Another Mock Draft High on Duke Basketball Rookies

Judging by NBA Draft stocks alone, it feels highly unlikely that the Duke basketball program welcomes back Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, or Khaman Maluach for a sophomore campaign.

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Flagg, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound phenom guard/forward putting up some unprecedented numbers for a first-year Blue Devil, has stood atop seemingly ever 2025 mock draft since well before his arrival at Duke over the summer.

And Flagg is not alone as a projected lottery pick on Jon Scheyer's third Duke basketball roster as head coach. No, the 6-foot-7, 217-pound Knueppel and 7-foot-2, 250-pound Maluach appear among the top 14 in the eyes of most draft experts.

On Thursday, USA TODAY For The Win's Bryan Kalbrosky released his latest mock draft for the first round. Of course, Cooper Flagg checks in at No. 1 overall. The sharpshooting Knueppel, a guard/forward fresh off his career-high 25 points in Tuesday night's 89-54 home win over the Miami Hurricanes, sits at No. 11, two notches above consistently improving big man Khaman Maluach.

No other Duke basketball names pop up in Kalbrosky's first round.

Flagg, Knueppel, Maluach, and the No. 3-ranked Blue Devils (15-2, 7-0), winners of 11 straight contests, are now gearing up for their road test against the Boston College Eagles (9-8, 1-5 ACC) at 8 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN).

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Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball news.