What we learned about Cooper Flagg and Duke in the Blue Devils’ season-opening win

In his highly anticipated Duke debut, Cooper Flagg — the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft — scored 18 points as the No. 7 Blue Devils defeated Maine 96-62 on Monday.

Flagg made 6 of 15 shots and added seven rebounds and five assists. He exited the game late with cramping.

All eyes were on Flagg, the reigning National Gatorade Player of the Year, entering the game. But it was fellow freshman Kon Knueppel who made his presence known early. Knueppel, a forward, finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting, plus four rebounds and two assists.

looks like Coop enjoys those breakaway dunks @JonScheyer pic.twitter.com/IEE3VeZ1kq

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) November 5, 2024

Duke led by 11 points at the half and maintained a double-figure lead throughout most of the game. Maine hung around well until an 11-0 Duke run early in the second half blew things open.

The Blue Devils host Army on Friday before a marquee matchup with No. 23 Kentucky on Tuesday in Atlanta in the Champions Classic.

Flagg flashes, as expected, in Duke debut

The flashiest Flagg highlight from his first college game came late in the first half when Flagg dribbled around a screen and found the lane wide open. He wasted no time, immediately charging up when he saw the space and elevating for a thunderous one-handed dunk; unsurprisingly, that was the loudest Cameron Indoor Stadium got all night.

COOOOOOP 👀👀 (ACCN) pic.twitter.com/K9gkbl04Xu

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) November 5, 2024

Flagg had another full-court steal-and-slam midway through the second half, but at this rate, trying to keep track of all his “moments” will get unwieldy pretty quickly. Shocker: the hype around arguably the best high school prospect of the last decade was warranted.

As for Flagg’s overall game, highlights aside? It was also mostly as advertised, although he was slightly passive again early in the game. The extra defensive attention he drew in the first half opened things up in a major way for Knueppel — more on him in a second — and Flagg accordingly didn’t force much before halftime. He only had eight points at the break — although he would’ve had more if two NBA-esque continuation plays had counted — but still chipped in four assists, three rebounds and a steal in the opening 20 minutes.

The 17-year-old phenom was much more assertive in the second half and consistently showed the versatility that’s earned him such praise. His ability to go from a back-to-the-basket post presence to a face-up perimeter driver is rarely seen from players his age.

The only people who could’ve possibly been disappointed by Flagg’s debut were those expecting him to lead the Blue Devils in scoring. But that’s never been his game — nor does he need to pour in points to be Duke’s most impactful two-way player. That said, if I were forecasting someone to lead Duke in scoring this season, it would easily be Knueppel. — Brendan Marks, Duke beat writer

The Knueppel hype is real, and only beginning

Duke coach Jon Scheyer has admitted that he and his staff didn’t expect Knueppel — the No. 18 recruit in the 2024 class, per the 247Sports composite — to be this good this early. But the 6-foot-7 wing was a revelation this summer, and he quickly emerged not just as one of Duke’s best players, but as arguably its most potent scoring threat. That was on display in the Blue Devils’ two exhibition games and again against Maine.

Knueppel developed his scoring aptitude playing against older, stronger players in his father’s men’s league back home in Milwaukee, and it’s immediately translated to the college level. Most impressive of all, though, is his shooting potential. On one first-half sequence, forward Maliq Brown stole the ball and was driving in transition, only to slip and lose his handle — but Knueppel, trailing on the play, picked the ball up and shot it almost without looking, draining one of his eventual three 3-pointers.

He’s shown the potential already to pour in a barrage of 3-pointers once the first one drops, which is exactly the kind of microwave scoring Duke needs to balance out its smothering defense.

Knueppel’s hype train is already well underway — The Athletic’s NBA draft expert Sam Vecenie wrote that he’s one of the players scouts have been most impressed with this preseason — but is only going to pick up steam if he continues this torrid scoring pace against better competition. He looks like another lottery lock. — Marks

Duke’s ceiling is still sky high, but it has kinks to work out

The final score — Duke even covered a 30.5-point spread — might not indicate it, but Scheyer’s team was far from perfect in its season opener.

For starters, this was a single-digit game for most of the first half. Maine even out-rebounded Duke 18-16 in the first half, despite the Blue Devils not having a rotation player under 6-foot-5; Scheyer won’t be happy about his team’s early efforts on the boards.

Also worth following moving forward is how Duke’s shot diet changes in close games. After drawing seven fouls in the first seven minutes on Monday, Duke only drew one more personal foul in the first half, wasting an early bonus that could’ve easily extended its lead.

Duke has the capacity to hit 3s at a high rate — it made 11 against the Black Bears, after all — but it can’t fall in love with the deep ball at the detriment of its penetration inside. — Marks

Required reading

(Photo: Lance King / Getty Images)