Flagg day

Duke officially adds the top player in the class of 2024. What's next for Jon Scheyer's team? Maybe a Final Four run this season? Plus: Injuries to note as the season nears, Louisville's embarrassing loss, and more.

Author

Mike Miller
October 31, 2023

Dan Hurley doesn’t sound too worried about missing out on the No. 1 player in high school basketball. “We’re blue collar basketball, not social media basketball,” he said Monday.

The best part? He would’ve said something that bold even before he won a title. College hoops needs more coaches willing to be bold like this.

Let’s dive into what got Hurley so fired up.

1. Duke gets to fly a victory Flagg

Congrats to Cooper Flagg for making it interesting. For a while, UConn (and Kansas, kinda) thought it had a chance at the top player in the class of 2024.

In the end, it was always going to be Duke.

The Maine native always viewed Duke as his dream school. As he says in his commitment video, "After I got on campus, I really started to envision myself in Durham. All the love I felt made me really excited, seeing all the Crazies and the atmosphere in Cameron. I'm honored that I have the opportunity to join the Brotherhood."

And while there will be incredible amounts of hype once he arrives in Durham, it’ll be warranted. Flagg’s just the sixth player since 2000 to be viewed as the top player by all the major recruiting services. The 6-9 forward thrived in the AAU circuit, for Team USA, and will be the front-runner for top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

He’ll be a defensive POY candidate and a likely All-American while at Duke — especially if his perimeter shooting keeps improving — because his motor never stops and he impacts the game at both ends of the floor. If there’s any concern, it’s that Flagg will only be 17 when he enrolls at Duke. In a sport where teams are older and more experienced than usual thanks to COVID, that’ll be something to watch.

It’s quite the moment for Duke coach Jon Scheyer, too.

Since taking over for Coach K, Scheyer has reeled in 10 5-star recruits, and boasted the No. 1 class in 2022 and the No. 2 class in 2023. He’ll almost certainly have the top group in 2024 when it’s all said and done given Duke’s still in the mix with three uncommitted 5-stars. Land all 3 (unlikely?) and it’d be the highest-rated class in the history of the 247 Sports composite.

2. These are NOT the Devils Rejects

OK, so Duke is gonna be in prime position to win next season. What about this season?

The Devils might actually be better.

Before you scoff, consider that they’re atop the Almanac rankings, ranked second by the AP, ESPN and SI.com, and third by the Athletic and CBS Sports (well, at least by Gary Parrish). That’s a direct result of not just talent, but experience and depth.

It’s way too early to know who’ll be on the 2024-25 roster. It might just be freshmen. Talented freshmen with a high ceiling, but this season’s roster features all manner of talented players.

They’ve got a sophomore point guard (Tyrese Proctor) ready for a big jump, and maybe even a spot in the NBA Draft lottery. Jeremy Roach could lead the team in scoring. Mark Mitchell’s among the sport’s best wings. Kyle Filipowski is a preseason All-American. And their freshmen — Jared McCain, Caleb Foster, TJ Power and Sean Stewart — should all play meaningful roles throughout the season. It’s everything: Size, shooting, skill, athleticism and depth.

But it’s Proctor who can elevate Duke from a talented team and ACC contender to a team capable of winning it all.

After deciding to enroll in college a year early, Proctor struggled out of the gates. He was terrific in preseason practice, but the early games were a different story. It was an adjustment, especially since Roach was playing with the ball in his hands early.

Proctor, regarded as a terrific perimeter shooter, shot just 32% from 3 for the season. However, his overall play did improve significantly in the second half of the season as he became more comfortable with the college game. It also helped when Roach moved off the ball and Proctor was playing more of the point.

“I think he’s going to take a big jump from his freshman to his sophomore year,” Scheyer said. “There’s a different confidence he has right now and a different swagger. He makes others better, and I think we’ll see his creativity as a player more and more.”

For Duke to be a legit national title contender, Proctor will need to be one of the best guards in the country. He’ll have to provide a combination of scoring and facilitating, make certain that his defense doesn’t drop off, and will need to show that he is indeed a better perimeter shooter than he displayed as a freshman.

If Proctor can develop into one of the best guards in America, then Duke should have a chance to live up to the preseason hype.

Also important, this is only Year 2 in the Scheyer era. It might seem longer because of the recruiting success, but he’s still learning the nuances of being the man on the sideline. Last season was spent adjusting to injury setbacks and a steep freshman growth curve. This season will be about balancing playing time, finding the right lineup combinations, and late-game adjustments that could be the difference in March.

How does Scheyer handle that pressure (not to mention ensure the defense and rim protection are good enough to win it all)? That’ll be the other talking point all season.

There’s no question Duke’s primed for success this year, and in future years. Scheyer’s clearly got the recruiting rizz, and by winning 27 games in his debut season, he showed he can coach a little as well.

This season will be the time when we learn if Scheyer goes from world-class recruiter and good coach, to world-class recruiter and great coach.

3. Injury updates as the season nears

Who’s ready for the season next week, and who’s still nursing injuries? Time for some bullet points. A lot of bullet points.

4. Louisville’s ready for another loooong season

Last season provided a clear indication in October that Louisville was going to be bad. But an exhibition loss to D-II Lenoir-Rhyne still might not have fully prepared fans for the 4-28 debacle that followed.

Following Monday night’s 71-68 loss to D-II Kentucky Wesleyan, everyone’s ready for more of the same this season.

Okorafor is a freshman who didn’t play on Monday.

And while most of Louisville will be piling on Payne today, it’s not unearned. Not when he seems out of his depth, or just unaware of how quotes like this sound.

Some teams such as Duke or Kentucky? Sure. But this is Louisville. You’d better be one of the most talented teams in the sport or you’re doing something wrong.

As a motivational tactic for this season’s squad, it’s somewhat understandable. Payne wants his guys to play hard every night, and maybe they’ll squeeze out more than 4 wins.

Maybe.

5. Kansas State suspends Tomlin

In an unsurprising move, Kansas State has indefinitely suspended senior forward Nae’Quan Tomlin.

News emerged last weekend that Tomlin was arrested early Sunday morning on charges of disorderly conduct: Brawling or fighting,” per the Riley County Police Daily report. So coach Jerome Tang did the only sensible thing. He suspended Tomlin.

“I have indefinitely suspended Nae’Qwan Tomlin for not living up to the expectations we require of our players,” Tang said in a release. “Although he is not with the team, he is still part of our family, and we will do what can to support him as he moves through this process.”

Tomlin started all 36 games last season for the Wildcats, and averaged 10.4 ppg and 5.9 rpg. The 6-10 forward is expected to play alongside Creighton transfer Arthur Kaluma and senior David N’Guessan and serve as their most reliable big man.

Who’s feeling the heat?

It’s the return of the Goodman and Hummel podcast, just in time for the start of the 2023-24 season. And they made some lists, starting with the coaches who need big seasons — or they could be looking for other jobs next spring.

Links as you try to save some Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters.

Thanks for reading The Field of 68 Daily! If you have a news tip or feedback, email us at [email protected].