Flagg flying: 3 takeaways from Duke basketball’s scrimmage at Countdown to Craziness

At the opening tip of Duke’s Blue-White Scrimmage Friday night, Cooper Flagg found his spot in the center circle, looked down as his uniform and ran his hand across the letters on his chest.

For the first time at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the heralded freshman played in a Duke uniform, with the team’s famed arena filled with fans.

He may be already projected as the No. 1 pick in next summer’s NBA Draft, but Flagg said he appreciated his official introduction to Duke’s fans at the team’s annual Countdown to Craziness.

“Obviously, it’s an incredible environment,” the 6-9 Flagg said. “Get that feeling, get that first bump up in Cameron when its filled like that, it’s something you can’t really describe. You have to feel it.”

The majority of Duke’s players went through that same feeling Friday night. The only two players returning from last season’s regular rotation are junior guard Tyrese Proctor and sophomore guard Caleb Foster. Deep reserves like crowd-favorite Spencer Hubbard, Stanley Borden and Neal Begovich knew the drill, but everyone else experienced what it’s like to play before the Cameron Crazies for the first time in the team’s 20-minute scrimmage.

Duke went 27-9 and won three NCAA Tournament games to fall one win short of the Final Four. The result was roster turnover as Jon Scheyer, in his third season as Duke’s head coach, seeks even more success.

“We have a group that plays hard naturally and they compete,” Scheyer said. “You know, it was amazing for me watching, I mean, eight of the 10 players on the court have never played a game here in a Duke uniform, so I’m just happy they could experience that.”

Here are three takeaways from Duke’s scrimmage:

Well, Cooper Flagg looked ... good

Flagg hit a step-back 3-pointer late in the scrimmage after earlier completing a transition reverse through traffic in the lane.

Those were the kind of plays he regularly made on the summer grassroots circuit as the recruit every major program in the nation wanted to secure.

Overall, Flagg scored 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting in his 20 minutes of play. He grabbed three rebounds and was credited with two assists.

That’s a productive stat line, but Scheyer saw something he’d seen before in Flagg — hesitancy.

It’s something Scheyer noticed last July when Flagg was selected to practice and scrimmage against the U.S. Olympic team as it prepared to go to Paris. On the first day, Flagg was hesitant. On the second day, he made so many plays a highlight video of him became a YouTube sensation.

So when Duke next plays at Cameron, in exhibition games against Division II Lincoln (Pa.) on Oct. 19 or Arizona State on Oct. 27, Flagg figures to be more comfortable.

“For Cooper, especially, he’s a guy that just takes him one time, and I think he’s got it,” Scheyer said. “I think, just for him, it’s playing in Cameron tonight, getting a feel of what’s going to happen. You can see for us how important he is, how many different ways he can impact winning, blocking shots, passing, scoring.”

Keep an eye on Kon Knueppel

Flagg is the crown jewel of the No. 1-rated recruiting class Scheyer attracted to Duke to restock this season’s team, but he’s far from the only impact player.

Kon Knueppel, a 6-7 small forward from Milwaukee, looked comfortable immediately. He scored eight points with four rebounds and two assists in the first nine minutes of play. That included a transition 3-pointer where he found his spot in the corner, took a pass and, almost as quickly as the ball hit his hands, he fired a shot that swished through the net.

That quick shot could make him a big scorer for the Blue Devils this season.

“He’s a no dip guy, he doesn’t dip when he catches and it allows him to just have a small window of opportunity to get his shots off,” Scheyer said. “I think the biggest compliment you can give to a shooter is, do they shoot the same ball all the time? And he does. Now, that doesn’t mean goes in every time. But he shoots the same ball. It’s simple, it’s clean. He’s got good base.”

Knueppel hit 2 of 5 3-pointers in the scrimmage.

Foster looks strong in return

Foster didn’t play the last part of February and all of March after breaking a bone in his foot during a Duke loss at Wake Forest.

As one of two players with starting experience for Duke on this season’s roster, his play and health is important to Scheyer.

Foster poured in 16 points, more than any other player Friday night. in his 18 minutes, 36 seconds of scrimmage play. He made 5 of 11 shots, including 2 of his 5 3-pointers while handing out four assists.

He has high praise for this reconstituted Duke team filled with new teammates.

“We want to win,” Foster said. “We compete hard. Every practice we come into is competitive as can be. I don’t feel like we’ve had one bad day. It’s the most competitive team I’ve ever played on and we just can’t wait to team up, finally stop playing each other and get to unleash it on somebody else.”