‘Welcome back, Maliq’: Brown’s impact on Duke men's basketball evident in decisive win against North Carolina

Duke is a very good team without Maliq Brown. With him, the Blue Devils rise past the bar for great and approach that elusive title of best.

In an emotion-filled, hyped-up rivalry contest, Duke dominated North Carolina 87-70 in its most complete performance — particularly in the first half — since beating Pittsburgh Jan. 7. Those two games have one thing in common: Brown’s last full game before suffering a knee injury came against the Panthers, and his first game back was against the Tar Heels. The Syracuse transfer did not fill up the stat sheet — his only bucket came with under a minute remaining — but it does not take a basketball savant to see that Brown is indispensable for the Blue Devils.

“It's a game that was calling for Maliq Brown. It really was,” head coach Jon Scheyer said.

Duke’s defense — and Brown’s role in it — has been talked about at length all season. From the moment he entered the game and immediately came up with a steal, Brown’s active hands made life difficult for North Carolina ball handlers. However, that is only the surface of what he brings to the table.

Both Scheyer and junior Tyrese Proctor pointed to Brown’s passing as an area of strength. Proctor was the recipient of one such dime, as Brown spotted the Australian cutting through the lane and hit him in stride for an easy layup. Plays like this have the same natural feel that freshman Cooper Flagg often evokes; Brown excels at making the right play at the right time, without introducing unnecessary complexity.

“I thought he had some really nice passes. [He’s] easy to play with. He just is a winner,” Scheyer said after the game. “I think that was the biggest thing with him, having him back in the fold helped [us] in every aspect offensively and defensively.”

Brown was not the only Blue Devil sharing the wealth Saturday — he had just two of Duke’s 20 assists. But it was no coincidence that the Blue Devils’ most efficient offensive output in weeks coincided with Brown’s return to the lineup.

“He's such a good passer. That goes under the radar, him being able to deliver passes on target and just get us going,” Proctor said.

The separating factor for the Blue Devils this season has been their willingness to take what the defense offers. Flagg often played the role of playmaker Saturday, looking over the heads of a double-team to find an open shooter or giving up the ball in transition to a teammate with a better scoring opportunity. Similarly, Knueppel excelled at handling the ball in the pick-and-roll, generating clean looks for himself and others all night. That kind of free-flowing offense was absent in close wins against Wake Forest and N.C. State, even though Flagg and Knueppel still found their own scoring.

While Brown is often not the one in the spotlight, he shoulders a huge weight for Duke. With Brown on the court on defense, the rest of the team does not need to worry about helping on his man. They can rely on him to defend, help if their man beats them and crash the glass. If nothing else, this gives the team a confidence it can carry over to the offensive end. 

“Welcome back, Maliq. We are so happy to have him back,” guard Sion James said. “We've been counting down the days at this point. [Patrick Ngongba II and Maluach] have been incredible this whole time, and they bring something really special. Maliq brings something really different.”

Whether it’s referred to as unselfishness, high basketball IQ or any other synonym for strong team play, Brown embodies what it means to be a perfect teammate. As the season wears on and regular-season bragging rights give way to postseason aspirations, connectors like Brown will be just as important as superstars like Flagg.