Eight-and-a-half minutes into a physical contest with Florida State Saturday evening, it was a three-point game. Duke had missed five of its six 3-point attempts, and hadn’t scored in more than three minutes. On his own offensive end, Cooper Flagg took an elbow to the face and went down hard. He stayed face down on the court for a moment and made it up and back to the bench with the help of his coach and teammates. A few minutes later, he was escorted to the locker room, the right side of his face bruised.
In a game that Duke was initially favored by 22.5, head coach Jon Scheyer had lost his best player, and the Seminoles were breathing down his team’s neck. Forty-five seconds later, after two Mason Gillis free throws, the Blue Devils got caught on the switch and Kon Knueppel shifted down to the corner, leaving Taylor Bol Bowen with an uncontested three that he drained. Two-point game.
Gillis ended his team’s four-plus-minute field-goal drought with a triple of his own and Knueppel drove through four defenders for a fast-break and-one, but Florida State was still well in reach. So when Sion James picked up his second foul with 9:28 remaining in the period, Scheyer turned to someone new.
Darren Harris’ number hasn’t been called often this year, especially in close games. That hasn’t slowed the freshman. He was the first recruit in Scheyer’s 2024 class, committing in October 2022. He flew under the radar of his classmates, and while he hasn’t had the same on-court time, he has been grinding to get there.
“You guys don't get a chance to see it all the time, but I do, and we do as a staff, the work he does every day,” Scheyer said of Harris.
“He's working really, really hard outside of practice with the coaches,” Knueppel said.
Harris nearly doubled his career high in minutes Saturday night, putting in 17 and showing out on both sides of the court. Gillis caught Harris cutting down from the foul line, and Harris laid it in and was fouled while doing so. When he entered in the second half, his impact was once again immediate, grabbing a defensive board. That represented a common theme throughout, multiple Blue Devils — starters and role players alike — doing the little things well for Duke to win.
At the eight-minute mark, a Patrick Ngongba II steal set up a three-shot possession for the Blue Devils. Isaiah Evans and Harris each missed a 3-pointer, with Gillis grabbing the first board and Knueppel getting second, which he kicked back out to Evans. The Fayetteville, N.C., native had missed his first five attempts, but that one went through.
“We're used to him just making shots all the time,” Scheyer said. “And then he stuck with it.”
Evans didn’t just start scoring. He took a bit to settle in and shake the nerves of his first start, but from then on, Evans was locked in. Just under the seven-minute mark, he began to dribble in from the arc and, taking on contact, was able to get the ball to Ngongba under the basket for an easy layup. Evans got his own quick bucket on the next possession, a fast-break layup assisted by Knueppel.
“[Evans has] grown so much this year. You know, the scoring and shooting. He's always had that, but to do it efficiently at this level, to defend, to understand rotations,” Scheyer said. “He's been in the gym at six in the morning, late at night, like he grinds. And he's obsessed with this.”
The obsession has paid off so far. Like Harris, Evans took a backseat early in the season. He’s been streaky, and while Auburn was Evans’ breakout, he didn’t score against Louisville. His outlook never once changed.
“Once I get in the game, it’s just repetition. There’s not really anything special to it,” Evans said.
Though he finished out the first half in the locker room, Flagg was back on the court to begin the second, surrounded by the rest of the night’s starters. Duke entered the break up 47-30, paced by Evans, Gillis and Knueppel with nine points apiece. Florida State scored the first five, but Evans hit a second-chance triple that sparked a 15-0 Blue Devil run. Throughout all 40 minutes, the Blue Devils never trailed.
The Blue Devils’ typical starters — Flagg, Knueppel, James, Proctor and Khaman Maluach — have garnered acclaim for a reason. As of Feb. 27, they had the third-highest plus/minus of any lineup (plus-152) and a net rating of plus-40, according to CBB Analytics. But five guys alone can’t be relied upon to win a game, let alone a conference or national championship. Evans, in his first start, led the team in scoring. Harris showed up when he was needed, whether it be for a quick score or a rebound. Gillis knocked down big shots during Flagg’s absence. Ngongba has become a solid second big man with Maliq Brown out and he pulled through with three boards, a block and a steal against the Seminoles. That depth will be key for Duke as it enters the final week of the regular season, with a Monday matchup against Wake Forest awaiting.
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Rachael Kaplan is a Trinity senior and a senior editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.