Cooper Flagg And Khaman Malouach had a taste of the Olympic experience this summer before joining their Basketball Duke teammates.
Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, spent time training with Team USA in Las Vegas. Maluach, a 7-foot-2 center, suited up for South Sudan in Paris and helped his team win its first game in Olympic history.
But what about the other newcomers and their “welcome to Duke” moments this summer?
Here’s what freshmen Kon Knueppel, Isaiah Evans, Darren Harris and Patrick Ngongba, as well as transfers Mason Gillis, Sion James and Maliq Brown, had to say about joining the Blue Devils.
Growing pains for Kon Knueppel, Isaiah Evans
Known for putting up points as two of the best scorers in high school basketball, Kon Knueppel and Isaiah Evans are learning what it takes to elevate their game at the college level.
During a summer scrimmage, Knueppel said, the Blue Devils had mostly freshmen on a team with sophomore guard Caleb Foster. The other team included everyone, especially the Blue Devils veterans.
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“We were playing against the rest of the guys and we were up five or seven with a minute to go, just doing situational stuff. We blew it,” Knueppel said with a smile. “We turned it over on an inbounds pass and they hit a 3, and sent it to overtime. Then we lost in overtime. It was like, man, that was being a college student first year.”
Evans referenced a one-on-one situation against junior guard Tyrese Proctor, the player with the most Duke experience.
“I remember, we were playing this summer, and I think for about a week straight… Tyrese just finished the match against me, with the exact same move against me every day. That was probably my welcome to Duke moment,” Evans said.
Eventually, Evans understood.
“After about 17 times,” he said, smiling, “I was ready for it.”
Darren Harris sneaks into Cameron Indoor Stadium, Patrick Ngongba happy to have some familiarity
For Harris, Duke has always been the dream destination. It’s a goal that started when he sneaked into Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“I grew up being a huge Duke fan,” Harris said. “I remember it was K Academy, I was in fourth grade, I think. My family snuck in because the door was open. I took a picture on Coach K Court…that was my dream of coming here.
Like Evans and Knueppel, Harris and his former Paul VI teammate Patrick Ngongba have had some humbling moments since arriving on campus.
“I was spinning, trying to take charge of Zion, and I was thrown completely vertical,” Harris said. “I’ve never felt this way before.”
Early on, Brown was Ngongba’s main source of frustration.
“When Maliq guards me,” Ngongba said, “he always hits the ball.”
Despite these setbacks, having a high school teammate by his side made things easier. Ngonba as he recovers from a foot injury.
“It’s a really big thing,” he said. “Just being able to have someone that I know, I feel like that will help me in the long run to be the best player I can be.”
Sion James, Maliq Brown and Mason Gillis on Duke’s ‘Brotherhood’
Zion James “knew about as much about Duke basketball as most casual fans” before arriving on campus. It didn’t take long for the Tulane transfer to immerse himself in the culture of “The Brotherhood.”
“I didn’t know, being here, what it would really, really feel like to be a Duke basketball player,” James said. “I’ve been a fan since I was a kid – going to games and stuff – but now, being here, it’s different. The Brotherhood is a really, really big thing. It’s not just a saying or something. thing you say on a shirt.
Mason Gillis, who just played in a national championship at Purdue, has been a Duke fan since he was 8 years old. Gillis had eight points in the Boilermakers’ 19-point win over the Blue Devils in 2023.
“The Brotherhood is a real thing. It’s not just something we talk about,” Gillis said. “… Coming here, setting foot on campus, it’s just very special. You actually feel all the history. When we practice at Cameron, it’s really special.”
Brown, who spent two seasons at Syracuse and scored 26 points against Duke last season in Durham, had similar feelings about joining the Blue Devils.
“Obviously playing in the ACC for two years, playing Duke, knowing how committed they are and what they stand for, since I’ve been here, the Brotherhood is something different, something that words can’t not describe,” Brown said.
“Really grateful and blessed to be here.”
Editor Rodd Baxley can be contacted at [email protected] or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article was originally published on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball transfers, freshmen talk about ‘welcome to Duke’ moments
