Six Thoughts On Six Minutes Of Scrimmage Footage
Sion James stood out in our first glimpse of the 2024-25 squad
Just under a week ago, Duke fans were treated to their first official glimpse of this fall’s squad with highlights from the team’s first practice scrimmage.
As always, the footage should be taken with a massive grain of salt considering it’s heavily edited “highlights.” But there was still enough content to start getting excited about this year’s team, as well as get some insight into how Jon Scheyer might utilize this group.
1: Sion James jumped off the screen. James is perhaps the incoming transfer (outside of Cameron Sheffield, who projects to be a practice player) who has flown most under the radar, considering Maliq Brown was an All-ACC Defender and Mason Gillis just played in the National Championship game. But James stood out most in this limited footage. While it’s not an exact comparison, the way James jumped off the screen was similar to the way Mark Mitchell stood out in similar footage two years ago: via pure athleticism and a body ready for the rigors of the college game. Mitchell was one of the least heralded freshmen in Scheyer’s first class, but ended up being an everyday starter in his two years in Durham. Based on this footage, it wouldn’t shock me if James has a similar impact this fall despite flying under the radar in much of the national conversation around Duke.
2: Kon Kneuppel looks like more than just a wing shooter. Based on this footage, Kneuppel may make a run at being the third best freshman on the Blue Devils and a consistent factor in the rotation. Not only did Kneuppel show off the shooting ability that was his calling card, but he appeared to be running the point for the Blue team, with Cooper Flagg handling some playmaking duties as well. If Kneuppel’s guard skills translate into real competition, that could free up Scheyer to start James and use Kneuppel as the primary “backup guard” this fall.
3: Khaman Maluach and Maliq Brown played together. In the ongoing “who starts for Duke?” discussions that dominate offseason message boards, a frontcourt pairing of Maliq Brown and Khaman Maluach has been surprisingly unpopular given the potential floor spacing issues it would create. But Brown and Maluach played together in this scrimmage, notably alongside the projected starting backcourt of Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster. At minimum, it seems like Scheyer is testing the viability of that pairing: if Brown can be a respectable three point shooter, any offensive challenges that pairing face could be more than offset by the incredible defensive ceiling they would have together.
4: Speaking of Brown, his impact may not have been “behind the scenes.” Brown didn’t have many highlights in this package, but in a separate clip posted on social media the team almost universally praised Brown as the “best defender” in the scrimmage. Even if those weren’t “highlight reel” blocks, if Brown lives up to his All-ACC defensive pedigree it’s going to be hard to keep him off the court this fall.
5: Maluach’s offense may actually be ahead of his defense. Much has been made of Maluach being a “raw” prospect given how late he came to the game of basketball. But in this footage, he showed impressive dexterity for a big man and an ability to finish strong at the rim that some of Duke’s recent young bigs have lacked early in their careers. When you couple that with what was seen from Maluach during his time playing in Africa, it’s possible he may actually be ready to contribute offensively on Day 1, but need time to adjust to the speed of the game defensively. Regardless, the way Maluach provided a lob threat to Duke’s guards, something that was largely lacking on last season’s team, has to be exciting for Blue Devil fans.
6: Cooper Flagg is, well, Cooper Flagg. In news that should shock no one, Flagg looked fantastic in this footage. The hype appears to be real, and if Flagg’s shot from deep is consistent (and not a mirage of highlight edits), it’s hard to imagine how he can be defended at the college level.