2025 Final Four Profile: Duke Blue Devils

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Written by Sean Murawski // SM Sports 

April 2nd, 2025

In 2010, Jon Scheyer had 5 assists in the national championship game. His Duke Blue Devils eked out a tremendous two point victory over upstart mid-major Butler in Indianapolis to win their fourth national championship. Five years later in 2015, Scheyer would ride shotgun as Coach K’s trusted assistant when Duke won their fifth and most recent national title over Wisconsin, also in Indianapolis. 

In 2010, Cooper Flagg was four years old. In 2015, he was nine. 

It is now 2025. Jon Scheyer— now in his third season as Duke’s head coach— has led freshman Cooper Flagg and his trusted, youthful ensemble to the program’s 18th Final Four appearance. 

The story this year for Duke was a layup, a slam dunk, a home run: Cooper Flagg. Flagg is probably the nation’s most compelling and anticipated #1 college recruits since 2019’s Zion Williamson (any guesses on what school he attended?). Hailing from Newport, ME, Flagg is undeniably Duke’s best player. He leads the Blue Devils in nearly every major stat category. He is lanky, athletic, versatile, and explosive. He is not only one of the frontrunners to win the National Player of the Year, but he is also a shoe-in to be the #1 pick in June’s NBA Draft. 

Flagg, who only turned 18 in December of this season, is not the only young player hitting it out of the park on Duke’s roster. Kon Knueppel (14.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg; 40.1 % 3pt) is a lethal sharp shooter and plays well beyond his years. Khaman Maluach (8.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.3 bpg), a freshman from South Sudan, has made great strides as Duke’s premier big man this season. Both Knueppel and Maluach should also expect to hear their names called in the NBA Draft. 

And then there’s Jon Scheyer, the youngest of the four coaches in the Final Four. At 37, Scheyer has won 89 games through his first three seasons. That is tied for first among Division I coaches all time, equaling Brad Stevens and Brad Underwood. There is a completely conceivable outcome, and perhaps a most likely outcome, that Scheyer will sit alone at the top of that list with 91 wins in San Antonio Monday night. 

Scheyer was tapped to take over for Mike Krzyzewski after the 2022 season. As Coach K’s most trusted assistant, Scheyer had a year during Krzyewski’s farewell season to learn, study, and get some ammunition for when he takes over. He took on the recruiting trail, blazing a path in his own right to begin his own chapter in the very, very long Duke textbook of champions. 

He also sat on the sidelines for two of Duke’s most embarrassing losses in their program’s history, both at the hands of bitter rival North Carolina. He was there when UNC ruined Coach K’s final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. And he was there in New Orleans when Caleb Love hit a dagger three to end Coach K’s career at the hands of his sworn enemy. The final game of Coach K’s career, a loss to those same Tar Heels in the Final Four, put a damper on the end of an otherwise sensational career for perhaps the sport’s greatest coach of all time. 

Scheyer has brought Duke back to the Final Four for the first time since that fateful night in the Bayou. This time, he holds the reins. In modern NCAA basketball, between the transfer portal and the final year of the extra COVID-season eligibility clause, youth has been thrown to the side. UConn’s previous two championships in 2023 and 2024 were decorated with experienced, older talent. Even Kentucky, a notorious one-and-done factory under John Calipari, were senior-led this season under Mark Pope.

And yet it is Duke, the always-dominant exception to the rule. Flagg, Knueppel, and Maluach are freshmen, but they are Duke’s most important players. Mason Gillis, Tyrese Proctor, and Sion James all complement the team with their experience as well, but without those three young stars, it goes without saying that Duke doesn’t make it to San Antonio. 

One stark contrast between this Duke team and teams of Duke past is the fact that this Duke team is, or at least may seem to be, a tad more likable to the general neutral fan. Looking at teams of Duke's past, there are a few common threads: success, attitude, and elite play. There is also the Coach K factor, a polarizing section of this study in and of itself. 

However, Cooper Flagg is perhaps the most demonstrative trend-breaker in decades for Duke. He has lots in common with Duke villains of the past like Christian Laettner, JJ Redick, and Grayson Allen. He is uber talented, he is athletic, he wins, and he is the best player on the court. Not to mention— let’s not ignore the elephant— he is another young, white star basketball player at Duke. 

And yet, he does not bear anywhere near the same brash controversiality that the aforementioned Blue Devils may have carried themselves with. Flagg wants to win, and by any means necessary. He does it somewhat quietly, without the trash talk or the tussling with opponents. He does it perhaps under the radar of your typical social media age basketball star. It’s not all about highlights for Flagg (although he has plenty). He is a true competitor who has dreams of reaching the pinnacle of college basketball success. In other words, he is the perfect star for the Duke Blue Devils.

When Duke takes the floor against Houston in the primetime Saturday night slot, they will be the favorite to cut down the nets. All they have done this season is show why they are the favorite: elite on both sides of the ball and a fierce fire to succeed. Two more games to go before they are etched in history as one of modern basketball’s greatest college teams. 

Sean Murawski is a writer for his own personal sports website, smsports.net. He publishes weekly columns and rankings on men’s college basketball, as well as coverage columns for the MLB.