Returning to action on a short turnaround and with several players battling winter flu-like symptoms, Duke Basketball was forced to gut out a win over lowly NC State on Monday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
After falling behind by as many as 13 in the first half, head coach Jon Scheyer’s team began to rally at the end of the period thanks to a 23-2 run that straddled the halftime break.
Freshmen Cooper Flagg (28) and Kon Knueppel (19) were joined in double figures by Sion James (13) as Duke rallied for the win.
Flagg scored 23 of his 28 points after halftime, while also adding seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 37 minutes of action. Knueppel turned in his second consecutive double-digit outing, fueled by three first-half three-pointers and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, and swiped a career-high three steals to lead the team. James’s 13-point effort is his seventh double-digit scoring output of the season and the graduate chipped in four rebounds, three assists and one steal.
Following the win Duke has now posted 14 straight victories to sit at 18-2 overall and 10-0 at the halfway point of the ACC schedule. But it wasn’t easy as Scheyer and his players relayed to the media in the postgame press conference.
Here’s what they said about the game…
DUKE HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
Opening Statement:
“Obviously, that was a hard-fought game. Credit [NC] State with the way they came out. They had a pop to them. They shot the ball incredibly well. I think for us, just understanding the mental preparation. We couldn’t do anything physical yesterday, and so I thought we weren’t ready for the game that it was going to be. That’s on me. I have to prepare them better and get them more ready. With that said, I thought that stretch, end of the first half, beginning the second half – that’s happened to us a few times where you’re down or you need a spark. What Sion James did there at the end of the first half – obviously, Cooper [Flagg] had plays throughout – but the defense, to me, told the story. Twenty-seven second half points. We went zone again. I didn’t expect that, but obviously that was a big thing for us again tonight. I’m just really proud of our team. I think it’s a special effort. They have special character, because clearly we didn’t have our best stuff throughout. But the way we battled, I thought was big time. Really happy and proud of our guys.”
On playing two straight games against strong defenses:
“Credit both of them. I mean, Wake, we knew coming in – Wake and State both – they’re one and two in our league in steals and being disruptive. For us, not many teams have taken away options like that, or taken away passing lanes. We have to work. I have to help them better with understanding what’s next. We call it neutral, but we have to be better at playing unscripted. Cooper manufactures a lot of stuff for us, but we have to help our team in general, move together when the main thing is taken away. Give them both credit. Also, it’s harder to score when you miss some shots too. I thought that was not typical of how we shoot the ball. I thought they did a good job taking away looks. We have to just be better. There’s a few plays we actually turned the ball over. We had finishes where we just have to be stronger and play through contact in the paint. I have to help them better, which I will this week with that.”
On Cooper Flagg being more aggressive in the second half:
“Coop, he’s a special guy. He’s a special guy because he played 39 minutes Saturday and really carried us throughout. And then, you come back, and you don’t get to catch your breath when it’s a Saturday – Monday game. Obviously, we’re going to be in this. couple more times in ACC play. I think it’s a lot of physical prep. It’s a lot of physical contact on him, and going through it for the first time, he didn’t have the same pop in the first half. He was trying to catch his wind. And then finally, at halftime, he got angry. He had a chip. And sometimes, when you do that, you forget about being tired. He had some all-time plays in Cameron just to will us back. That’s a credit to his spirit and what he did in that second half.”
On Maliq Brown warming up and the challenges the team has faced while he has been injured:
“Well, you know what? It’s not just the defense. It’s also the creation of some disruption on defense, which can lead to easy baskets. We don’t have that. Of course we miss Maliq, but I think our guys have done a great job stepping up. I’m so proud of Patrick [Ngongba II] and what he did at the end of the game. That catch and finish was huge. He’s coming on. I’m proud of what he’s done. Maliq hasn’t done any practice. He’s done everything with our medical team. They’ve done a great job getting him back ready. We thought tonight, just to be out there, helps. I haven’t heard yet how everything went. But this week, we’ll see if he can do some practice. That’ll be important to see what his timing is here.”
GRADUATE GUARD SION JAMES
On overcoming adversity in the game tonight:
“We practice every day for this. We prepare for this. We’ve spent almost every day since we got here in June preparing our minds to be steady as we go. And that was one of the things that we were excited about, going into the game. We were just going to be as steady as it comes.”
On the play of Duke’s Cooper Flagg in the second half:
“You could just see he was making a very concerted effort to get to the basket and be physical and not look for fouls, not look for bailouts. The thing about Cooper, obviously he’s very talented, but one of the things that makes him who he is, is that he learns really quickly. He learns on the spot. He learns within a game. He learns within a possession. And that’s why he’s been on the tear he’s been on.”
When asked if there’s anything he’s learned about this team after the past two tough games against Wake Forest and NC State:
“The biggest thing is we feel like we grew up a lot. Sometimes you’ve just got to go through it. It’s as simple as that. You’ve got to go through it, you’ve got to learn how to figure it out, and that’s what we did. We’ve got a lot of freshmen in the rotation. Granted, they’re among the best freshmen in the world, but they’re freshmen nonetheless, so we still have to go through it and learn how to win games like that together.”
On the play recently of Duke freshman center Patrick Ngongba II:
“Pat’s been huge. Ever since he’s started getting into the rotation with Maliq [Brown] being out, Pat’s stepped up and he’s been ready. He didn’t play a lot of minutes early in the season, just because sometimes that’s just how it is. He stepped up, he’s ready to go, we trust him, and Coach [Jon Scheyer] trusts him. That’s why he threw him out there. We love him and we’re thankful for him.”
FRESHMAN GUARD/FORWARD COOPER FLAGG
“I think it was a really gutsy, team win. [NC State is] a really good team. They came out with a lot of fire, a lot of energy, and played really fast. It was a good test for us, but a great team win and way to bounce back, go on a little run, and take the lead. They played with such high energy and such a fast pace. They create so many turnovers, you have to take care of the ball really well, and I thought they executed their game plan really well.”
When asked what the message was from the Duke coaching staff at halftime:
“It was just [about] getting back to our principles and playing Duke defense. I think that’s what we did – I think we had 11 straight stops to start the half. That’s what we talked about coming into halftime. Sitting down, getting stops, and letting everything else figure itself out.”
“I was very soft in the first half, as Coach [Jon Scheyer] would say. I felt like that led to most of our first-half troubles, just me being soft. It’s hard to initiate the offense if I’m not being strong with the ball. It’s not really a choice anymore. I have to be aggressive. What Coach [Jon Scheyer] has told me is that that’s going to create for everyone else. I saw and felt it in the first half, a little bit more of just being passive and playing soft. I can’t create for anyone else that way, I can’t get anyone shots, and I can’t get anyone else open if I’m playing soft and passive. For me, it’s no longer a choice of if I want to be aggressive or not. I have to be aggressive at all times and be in attack mode to help get my teammates open.”
On the physical nature of the past two games Duke has played:
“I think that’s probably a gameplan thing for a lot of teams coming up against us. They’re going to try to muck up the game and make it as physical as possible. There’s so much room for us to grow and get better at handling that type of physicality and pressure in games.”
