March is officially upon us.
As the No. 2 Blue Devils continue to hold strong through the finish line of the ACC’s regular season, head coach Jon Scheyer’s team is on pace to be a No. 1-seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Headlined by freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, this season’s squad is perhaps the most well-rounded Duke team in years, and it’s not unreasonable to believe that — in spite of their relatively inexperienced starting lineup — the Blue Devils have chances to make a national title run.
Flagg has, amazingly, lived up to the lofty expectations that came with being the unanimous top-ranked recruit at 17 years old and has only continued to grow during his quest to become only the fifth freshman in NCAA history to win Naismith Player of the Year. Surrounding the Newport, Maine, native sits a cast of talented scorers and effective defenders which has contributed to Duke’s title as the only team in the country ranked in the top five in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency.
Freshmen Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach complement Flagg on both ends of the court, helping to alleviate some of the duties of the 11-time ACC Rookie of the Week. Junior Tyrese Proctor has really come into his own as a scorer during his third season in Durham and has shown in several games this season that he can be his team’s top offensive option if he needs to be. The transfer trio of Sion James, Maliq Brown and Mason Gillis all effectively execute their roles within Scheyer’s gameplans, bringing invaluable depth and experience to Duke’s roster this season.
Certainly, all these players will have their moments throughout the postseason, but there is an often-overlooked offensive firepower on the Blue Devils’ roster who could be the difference-maker in Duke’s tournament journey: guard Isaiah Evans. The hot-handed 6-foot-6 freshman has never seen a shot he doesn’t like, and when they’re falling, the Fayetteville, N.C., native is nearly unstoppable from beyond the arc.
Consider Duke’s 84-78 overtaking of No. 1 Auburn. With the Blue Devils trailing by a sizable margin, it was Evans’ six first-half threes that carried Duke back into the game and earned it the crucial ranked victory. The team’s usual rotation up through that point in the season wouldn’t have been enough to take down the Tigers, and Scheyer’s trust in Evans is what got the job done.
It’s true that the Blue Devils may not run into any trouble in the first couple of rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but as the team progresses, Scheyer’s squad will need more than the usual Flagg double-double if it wants to overtake opponents who will want nothing more than to send Duke back to Durham without any hardware.
Evans, a product of North Mecklenburg High School, has played through his fair share of hot streaks. As a junior, the guard averaged 43.8 points per game in the state playoffs which included a historic 62-point performance. And while the NCHSAA playoffs certainly aren’t the same thing as the NCAA Tournament, the statistic emphasizes the kind of streaky scoring that Evans is capable of. His 45.3% clip from beyond the arc leads the team for players with more than five attempts, and the freshman doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
For a team to win a national title, many factors need to fall in the right direction. For Duke, one of those uncertainties is Evans’ offensive firepower. Don’t be surprised if a make from deep prompts his signature 3-point celebration — thumb, index and middle finger spread out across his face — and becomes a symbol of the Blue Devils’ tournament run.
It’ll be all part of the madness.