Biggest takeaways from Duke’s exhibition game against Arizona State – Ball Durham

Duke basketball hosted Arizona State in part of its Brotherhood Run charity game. The Blue Devils looked like the most talented team in the country, dominating on both ends of the floor en route to a 103-47 victory.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the Blue Devils’ win.

From the jump, Duke’s hounding defense from all five positions on the floor made it impossible for the Sun Devils to find offense, limiting Arizona State to just ten points in under eight minutes of media time. Connectivity was demonstrated by switching and constantly jamming the passing lanes. It was the little things that stood out: active hands and pocket handles with ASU balls, limiting touches in the paint and keeping the feet moving at all times. The entire rotation has a never-ending drive and no teammate is handling the ball on the defensive side of the floor. Freshman Khaman Maluach manned the interior and looked like an elite big blocker, and the backfield made things difficult all night for the Sun Devils.

Duke struggled with outside shots in the first half, but the second half was a different story. Duke went 15-for-23 from beyond the arc in the second half, with over five different players making at least one. It’s a run-of-the-mill offense most of the time, with catch-and-shoot or pick-and-pop situations and guys are comfortable pulling from the outside. It’s clear that this Duke team will play fast and through its defense, as most of Duke’s shots were scored in the first ten or twelve seconds of the shot clock. Raining in step-up threes in transition to just moving from shooters, this team will be so rich with at least six or seven guys that they can get hot from beyond the arc at any moment.

The duo of freshmen Conn Knueppel and Cooper Flagg looks to be one of the most dangerous scoring duos in the nation. Both have shown their exceptional ability to score at all three levels and take what the defense gives them instead of forcing something. Both freshmen’s maturity levels are far beyond what a coach could expect from a powerhouse college basketball recruit. Knueppel finished with a team-best nineteen points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. In the first half, his shot wasn’t falling on the outside, so he found other ways to score. Getting into the teeth of defenses and putting his body on the line for contact finishes is something Knueppel already excels at. Flagg finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists, but showed his ability to shoot from mid-range and use his dribble to attack the interior of the defense. The two complement each other extremely well and will be a force to be reckoned with during the regular season.