2024-2025 Men’s Basketball Season: General Offseason Discussion

cato

cato

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Steve Wiseman’s piece on the roster for the coming season is chock full of interesting tidbits. https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/article288748600.html (Linked on the front page)

The focus is the “rebuild.” Wiseman notes that there are five guys you could pencil in as starter, with a couple more that could compete:

In the wake of the player turnover, Duke has a pretty good projected starting five of Foster, Proctor, Flagg, Brown and Maluach. That said, James and Gillis are more than capable of winning starting jobs in the backcourt.
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Of the incoming Frosh:

Of the freshmen, 6-6 Isaiah Evans, 6-5 Kon Knueppel and 6-5 Darren Harris bring reputations as strong perimeter shooters. Patrick Ngongba, a 6-11 center, will compete for playing time inside along with Maluach.
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That feels like a fair starting point, although Jon is doubling down on the idea that he doesn’t know who is going to start (or play) and that the players are going to have to compete and, ultimately, earn playing time.

“In order to have a championship caliber team,” Scheyer said, “you need more than just five players who are capable of starting and I feel we have that in this year’s group. Like I couldn’t tell you right now, who our starting lineup is going to be.”
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I recommend the full article. More good content from Wiseman, who seems to be settling into being a good Duke MBB beat reporter.

What do I expect to see when we finally get to see this lineup in action?

  • Proctor, Foster and Flagg logging big minutes
  • Lots of moving parts around that trio, with Flagg especially being match with different wing/front court players
  • Something none of us are predicting

Before we all get distracted by breathless reports from pickup and summer practice, how would you summarize your thoughts about this team in three bullet points?
 
cato said:
What do I expect to see when we finally get to see this lineup in action?

  • Proctor, Foster and Flagg logging big minutes
  • Lots of moving parts around that trio, with Flagg especially being match with different wing/front court players
  • Something none of us are predicting

Before we all get distracted by breathless reports from pickup and summer practice, how would you summarize your thoughts about this team in three bullet points?
Click to expand...

Thoughts/predictions

  • Great teams have a core identity, I think next year it will be a dominating defense
  • Early season, we will lean into putting experience (Foster, Proctor, Brown, Gillis, James) around Cooper
  • Maluach will take time, but will start dominating games by middle of the ACC season
 
Good intro to the season.

When do the players (freshmen and transfers alike) arrive on campus? Term 2 of Summer School?

Can't wait for the latest on pickup games and athletic testing.
 
1 Don’t get hung up on who’s starting. There is enough talent to start and play lineups that exploit other team’s weaknesses.

2. I hate to bring it up but there is plenty of depth to overcome any potential injuries.

3. Expect the seasoned veterans to play more early in the ACC season.

And a bonus point for us fans. Enjoy the ride and don’t worry if lack of playing time “might” cause end of year transfers. With 2 consecutive 27 win seasons, an ACC championship, an Elite 8 and the ability to bring in talent it’s time we trust Coach S.
 
JayZee said:
Thoughts/predictions

  • Great teams have a core identity, I think next year it will be a dominating defense
  • Early season, we will lean into putting experience (Foster, Proctor, Brown, Gillis, James) around Cooper
  • Maluach will take time, but will start dominating games by middle of the ACC season
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Makes sense to me. It would be excellent to have the luxury to bring Malauch along slowly. Not that he should get opportunities right away, but it would be great if he doesn’t have to be relied on for big minutes right away.
 
roywhite said:
Good intro to the season.

When do the players (freshmen and transfers alike) arrive on campus? Term 2 of Summer School?

Can't wait for the latest on pickup games and athletic testing.
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Most of them are there now - they came for K Academy. Lots of pics on IG. I have been trying to take role - I have seen most of them. Plus lots of great pics of alums!
 
cato said:
Steve Wiseman’s piece on the roster for the coming season is chock full of interesting tidbits. https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/article288748600.html (Linked on the front page)

The focus is the “rebuild.” Wiseman notes that there are five guys you could pencil in as starter, with a couple more that could compete:

...

I recommend the full article. More good content from Wiseman, who seems to be settling into being a good Duke MBB beat reporter.

What do I expect to see when we finally get to see this lineup in action?

  • Proctor, Foster and Flagg logging big minutes
  • Lots of moving parts around that trio, with Flagg especially being match with different wing/front court players
  • Something none of us are predicting

Before we all get distracted by breathless reports from pickup and summer practice, how would you summarize your thoughts about this team in three bullet points?
Click to expand...


  • It's been quite a while since we've seen a freshman contend for national player of the year -- Zion 6 years ago, then Anthony Davis 7 years before that, and Kevin Durant 5 years prior. That's the list. This is one of those years.
  • A very strong early season schedule will show the country how good we are.
  • The HOF coaches facing us during that schedule will show us what we need to work on, and give us ideas of what our most effective lineups are.

In the Arizona game, Tommy Lloyd, while not a HOF coach, showed us weaknesses in our lineup that plagued us all year. This year, I think we have such a variety of skilled players that by the end of the season we will be able to eliminate any weaknesses we've found.
 
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3 points!

1) Defense and rebounding our greatest strength.
2) Really good depth. Foul trouble may not be a worry.
3) Once again what will our outside shooting look like? Foster, Proctor, Gillis and the freshmen have high upside.

GoDuke!
 
