Seed n ° 1 Duke saw its season ending in a heartbreaking way in a 70-67 defeat against the seeded n ° 1 Houes in San Antonio. After leading up to 14 points with just over eight minutes to play in the regulations during the national semi-final on Saturday, The Blue Devils wasted a late leadending their season and probably the Cooper Flagg Era with the program too.
Before the 4th year of the Jon Scheyer era, Duke faces many questions. With Flagg, Kon KNUPPELAnd Khaman Maluach All will probably go to the NbaBlue Devils could again look at a major overhaul of their starting range. Tulan transfer Sion James has exhausted his eligibility and veteran guard Tyrese Proctor has a decision to make about returning to school for another season or becoming a professional.
Proctor is not alone.
Two other names that will have to decide their future with the program are Foster Caleb And Isaiah Evans. Foster, an old recruit of the 2023 recruitment cycle, played in 37 games and did not succeed at 5.1 points. Evans, an old five -star recruit which was mainly out of the bench, raised an average of 7.0 points.
Duke will also have to replace the deputy coach Jai Lucas, who left the program before the end of the season to take the post to Miami. So what is the next step for Blue Devils? Here are three scenarios to keep an eye on the direction of the offseason.
Duke has a plan to reach another Final Four
Duke had to make difficult decisions to align the last trial, which saw the legend program Jeremy RoachBefore Mark Mitchell And other members of its 2024 star recruitment class enter the transfer portal to properly build flagg. The Blue Devils have become larger, faster and stronger in their starting alignment, which has made that the Scheyer team is the highest departure program of the L division. Of course, Flagg might no longer not cross the doors, but the Blue Devils have the plan for what it takes to reach the last weekend of the university basketball season. Duke revised his list in a large last off -season. These changes helped the Scheyer team to dominate the competition in the ACC and reach the Final Four.
Duke made strategic additions via the transfer portal. The Blue Devils did not add any very praised transfer, but the players they added had a significant impact. James was a constant presence in the rear area, Mason Gillis provided an experience and a shot, and Maliq Brown was one of Duke’s best defenders. The construction of about the five -star attacker Cameron Boozer will be the key to maintaining the success that Scheyer has created.
Can Duke’s 2025 class 2025 meet media threshing?
The Duke recruitment class in 2024, which ranked n ° 1 by 247Sports, is one of the best recruitment classes in the modern era. Flagg is planning as the overall choice n ° 1, and the Maluach and Kueppel project as the first lottery choices. This does not even include Evans, who has the potential (more about this short) to be written at the back of the first round if he decides to declare. It is sure to say that the incoming class of Duke will have great expectations to meet and meet their arrival on the campus.
Duke’s class headliner is Boozer, Duke’s son and the legend of NBA Carlos Boozer. Cameron’s brother Cayden Boozer, a four -star goalkeeper in the 2025 recruitment class, is also heading for Duke. The Blue Devils have two other signatories in their star class: the five -star striker Shelton Henderson and the four -star striker Nikolas Khamenia. The four players should play important roles next season, according to what Duke does in the transfer portal.
Boozer is the player who stands out in this class. He is being executed (early) to become the overall choice n ° 1 in the recovery of the NBA 2026 next to it (future Byu forward) aj dybantsa and (future Kansas Guard) Darryn Peterson. 247Sports Director of Scouting Adam Finkelstein called Boozer The “safest thing in high school basketball”.
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Who’s left, who’s going?
Several players on this Duke list have interesting decisions to make about their future. At the top of this list are Evans and Proctor. Evans could slide as the end of day 1 choice in the draft of the NBA 2025 this summer, or he can return to school to try to improve his stock before the 2026 draft. Evans was compared to the old star of Duke Brandon Ingum, and when you watch it play, it is difficult to see the comparisons and the increase.
Evans has shown lightning of its potential throughout the season, with its game against Auburn stand out the most. Evans scored 18 points and spilled six points at 3 points. Evans played 11 games with at least 10 points. Eight of the 11 games were against ACC.
Another player with a decision to make is a Proctor, who has already circumvented the NBA draft twice. Proctor returned to school for his junior season this year and has shown signs of final improvement, but there are still question points around where he would be drafted if he left school. Proctor has tools to succeed at the next level, but its bad shot in free throws this season (68.6%) should cause certain concerns. Proctor pulled a career summit of 41.2% beyond the arc and showed flashes sometimes this season that it can be a successful pro.
The other decisions to keep an eye on are Foster and Patrick Nongbba LL. Foster was expected to be Duke’s shooting goalkeeper next to Proctor in the rear area, but that never materialized. Foster started in seven games during the 2024-25 campaign. As for Ngongba, the old top-25 recruit could see its role increasing next season with Flagg and Maluach which has probably disappeared. It would be useful for Duke to have the experience of Ngongba in the rotation with Boozer who enters the program.