The Freshmen are the Stars, but the Transfers are the Catalyst to Duke’s Success

Jon Scheyer and his staff have done what’s very hard to do – built the perfectly balanced basketball team. The Blue Devils have the star in Cooper Flagg, the sharp shooters in Kon Knueppel and Isaiah Evans, rim protection and post presence in Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba…and those are just the freshmen.

Add to the top freshman class in the country Duke veterans Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster, and transfers Sion James, Maliq Brown and Mason Gillis – you have a team that’s perfectly tailored to make a run in March.

While most of the talk has been about Duke’s impressive freshmen – and rightfully so – it’s their transfers who will be the catalyst to the Blue Devils’ ultimate goal of reaching the Final Four.

Sion James has brought steadiness to the back court, Maliq Brown is an elite front court defender who plays bigger than his 6’9″ listed height and Mason Gillis has both the big-game and big play experience that has helped balance team in close-game situations. But it’s their toughness and competitiveness head coach Jon Scheyer says has had the biggest impact.

“Each of them have different backgrounds, but they all came here hungry to win. It wasn’t about their stats,” Scheyer said during Monday’s ACC coaches’ call. “I think that’s a big thing, because a lot of times it can be about their stats. And even though they all have individual goals, they’ve been amazing connectors for us and as good of competitors as we have on the team.”

“That’s what you really want your experience to bring to the table,” he continued. “And so for me, we’ve batted 1000 with our transfers in terms of what they’ve brought to the table and how they’ve impacted winning and that’s by far the biggest thing. They’ve brought a toughness and competitiveness, and they’re connectors in terms of making others better on the court.”

The Blue Devils remain perfect in the ACC (11-0) as they begin a two-game stretch of tough road contests at Syracuse and Clemson. With the attention getting greater and everyone looking to take down number one, the leadership of Brown, James and Gillis will be even more essential help keep the team focused on the end goal as they close out league play and head into March Madness.