Dark clouds are gathering over Duke’s dream ACC run… The Blue Devils’ biggest strength might also become their greatest weakness moving forward. Cooper Flagg has been dominating, leading the Blue Devils in all major statistical categories. Without a doubt, he is one of the top players in college basketball right now and a front-runner for NPOY this year. However, many critics are raising concerns about the overall structure of the Blue Devils’ team.

On The Field of 68: After Dark, hosts Mike LaTulip, John Martin, and ex-NBA player Jerel McNeal discussed their concerns about the Blue Devils in the ACC. “Cooper Flagg is amazing,” said McNeal, “Who’s gonna be that next guy? From night to night, it changes. It changes, don’t get me wrong that’s a credit to how good of a team they are, their depth.” The former NBA player highlighted the lack of a solid number two option in the Duke lineup. They seem to be relying heavily on the six-foot-nine forward, and that could be problematic for the Blue Devils as the season progresses.

At the end of the day, Flagg is an eighteen-year-old freshman. He might be amazing at what he does, he might have competed with the best, but he’s still young. It’s clear from a few of his games that Flagg is still learning. He’s been producing solid numbers on both ends of the court, but he’s still gaining valuable experience. As Jerel McNeal points out, experience plays a huge role in team sports.

“If they could get one of those older guys to be like, ‘yup, here we go–I’ll be Robin to Batman, consistently gonna get you 15 points a night’.” McNeal said about the seniors needing to take charge. There is a definite need for a second option in the Duke lineup.  “I think it goes Flagg and then their next guy the drop is like y’know the next guy is averaging 12 points a game… I feel a little bit more comfortable if we can get up to a 15 point per game range instead.” 

The reliance on the NPOY candidate has to be curbed, however, if Duke wants to make their case as the strongest overall team in the ACC. With how much they spend on their players, the Blue Devils should expect more out of them. ‌

How much does Duke invest into its players?

Duke, being one of the largest basketball programs in the country, has plenty of funds to draw from. More success equals to more money. But how much do they actually put in? According to Duke’s Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act from 2020, it is quite a lot!

In 2020, the Blue Devils male basketball team was allotted $19.9 million, which equates to over a million dollars per player. With how well Duke is doing right now, that figure begins to make a lot of sense.

The Blue Devils take great care in developing their roster and putting effort into making them better. Flagg and his crew also have the added benefits of NIL deals and sponsorships. Before 2021, no individual athlete could profit off of his own likeliness. The boom of NIL has made it very profitable for both teams and individual players to be doing well.

Duke has been exceptional this season, even though their reliance on Flagg has concerned analysts. If their seniors step up and take initiative, the Blue Devils will make good dividends on their investments. What do you think? What do you think? Can Duke make a title run? Will Cooper Flagg take home NPOY honors this year? Only time will tell.