It all seems to have gone downhill for Jon Scheyer and Co. after that devastating Final Four loss against Houston on April 5. Now, there is a Flagg-shaped hole in their program, with no scope for a like-for-like replacement. If the Duke team was a solar system, Flagg was the sun; everything revolved around him. Not only did he lead all, yes, all attacking and defensive statistics for the team, but the team also depended on his creativity.
“The ways he impacted the game on both ends of the floor, really in every category, was off the charts,” is what Jon Scheyer said about him. But now, with Flagg gone, the team must look forward. The next season is looking tricky for Scheyer with more of his first-team players out the door and towards the NBA.
It was quite naive to expect Cooper Flagg to be back for another season, but every Duke fan had some glimmer of hope in their hearts. Unfortunately, that door is now completely closed. Star freshman Kon Knueppel also officially declared for the 2025 NBA Draft, along with Tyrese Proctor. And just like that, Jon Scheyer has now lost three of his premier starters. Khaman Maluach has not announced what he’s doing next year, but he’s widely expected to move to the NBA. The fans have been obviously frustrated by the lack of Duke’s movement in the transfer portal so far, considering these monumental losses.
In this flurry of losing players, there is a positive as well. The young coach faced an impossible task this spring, especially in this day and age of transfers. Scheyer has lost zero scholarship players to the portal from a Final Four team. In addition to that, they are looking at an amazing recruiting class with some spots to fill in the portal. This tactical brilliance surprised Zion Olojede, an insider and the co-host of The Field of 68 podcast.
In this chaotic era of college basketball, Jon Scheyer just lost ZERO scholarship players to the portal from a Final Four team.
Add that to a great recruiting class and spots to fill in the portal, he’s cooking again… pic.twitter.com/CGryz2OXCV
— Zion O. (@DukeNBA) April 23, 2025
Duke’s 2025 recruiting class is absolutely loaded with potential. The Blue Devils finished with the top-ranked recruiting class last cycle, and this upcoming class is also ranked No. 1 overall by 247Sports. The poster boy of the class is five-star forward Cameron Boozer, the son of Duke and NBA legend Carlos Boozer. A projected top 3 pick for next year’s NBA draft, Boozer will bring in star power to the Blue Devils. Another five-star forward joining Duke is Nikolas Khamenia, who exclusively chose Duke over many of the other top programs in the country.
One of the great characteristics of Duke Basketball for a long time now has been that great players leave, and you wonder how they’ll ever be replaced – and not long after the season starts, you don’t really think about them anymore. This culture of quickly moving on to the next big thing will certainly help the Blue Devils. Isiah Evans will also return to Duke next season, as he has decided not to enter the NBA draft. Evans will further polish his skills in college so he can be better prepared for the NBA.
Duke barely make top 10 in Jon Rothstein’s College Basketball Rankings
It seems like Jon Scheyer has done a good enough job to prevent the scholarship players from entering the transfer portal and recruiting an A1-quality freshman class. Despite this, they are barely cracking the top 10 in CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein’s latest ROTHSTEIN 45 offseason edition.
NCAA, College League, USA Basketball: Final Four National Semifinal-Houston at Duke Apr 5, 2025 San Antonio, TX, USA Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer directs players before a semifinal of the men s Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. San Antonio Alamodome TX USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xBobxDonnanx 20250405_jcd_sd2_0212
Rothstein predicts a starting lineup of junior guard Caleb Foster, freshman guard Cayden Boozer, sophomore wing Isaiah Evans, freshman forward Cameron Boozer, and sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II. It is a realistic prediction, but with still some time to go for the transfer portal, there could be some changes. The Blue Devils currently stand 9th in this ranking, just barely making the cut for the top 10. Houston, who defeated Duke in the top-four game, currently sits at the top with its current squad. Last year, Duke basketball ranked No. 7 in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, but finished in the top four.
It’s still a mystery who Duke is seriously after in the portal, but as Jon Scheyer said in a different context a few years ago, there are a lot of talented players out there. With a program the size of Duke, they can swoop in and steal anyone away from anyone at any time if they want to. Scheyer will be looking to shut up the critics and guide the Blue Devils to yet another successful season.
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