Duke Basketball Addresses Last Year’s Weakness

​Coach Jon Scheyer utilized the transfer portal for a specific type of player

Photo courtesy of @DukeMBB on X

This article is written by @DukeReport contributor, Josh Cox.

I sat on press row in Cameron Indoor Stadium as Blake Hinson celebrated in front of the Cameron Crazies. Hinson had just completed one of the most impressive stat lines from a visiting player Duke had ever seen. What impressed me was not the 24 total points or the gaudy 7/7 shooting from behind the arc. What stood out to me was the grown-man attitude that Hinson brought to the court that night.

We have all been around one of those older guys who still has some serious game. It is great cinema to watch some young up-and-comers think they are going to dominate the vet only to see the opposite happen. The grown man wins, and be certain that he will let the young bucks hear about it.

The 2023-2024 rendition of Duke basketball reminded me of the young up-and-comers. They had some great talent and physical ability up and down the roster. And when everything was clicking, they could beat anyone they faced. But far too many times, a Blake Hinson scenario played out. No, not a 7/7 shooting night from 3 (even though Duke has come to expect at least one player from an opposing team to play the game of his life in Cameron), but a grown man being more aggressive and possessing that no-nonsense mindset. The mindset that says, “I will punch you first, and every time you punch me back, I will punch again.”

As I had an up-close look at last year’s Blue Devil roster, I came to the realization that they lacked one thing: toughness. This is not an indictment on any of the individual players. They were all talented, and they all possessed some level of individual toughness. But as a unit, they were not defined by toughness. If they got punched in the mouth, I am not sure they would punch back.

The season ended with Duke making a run to the Elite 8 and losing to a fiery NC State team playing to keep Kevin Keatts’ job. The morning after their final loss, the conversations about next year’s roster began. As Head Coach Jon Scheyer mentioned on The Brotherhood podcast as well as in his interview with The Devils Den, he approached the potential returning players with brutal honesty. No one would be guaranteed anything heading into this season. There was a reset button pressed by Scheyer and his staff. They brought in Cooper Flagg, arguably the most highly-touted high school recruit in over a decade. The roster had to be built to maximize Flagg’s game; because maximizing Flagg’s game is Duke’s best bet to hang that sixth National Title banner.

As players made their decisions, Duke wound up only bringing back two scholarship players (sorry, Spencer, I know you technically are, but you get it) in Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor. After a late commitment from South Sudan Olympian, Khaman Maluach, Duke had six incoming freshmen heading to Durham. The transfer portal was going to be crucial in building the 2024-2025 roster.

Scheyer and Company landed four wings in Cameron Sheffield, Maliq Brown, Mason Gillis, and Sion James. For the sake of my point, I will focus on the latter three. Brown, Gillis, and James while uniquely talented in their own ways, possess similarities. All three are grown men. Their physical attributes are undeniable. All three are TOUGH.

Brown was a first-team ACC All-Defensive Team player for Syracuse, often locking down on the opposing team’s best player. He is a guy who can guard any position. And as anyone in Cameron saw when Syracuse came to town, he can also compete on the offensive end.

Gillis was the Sixth Man of the Year in the Big Ten, bringing an edge to a Purdue team who would ultimately lose in the National Title game. But his toughness (and pettiness…we all love a bit of pettiness) can be seen in a pregame interaction with the Indiana Hoosiers. As the IU roster approached the foul line early for the singing of the National Anthem, Gillis was preparing to shoot a couple of final free throws, which he drained with IU players just inches from his face.

James was a team leader and physical specimen at Tulane. He not only led his team on the offensive end, but turned himself into a lock-down defender. Oh and have you seen how this guy gets down in the weight room?

While Duke may not have signed any of the top five players in the portal, they absolutely addressed last year’s weakness. They got tougher. These grown men will bring an edge with them that lets Duke’s opponents know that they will no longer be celebrating wins in Cameron by jumping on press row in front of the Cameron Crazies. These grown men, should they get punched, will always punch back.

As recent history has shown us, talented freshmen are great, but they can typically take a team but so far. National Titles are won with a grown-man toughness provided by veteran leadership. And Duke used the transfer portal to upgrade in the grown-man toughness category.