Just a couple of days ago, Duke Blue Devils’ superstar freshman, Cooper Flagg, made a huge announcement about his future. The 18-year-old Wooden Award winner and long-presumed No. 1 pick declared for this season’s NBA Draft on Monday. This sent shockwaves not just in the college basketball circuit but in the entire hoops world. Many believed that the Flagg would return for another year with the Blue Devils, as despite winning several individual accolades, he failed to win the coveted national championship. Nonetheless, Flagg put those speculations to rest by making the announcement. While the future seems bright for Flagg, it has cast a shadow over the program run by Jon Scheyer.
That’s because, according to ESPN’s latest NCAA men’s basketball team rankings, Duke has fallen to the 11th spot, with the Purdue Boilermakers occupying the No. 1 spot. Meanwhile, the team that eliminated Duke heartbreakingly from the Final-Four of the March Madness tournament, the Houston Cougars, is second on the list. This has raised several concerns for the Duke team heading into the fourth year under Jon Scheyer’s guidance. While Cooper Flagg’s exit has had a massive impact on the team’s future, unfortunately, it isn’t the only one. Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach have also said their goodbyes to the program.
Moreover, Sion James has exhausted his college eligibility, and star guard Tyrese Proctor will also be turning pro. With that, the Blue Devils are looking at a major overhaul in their starting lineup, and that isn’t good news for Jon Scheyer. Also, this is the major reason for the drop in the newest college program rankings. However, it’s not all bad, as Jon Scheyer has made some tough roster decisions before as well. He had to let go of the likes of Jeremy Roach, Mark Mitchell, and a few others to build about Flagg. By doing so, he turned the Blue Devils into one of the biggest, fastest, and strongest teams.
Updated Way-Too-Early Top 25 with the portal closing — including a new No. 1 and a St. John’s jump:
1. Purdue
2. Houston
3. St. John’s
4. Texas Tech
5. Louisville
6. UConn
7. BYU
8. Michigan
9. Arkansas
10. Kentucky
11. Duke
12. Arizona
13-25 https://t.co/1VL38T6bKy
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 23, 2025
Sure, Cooper Flagg might not be in their ranks anymore, but the Duke head coach has a clear blueprint of how to build a successful roster. Additionally, he’ll get a significant boost with Isaiah Evans and Caleb Foster’s return to Durham. Evans has been compared to the likes of Brandon Ingram. However, he did not get much of a chance as he averaged just 13.7 minutes. Meanwhile, Foster broke into the starting five but was replaced by James. So, this season will be massive for both the young stars. But the question is, will they be able to prove themselves, or will Cooper Flagg and others’ exit prove too much of an ask?
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