-This upcoming season is built around Cooper Flagg. For Duke to have a chance to win a title, he has to be every bit as good as we are all hoping he will be.
-We have never relied upon this many transfers to come in and be high impact starters and/or rotation players. It is a really interesting test of Scheyer and the coaching staff's ability to adapt to the new player movement environment.
-Much will depend on who proves they can reliably shoot and defend.
 
jv001 said:
1) Defense and rebounding our greatest strength.
2) Really good depth. Foul trouble may not be a worry.
3) Once again what will our outside shooting look like? Foster, Proctor, Gillis and the freshmen have high upside.

GoDuke!
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I don't know.

Amongst our weapons I would go with:
1) Surprise
2) Fear
3) Ruthless efficiency

Sounds good so far. :)
 
camion said:
I don't know.

Amongst our weapons I would go with:
1) Surprise
2) Fear
3) Ruthless efficiency

Sounds good so far. :)
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What about an almost fanatical devotion to Coach K? I really feel like that should be in there.
 
Updated Top 25 from the Athletic has Duke at #6. Writeup is below:

6. Duke
Previous: 1

Projected starters: Caleb Foster, Tyrese Proctor, Mason Gillis (transfer), Cooper Flagg (freshman), Khaman Maluach (freshman)

Top reserves: Maliq Brown (transfer), Kon Knueppel (freshman), Isaiah Evans (freshman), Darren Harris (freshman), Patrick Ngongba II (freshman), Sion James (transfer)

Jon Scheyer seemed to be trying to bring in complementary players out of the portal, building around the talents of Flagg with low-usage, high-efficiency guys like Gillis, Brown and James. It wouldn’t be shocking if this is the best team in college basketball based on the talent level. With so much youth, I want to see it first. But Scheyer will likely bring two five-stars off the bench in Evans and Knueppel while starting two projected lottery picks in the frontcourt. This team could be elite defensively, as Proctor found his calling on that end last year and both Flagg and Maluach project as high-level shot blockers. Duke has great positional size, with everyone in the rotation at 6-foot-5 or taller. Flagg is the key to the offense. He needs to be able to score and allow Duke to play through him to set up others, similar to how Scheyer used Kyle Filipowski. Leaning on freshmen only works when those are top-end lottery picks. Scheyer is banking on Flagg living up to the hype.

I think this is a good summary overall (other than maybe underestimating Sion), and as I articulated in another thread, the lineup of Foster/Proctor/Flagg + 1 big and 1 floor-spacing wing makes more sense to me than Foster/Proctor/Flagg/Brown/Maluach.

Link to full story (behind paywall):

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/55...e-basketball-top-25-nba-withdrawal-prospects/
 
luvdahops said:
Updated Top 25 from the Athletic has Duke at #6. Writeup is below:

6. Duke
Previous: 1

Projected starters: Caleb Foster, Tyrese Proctor, Mason Gillis (transfer), Cooper Flagg (freshman), Khaman Maluach (freshman)

Top reserves: Maliq Brown (transfer), Kon Knueppel (freshman), Isaiah Evans (freshman), Darren Harris (freshman), Patrick Ngongba II (freshman), Sion James (transfer)

Jon Scheyer seemed to be trying to bring in complementary players out of the portal, building around the talents of Flagg with low-usage, high-efficiency guys like Gillis, Brown and James. It wouldn’t be shocking if this is the best team in college basketball based on the talent level. With so much youth, I want to see it first. But Scheyer will likely bring two five-stars off the bench in Evans and Knueppel while starting two projected lottery picks in the frontcourt. This team could be elite defensively, as Proctor found his calling on that end last year and both Flagg and Maluach project as high-level shot blockers. Duke has great positional size, with everyone in the rotation at 6-foot-5 or taller. Flagg is the key to the offense. He needs to be able to score and allow Duke to play through him to set up others, similar to how Scheyer used Kyle Filipowski. Leaning on freshmen only works when those are top-end lottery picks. Scheyer is banking on Flagg living up to the hype.

I think this is a good summary overall (other than maybe underestimating Sion), and as I articulated in another thread, the lineup of Foster/Proctor/Flagg + 1 big and 1 floor-spacing wing makes more sense to me than Foster/Proctor/Flagg/Brown/Maluach.

Link to full story (behind paywall):

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/55...e-basketball-top-25-nba-withdrawal-prospects/
Click to expand...

Ok, a national writer who agrees with me on our starting 5... Starting Gillis instead of Brown alongside Cooper still gives us an elite defensive team. And it puts a 47% 3-point shooter out there to really spread the floor.
 
First, what I like about this team on paper is the flexibility. With no real replacement for Lively last season, we had to rely heavily on ONE player. That's tough, especially when opponents know the situation and game plan to take away that one player. With flexibility, we can win games in different ways. We can withstand foul trouble. We can go with the hot shooting hand from one game to the next. We can create various defensive matchups for opposing scorers. Flexibility just gives us so many more opportunities to win.

Second, Cooper Flagg. It's not just his basketball skill, which I think will live up to the hype. But I see a fire burning in him that I don't see in every player. I think this one year experience will mean more to him than a quick stepping stone to the NBA. The kid is an ultimate competitor who hates to lose. This mentality tends to be contagious, and I think Sion might already be infected with it as well. I call it emotional leadership, and not every team has it. I think Cooper Flagg will bring it every single game.
 
Also notable in the Athletic article is that he only has 2 ACC teams in his top 35. Not a good offseason for the conference. It's hard to argue we aren't slipping fast against the other big 3 despite the strong recent tourney performance...UVA, Clemson, Miami, FSU, what's going on??
 
SkyBrickey said:
Ok, a national writer who agrees with me on our starting 5... Starting Gillis instead of Brown alongside Cooper still gives us an elite defensive team. And it puts a 47% 3-point shooter out there to really spread the floor.
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And the more connected local writer disagrees with you.
 
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