Photo credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Duke Basketball: Five Talented Preps Watch Blue Devils Lose to UNC
Before the No. 7 Tar Heels (25-6, 17-3 ACC) and No. 9 Blue Devils (24-7, 15-5 ACC) tipped off Saturday night's rivalry clash in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the stage was set for a celebration of Duke basketball past, present, and future. It didn't go as planned, as UNC prevailed, 84-79, winning the conference's regular-season crown outright.
Including Jon Scheyer and two of his assistants in Chris Carrawell and Will Avery, 25 former Duke basketball players were in attendance, not to mention retired Hall of Fame Blue Devil head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Meanwhile, it was Senior Night for Jeremy Roach, Ryan Young, and Spencer Hubbard.
As for the future, four of Scheyer's six heralded 2024 signees traveled to Durham for the primetime showdown and were behind Duke's bench. Those visitors included the nation's top-ranked prep in Montverde Academy (Fla.) five-star forward Cooper Flagg, plus his twin brother and potential Blue Devil target in unrated 2025 wing Ace Flagg.
They sat beside the Blue Devils' other three 2024 prizes who made the trip: North Meck (N.C.) five-star forward Isaiah Evans (No. 14 composite ranking) and Paul VI Catholic (Va.) teammates in five-star center Patrick Ngongba II (No. 24) and four-star sharpshooter Darren Harris (No. 53).
If the Blue Devils and Tar Heels don't meet again in the postseason, Cooper Flagg & Co. will be the next Duke basketball talents to get a shot at slowing down UNC's momentum in the series: wins in four of the past six meetings and six of the past nine, including the 2022 victories that spoiled Coach K's swan song.
The other two members of Duke's celebrated 2024 recruiting haul, now seemingly a lock to finish atop the class rankings, are NBA Academy Africa five-star big man Khaman Maluach (No. 6) and Wisconsin Lutheran five-star forward Kon Knueppel (No. 17).
Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI.com for more Duke basketball news.
