There are many incredible men’s college basketball teams, however one team in particular has just done it better than everyone else. That one team is the Duke Blue Devils.
Duke University is home to one of the best college men’s basketball teams in the country. Filled with the top athletes in the country, and coached by some of the best coaches in the nation, Duke Men’s College Basketball has risen to the top. For several decades Duke has been known to produce some of the best basketball players who have gone to the NBA.
In total, Duke men’s basketball has sent 36 players to the NBA as of 2023. Some of these players are Grant Hill, J.J Redick, Zion Williamson, Jason Tatum, Brandon Ingram, Kyrie Irving, Grayson Allen, Christian Laettner and most recently Jared McCain and Kyle Filipowski. Grant Hill has brought Duke the two national championships, Christian Lawttner brought Duke to three final four appearances and two national championships, and JJ Redick is now the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Additionally, outside of the extraordinary players, the coaches are also what contribute to Duke Men’s Basketball’s greatness. One of the greatest coaches in college men’s basketball history coached at Duke was Michael (Mike) Krzyzewski, also known as Coach K.
Coach K spent forty-two years from 1980-2022. Prior to being the Duke Men’s Basketball coach, Coach K was a coach for Indiana Hoosiers Men’s Basketball from 1970-1975, and the Army Black Knights Men’s Basketball head coach from 1975-1980.
In addition to coaching at Duke, Coach K was the Team USA Men’s Basketball coach from 2006-2016. Under Coach K, Duke men’s basketball has had five national championships (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015), 957 career wins which is the most in NCAA history, 844 home game victories (including 402 ACC wins); also 82 NCAA tournament victories (first all-time), 11 final four appearances, 12 ACC regular season championships, 13 ACC tournament championships. Furthermore, Coach K holds the record of 1,018-310 games in the forty-two years he has coached at Duke.
Duke men’s basketball is known to be an ‘NBA factory’ meaning that even if they are on the bench for the majority of the players’ years on the team, those players are still some of the best players in college basketball, and many players on Duke’s team are NBA bound. Throughout Coach K’s time at Duke, he produced seven national players of the year (nine honors), six national defensive players of the year (nine honors), 45 NBA Draft selections and 25 of those picks were first round, 17 NBA lottery picks, and finally 27 All-American selections (41 honors).
Coach K put Duke men’s basketball on the charts permanently during his coaching years. For example, Duke men’s basketball had a total of 506 weeks ranked among the nation’s top twenty-five teams, four hundred forty-five weeks ranked among the nation’s top ten teams, 109 weeks ranked number one in the country, and ten consecutive Top ten AP Poll teams(1997-2006). Additionally, Coach K has become one of the best basketball coaches in the country. He was named National Coach of the Year by eight different organizations: UPI and Chevrolet (1986), Naismith (1989), the NABC (1991), The Sporting News, and Naismith (1992), and the Victor Awards (2001). Following all of those awards, Mike Krzyzewski was named the Claire Bee Coach of the year that honors the active Division one men’s basketball coach “who has made the most significant positive contribution to his sport during the preceding year.” (CoachK.com). In all, Coach K is one of the leading factors to why Duke men’s basketball is one of the greatest teams in college basketball.
Another great coach who is rising in his coaching career is former Duke basketball player, Jon Scheyer. Jon Scheyer played for Duke from 2011-2013, and would have gone to the NBA but had an eye injury and had to stop playing. However, Coach Scheyer was the assistant coach for Coach K from 2014-2022.
In 2022 Coach Scheyer took over as the head coach of the Duke men’s basketball team. His first season as head coach he led Duke to a 27-9 record. His extraordinary coaching led Duke to a nine game winning streak in the NCAA tournament. Continuing on to his second year as head coach, Scheyer led Duke again to a 27-9 game winning streak and up to the Final Four in the March Madness tournament in the 2023-2024 season.
According to Go Duke (goduke.com), “Scheyer posted the most overall wins (54), most conference wins (29) and the most NCAA Tournament wins (4). Scheyer’s overall win percentage (.750) through his first two seasons is the best since Eddie Cameron in 1928-30 (.750/30-10), and his conference win percentage (.725) is the best since Harold Bradley in 1950-52 (.743).” Additionally, Jon Scheyer’s eye for talent is unmatched as he is one of the best recruiters in the country. During the 2022-2023 campaign he recruited the nation’s number one ranked class freshmen.
