Duke Basketball Treasures Heap Praise on Maliq Brown

On Monday afternoon, Duke basketball senior forward Maliq Brown, who arrived in Durham for the 2024-25 season following two campaigns with the Syracuse Orange, became the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year after anchoring the No. 1-ranked Blue Devils' defensive efforts all season long. And the 22-year-old from Culpeper, Va., did so despite averaging less than 20 minutes per game off the bench.

Two days earlier, following a 76-61 Senior Night home victory over the archrival UNC Tar Heels, fourth-year Blue Devil head coach and 2010 Duke basketball national champion point guard Jon Scheyer once again summarized what makes Brown so uniquely special.

No one guards like Liq‼️🔒🔒🔒

✅ ACC Defensive Player of the Year
✅ ACC Sixth Man of the Year
✅ ACC All-Defensive Team pic.twitter.com/kMdvTMgNNZ
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 9, 2026

"Maliq is as unselfish of a guy as I have ever coached," Scheyer said about Brown, who finished the regular season for the Blue Devils (29-2, 17-1 ACC), boasting the nation's No. 1 defensive efficiency rating, with averages of 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks and recorded the conference's top steal percentage (at 5.61 percent) while accounting for over 31 percent of the squad's deflections with his 168. "He's also as competitive of a player that I have ever coached.

"What he did last year, when he dislocated his shoulder twice, to come back in and play through it was one of the toughest things I've ever seen a guy do; he was out the whole summer because of it. He comes back and was dealing with a knee injury and wasn't able to practice and was not in his best form. He is just coming into his best form. I thought tonight was an example of how good he is on the floor. But for me, it's more the person, the teammate. He has been incredible for us."

Maliq Brown's Most Decorated Duke Basketball Teammates Echo Jon Scheyer's Sentiments

"When [Duke basketball sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II] got out, we all had to step up," Blue Devil freshman forward Cameron Boozer, the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year, noted following the win over UNC, in which Maliq Brown delivered a season-high 15 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals to go along with two dimes, one block, and zero turnovers across his 30 minutes on the floor. "Maliq did a great job tonight, being active on the defensive end.

"He had like six quick [points] early in the game. His impact all around was felt for sure tonight."

In the locker room, All-ACC Third Team selection and Duke basketball sophomore wing Isaiah Evans further explained to Duke Blue Devils On SI what makes Brown so cherished among his teammates.

"He's meant a whole lot — a whole, whole, whole lot," Evans remarked. "Just from even off the court, on the court, I mean, Maliq does so many things for us that people don't understand. He's a huge part of our team."

Forgot to post my chat with Isaiah Evans following Duke's win over UNC. I asked him about Dame Sarr's floor slap, of course, and what Maliq Brown has meant to this team.⬇️

"Dame sets the tone for our defense."😈

"Maliq does so many things for us that people don't understand."😈 pic.twitter.com/QxdESaFCHk
— Matt Giles (@MattGilesBD) March 9, 2026

Brown and the Blue Devils are now preparing for the ACC Tournament in Charlotte's Spectrum Center. As the No. 1 seed, they'll face the winner of Wednesday night's matchup between the No. 8 seed Florida State Seminoles and No. 9 seed Cal Golden Bears at 7 p.m. ET Thursday (ESPN or ESPN2).

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

As always, make sure you stay up to date with all Duke content by following us on Facebook, by clicking HERE, and following us on X (formerly Twitter) HERE.