Blue Devils Open 2024-25 Season at Countdown to Craziness

From Duke Sports Information

The Duke men's basketball team tipped off its 2024-25 season with the annual Countdown to Craziness event on Friday, Oct. 4, inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The night started with each player on the Duke women's basketball team being introduced to fans, head coach Kara Lawson addressing the crowd and the team playing a 12-minute scrimmage. The men's team was next up for player introductions, followed by third-year head coach Jon Scheyer. The Blue Devils then played two 10-minute games, with Team White prevailing in game one, 20-17, while Team Blue pulled away in game two, 37-21.

Isaiah Evans led Team White in game one with eight points, while Cooper Flagg led the team in game two with nine points. For Team Blue, Kon Knueppel scored eight points in the first game before Caleb Foster exploded for 14 points, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, in game two.


​HOW IT HAPPENED

In game one, Darren Harris opened Team Blue's scoring with a fast-break three-pointer. Kon Knueppel added a three-pointer of his own on the team's next trip down the floor to make it an early six-point lead.

Tyrese Proctor got Team White on the board from the charity stripe, just over two minutes into action. A three-pointer from Sion James followed by a runner by Cooper Flagg gave Team White its first lead of the night, 7-6.

Team White edged out Team Blue in the first game, 20-17. Knueppel led his team with eight points alongside four rebounds and two assists, while Isaiah Evans' eight points paced Team White in the first half.

Team Blue raced out to a quick six-point lead in game two, before Flagg's putback layup and reverse dunk on back-to-back possessions narrowed the margin to just two, 6-4, for Team White.

Khaman Maluach knocked down a three-pointer with just over seven minutes on the clock. Following a response from deep by Proctor for Team White, back-to-back connections from beyond the arc by Caleb Foster and Neal Begovich gave their squad a double-digit lead, 17-7.

At the media timeout of the second game, Team Blue held a 25-9 advantage. Two free throws by Evans pulled Team White within 13 points, 28-15, with two minutes remaining in game two, but Team Blue held on over the final 90 seconds for the victory in game two, 37-21.


QUOTES

"It's great to be back in Cameron, earlier than ever, but we wanted to that just so our guys could get a feel for what it's like playing here. For me, this is 14 or 15, in terms of Countdowns. And every time I see the crowd lining up of students, it's the best.  I feel we have the pieces to have a really good team. You can see we're still far away from putting it all together, and we need to be a defensive-minded team. Naturally, as a younger team, you think about offense more. But for us, that's going to be the step where we can really become a special team, when we're thinking about defense first, second, and third, and then offense will take care of it itself. We have a group that plays hard naturally. They compete. It was amazing for me watching. 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." - head coach Jon Scheyer


"It's an unbelievable feeling.  This is definitely one of the most competitive teams I've been on, so it's good to get out there and get the juices flowing in Cameron in front of the best fans in the world.  I just like to remind everybody that we're blessed to be in the position that we are.  Not a lot of players get to come and play at Duke and play in this environment.  It's definitely a blessing, so just cherish the moment because it goes by quick.  I remember last year, after Countdown, the season just flew by so fast. Cherish every moment." - sophomore guard Caleb Foster


"Incredible environment.  You can't really describe it, the feeling when you're out there playing.  It was a great feeling, just to be out there and get my first feel in Cameron.  I can't wait [to play another team].  I look forward to that every single day.  I'm just trying to get better in practice and looking forward to getting somebody else [to play against]." - freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg