Shawn Krest

1 month ago | nsjonline.com | Shawn Krest

On a team loaded with veterans and in a freshman class packed with future NBA superstars, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. As Duke has moved through the season, the focus has been on the Final Four and national title, which often means that a team sets aside the individual development of the guys that don’t play much.

1 month ago | nsjonline.com | Shawn Krest

It’s good to be needed … usually. Maliq Brown has been one of the unsung reasons why the Duke defense works so well this season. He always seems to be in the right position—as evidenced by his team-leading total of deflections, a stat that Duke managers track during games. Unfortunately for Brown, his season with the Blue Devils got deflected when he went down with a dislocated shoulder late in the year.

1 month ago | nsjonline.com | Shawn Krest

Of all the abbreviations associated with basketball, from NBA to ppg to NET, there’s one that no player wants to see: DNP-CD. Did not play—coach’s decision. It means you were benched for the game in question. Duke sophomore Caleb Foster picked up the dreaded five letter acronym in the second-to-last game of the regular season, a win at Wake Forest. Foster’s minutes had been dwindling.

1 month ago | nsjonline.com | Shawn Krest

Fifth-year transfer Mason Gillis helped lead Purdue to last season’s Final Four, winning Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year. Then he came to Duke, where he’s often been seventh, eighth or ninth in the rotation. In a slightly diminished role, playing six fewer minutes a game than he did as a Boilermaker, Gillis has still made an impact for Duke. “Mason Gillis for us, sixth most efficient offensive player in the country the year before. Mason was a no-brainer for us,” said coach Jon Scheyer.

1 month ago | nsjonline.com | Shawn Krest

In building last season’s roster, Duke coach Jon Scheyer had the nation’s top freshman class coming in. He had returning veteran guards Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster. And he had two veteran role players coming in as transfers in Mason Gillis—who helped lead Purdue to last year’s Final Four—and Maliq Brown—one of the top defenders in the ACC. He had one spot left to fill. “Really, we were patient with the last spot,” Scheyer said. “We knew we needed one more guard.