There are many incredible men’s college basketball teams, however one team in particular has just done it better than everyone else. That one team is the Duke Blue Devils.
When we think of Duke men’s basketball, you cannot forget about this past season. Our roster included some of the best players in the nation. The Duke men’s basketball starting lineup(s) included Maliq Brown (#6), Isaiah Evans (#3), Caleb Foster (#1), Mason Gillis (#18), Sion James (#14), Kon Knueppel (#7), Khaman Maluach (#9), Tyrese Proctor (#5), Patrick Ngongba (#21), and the notorious Cooper Flagg (#2). These players have so much talent for this sport it is unmatched.
Starting with Maliq Brown, who was a transfer from Syracuse University. Brown had an awful injury this year dislocating his shoulder, but he is still considered a better rebounder than 98% of college basketball players.
Second, Isaiah Evans. Evans is a five-star athlete who was the McDonald’s All-American Player in 2024 before the season with Duke began. He is known for his sharp shooting making 43.8% field goal percentage and 6.8 average points per game.
Third we have Caleb Foster, with a 41.7% field goal percentage and an average of 4.9 points a game. Other star players on this team include Sion James who was a graduate transfer student from Tulane. He is an amazing guard helping Duke’s defense improve compared to last year.
Mason Gillis who is another star player was also a graduate transfer student from Purdue. Gillis is a forward for Duke who contributed to Duke’s offense, he averaged a 41.3% field goal percentage and 4.1 points per game.
Additionally, we have Patrick Ngongba || who was ranked the top Virginia high school player. Ngongba has a 71.9% field goal percentage.
We can not forget to mention Tyrese Proctor, a junior from Australia who is one of Duke’s best shooters. Compared to last season, Proctor has improved immensely with his shooting and defensive abilities. Tyrese Proctor is one of the best guards in men’s college basketball. He averages 12.9 points per game and has a 45.2% field goal percentage.
Now for the big three of Duke men’s basketball team: Khaman Maluach, Kon Kneuppel, and Cooper Flagg. All three of these players are NBA bound and would place in the 1st-5th round picks if they decide to enter the NBA draft. First we have Khaman Maluach. Maluach is a seven foot one, five star freshman athlete from South Sudan who has played against the best of the best such as Lebron James in the Olympics. Maluach is one of the best players in the world who has some of the best blocks and guarding skills. He averages 8.6 points per game and has a 71.9% field goal percentage.
Second, we have Kon Kneuppel who is a freshman that is carrying out the bloodline of college basketball. Being a part of a family where his parents played for division one college basketball, he has been raised to be one of the best guards in the country. He has contributed to Duke’s offense and defense with an average of 14.6 points per game with a 47.9 field goal percentage.
Finally we have the one and only Cooper Flagg. From being a kid growing up in Newport, Maine, he was a sophomore in high school and he led his basketball team to state championships. Flagg then moved to Florida to play for Montverde Academy, and once again he led Montverde Academy men’s basketball team to become the Florida state champions in 2024. Cooper Flagg was a McDonald’s All American player and as a senior in high school was the Gatorade National Men Athlete of the Year (2024), and Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2024).
During his first year at Duke University, he had an average of 30.6 minutes per game where he led the team to the Final Four this past March Madness. Cooper Flagg’s regular season stats consisted of averaging 23.4 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game, 4.2 assists per game, and had a 48.1% field goal percentage. He is an impressive defensive player as well as offensive player, knowing who is open and where a path is clear to dunk!
Throughout his freshman year he has been stated to be the number one overall draft pick player. All year at Duke, Flagg has been receiving many awards such as ACC player of the year, ACC Rookie of the Year, All-ACC First team, ACC ALl-Defensive team, ACC All-Rookie team, ACC All-Rookie team. In other words, Cooper Flagg leads Duke in ACC awards as of the 2024-2025 season. Furthermore, more awards he has received are the John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year, Associated Press (AP) National Player of the Year, National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Player of the Year, and the U.S Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Player of the Year. Eyes have been on him since he was a freshman in high school.
Moreover, the Duke men’s basketball team has a special bond with each other that benefits them on the court. Duke has been proven to be champions in all tournaments since the beginning, the coaches are the best of the best, and the players have developed strong relationships that benefit them on and off the court. Therefore, Duke Men’s Basketball is one of the bests in the nation no matter win or lose.
