The good:
- Duke shot the ball well ( 40.9% ) from 3.
- Duke surrendered no fast break points – 16-0 advantage.
- Duke only turned the ball over 4 times
The bad:
- Duke was outrebounded by the Tigers 39-34
- Duke missed 10 free throws; 17-27 for 63%
DUKE HEAD COACH JON SCHEYER
Opening Statement
“That was a heck of a two hours. I thought it was a big-time college basketball game. We felt, coming in, that Auburn is as good as anybody. And I think they showed that tonight with their shot-making, their physicality, and their depth. But I really thought that our guys were as tough as could be. I think we’ve learned from some of these other games we’ve been in. For Cooper [Flagg], to have no turnovers, and to have 22 [points], 11 [rebounds] and 4 [assists] as a 17-year-old – I’m not sure how many 17-year-olds could play in this game, let alone do what he did. I thought he had a special toughness about him. I thought our entire team did. I’m sure you guys will ask me about [Isaiah Evans], so I’m just going to tell you how proud I am of Isaiah Evans. I get to see him, every day, in practice. Part of this is sometimes you don’t play as much as you want to. Or don’t play. And it’s a long year. The attitude he’s had every day in practice – coming up to the coaches and not working on shooting, believe it or not, but wanting to work on his defense or work on his rebounding or understanding rotations and coverages – I think it’s a great lesson for young players. He wants to play. And I want guys who get pissed and have that edge about them and have that humility to attack every single day. To have that amazing courage to come into this game and do what he did – I’m not sure if I’ve ever been apart of something like that in my years here. There are maybe a couple guys I’m not thinking of. A special performance, in a special moment, where we needed him. I’m proud of our team. Two more things that were key for me. Fast break points, we got 16-0. That’s a coach’s dream right there. For us to have four turnovers against Auburn, after we had 13, 14, and 16 the last three games. Those two things, for me, were the difference.”
On Cooper Flagg’s performance and lack of turnovers:
“It was night and day. Being able to coach him – he never fights you. In a game, you can get on him. In practice, he’s always wanting to get better in every aspect of his game. I like the strength that he’s playing with. I’ve always felt like Cooper’s a one-time guy. He only needs to see something one time to get adjusted. I saw that with him with [Team] USA and I saw that in high school when he had tough moments. In this short of a time frame, to see his growth in big time moments, creating shots against high-level defenders, I thought that was big. I think he had 10 rebounds in the first half. His rebounding was incredible. And he had four assists. We always track potential assists, and I think tonight was another night he had 10-plus potential assists. I can’t say enough about his attitude and his competitiveness in those moments.”
On changes to the starting lineup:
“Caleb [Foster], man, I believe so much in Caleb and I think he’d be the first to say that he hasn’t gotten off to the year that he would like so far. We need him so badly, just to be himself. I think you saw tonight who Caleb really is. That’s a breakdown guy, ready to make shots for himself, or to create for others. I thought he was competitive and had a maturity and a great response about him. We have, no question, more than five guys that could start. No question. Some of it was Auburn too. They’re bigger. What I’m trying to figure out is rotations – who can play well together. Coming in with some scoring firepower, I think that really helped us tonight with Caleb. I don’t know what we’re going to do, going forward, but lineup construction of how to have the best five when Cooper [Flagg]’s out, when Kon [Knueppel]’s out, when Khaman [Malauch] and Maliq [Brown] are out, who balances those guys? Something we’re trying to work through.”
FRESHMAN GUARD/FORWARD COOPER FLAGG
On having no turnovers tonight individually and how it feels to bounce back after the late-game possessions against Kentucky and Kansas: “
That’s a great satisfaction to have no turnovers in a huge game. Ever since both of those games [versus Kentucky and Kansas], it’s just been a pain in the back of my head, burning me every time I think about it. I wish I could get those possessions back. To have no turnovers tonight is huge for me. After those other two games, having some really key turnovers down the stretch, that was something that I kind of really prided myself on and want to work on and keep getting better. I still think I was too close tonight with a bunch of different times I could’ve had turnovers. I just have to keep getting better, keep being confident and strong with the ball down the stretch.”
On Duke only having four turnovers as a team in the game tonight: “
That shows growth, for sure. We have been a pretty high-turnover team through the start of the season, and that’s something that the coaches have stressed on us a lot. Taking care of the ball and valuing the ball. If we can value the possession and get good looks every single time down the floor, we know we have enough talent to compete with anybody in the country. That’s something they’ve stressed on us a lot, and we’ve just got to keep working on it and keep getting better.”
On the deep three-point shot Tyrese Proctor hit with the shot clock running out late in the second half:
“That’s a big-time play for Tyrese to be able to step into that type of shot and just knock it down. It’s huge for us. It was huge for the momentum. It was like a reset for us. I think after that, [Auburn] felt a little bit deflated and they weren’t playing with the same pop. We executed our game plan on defense and were able to lock in and get some stops.”
When asked if the freshmen “grew up” some tonight and how the older guys on the team have contributed to that:
“I think Sion [James], Mason [Gillis] in particular, Tyrese [Proctor], guys that have been in college for a few years, they’ve been great for us in practice. Pushing us and getting us ready for this type of moment and this type of environment. The physicality they show – Mason is one of the most physical guys I’ve ever met playing basketball. Just being able to practice with that every day, and the competitiveness, is huge from them to get us ready for this type of moment. We stepped up. Slim [Isaiah Evans] stepped up in the start of that game and just showed a lot of growing up.”
FRESHMAN GUARD/FORWARD ISAIAH EVANS
“I’m used to being a flamethrower. I’m just happy I could contribute. It was amazing. Since I signed with Duke, I always dreamed about being in a high-intensity game like that and delivering for my team and then coming out with the win – that was the most important part for me. Getting meaningful buckets, getting stops on defense, getting timely rebounds, it just felt amazing out there.”
When asked how it felt to hear the Cameron crowd get behind him as he continued to hit big shots:
“It just makes me keep going. Games where I might not play or weeks where I might be down, it just reminded me that there are people behind me [on the Duke bench] that are waiting on me. I’m never going to give up and I’m always going to keep working.It was important to beat a really good team, for our confidence. Obviously, we know we can do it, but once you actually do it, you grow as a team. Tonight was a really important game.”
When asked what his teammates were saying to him as he kept hitting shots:
“They were just saying, ‘Way to stay ready.’ Everyone’s been telling me that, for the last couple of games, just don’t get too low, don’t get too high. Just going out there and finally being able to do what I do, it feels great.”
