The 2024-25 Duke Blue Devils have already etched their place in history as one of the greatest college basketball teams in the modern era. The list of accolades is a mile long: the most ACC wins in a single season, the second highest KenPom rating of all time, Duke’s first outright ACC regular season and tournament title sweep since 2006 and three statement wins against rival North Carolina.
While the Blue Devils boast a plethora of natural talent — the No. 1 prospect in the country, a top-ranked recruiting class and six projected NBA draft picks — the group has taken massive strides throughout the season to become an unstoppable force of basketball might. In particular, Duke’s offense has evolved from the team’s glaring weakness in November to its potential catalyst for a sixth national championship in March Madness.
The Blue Devils’ attack steadily blossomed into a potent unit throughout the course of the season; after scoring over 80 points just four times in its first 11 games, Duke averaged a staggering 95.4 points per game during its last seven regular-season contests. Only an ankle injury to superstar freshman Cooper Flagg kept the Blue Devil offense from reaching similar heights in the ACC Tournament — which Duke won anyway. Head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff deserve immense credit for making several key adjustments to the Blue Devils’ personnel and schemes, unlocking their offensive potential.
The most obvious change came ahead of Duke’s clash with then-No. 2 Auburn in December, when Scheyer inserted graduate guard Sion James into the starting lineup ahead of sophomore Caleb Foster. Along with Flagg, James serves as the Blue Devils’ primary ball-handler, combining powerful drives to the rim and pinpoint passing. By delegating ball-handling responsibilities to the Sugar Hill, Ga., native, fellow guard Tyrese Proctor has flourished as a deadly spot-up shooter. Watch here as James finds a wide-open Proctor for an easy corner three.
Schematically, Scheyer has also urged his team to capitalize on its superior athleticism by playing at a faster pace. Before Duke’s second game against Wake Forest, Scheyer revisited the Blue Devils’ first contest with the Demon Deacons, and was shocked by what he saw on tape.
“I was taken aback by how slow we were playing,” Scheyer said. “I couldn’t stand watching it. We worked a ton this offseason and this season with … how to flow an offense with pace and keep the defense on their heels. It’s an advantage for us with our depth, but also our personnel, to play with better pace.”
So, in the second go-round against Wake Forest, Duke’s offense blitzed the Demon Deacon defense with a constant flurry of shots and deadly attacks in transition. The Blue Devils amassed 72 shot attempts compared to just 57 in the first encounter, while scoring 23 fast-break points compared to only two in their January matchup. In the clip below, watch as Flagg grabs a rebound and immediately launches a cross-court pass to Proctor, who finishes the play with a deft contested make.
When Scheyer’s men don’t get out in transition and instead employ a more traditional half-court offense, they unleash a deadly array of offensive sets that terrorize opposing defenses. One of the most prominent attacks pairs Flagg and freshman Kon Knueppel in a two-man game at the top of the key, capitalizing on their excellent size, ball-handling and finishing abilities. Look how Flagg sets a screen for Knueppel and slips behind two Wake Forest defenders in a pick-and-roll, before receiving Knueppel’s pass in space to convert an and-one.
Alley-oops to Duke’s talented big-men have also become a staple of the Blue Devil attack. Standing at 7-foot-2 and 6-foot-11, respectively, freshman centers Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba II possess a significant size advantage over most opponents. As such, whenever Duke’s smaller, more agile players lure opposing big-men away from the paint, the Blue Devils often target Maluach and Ngongba II with precise lobs for the talented freshmen to slam home. This strategy proved particularly effective in Duke’s ACC Tournament bout against North Carolina; in the two clips below, Knueppel first connects with Maluach and then James assists Ngongba.
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Finally, Scheyer’s offense includes a multitude of off-ball screens to create separation for the Blue Devils’ elite scorers. Whether it’s giving Proctor and Evans just a hint of space to swish a three or allowing Flagg and Knueppel to get a jump on a defender on a drive to the rim, Duke’s dynamic off-ball movement creates nightmares for opposing defenses. Look here as both Proctor and Maluach set screens for a flying Knueppel, who receives James’ pass in the open and converts a layup.
When the history books tell the tale of the 2024-25 Blue Devils, the individual exploits of Duke’s superstars should not be overshadowed by the spell-binding cohesion of the team’s attack. Scheyer and the coaching staff have transformed the Blue Devil offense into one of the best in the country just in time for a magical March Madness run.
Rodrigo Amare is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.