven true on many instances, like when an underdog upsets a favorite. It’s also a good source of motivation for any basketball player, especially under-the-radar names who hardly get a share of the spotlight. However, a question can also be raised…something along the lines of “What if talent works just as hard?” This is exactly what Duke basketball is right now: a mixture of hard work and top-tier talent. Duke has all the pieces for a Final Four appearance, and it’s safe to say that many other teams — no matter how much effort they put in — won’t be able to go toe-to-toe against the Blue Devils if they don’t have enough firepower to match.
The biggest obstacle between Duke and the National Championship Trophy is simply, the lack of experience. As far as their capabilities can take them, it’s still uncertain if the Blue Devils can mix in the maturity and composure needed to take down other powerhouses (i.e UConn, Gonzaga, Alabama, Kansas) on the biggest stage. Regardless, this young team will make plenty of noise, and the fans are about to witness it all unfold.