Duke basketball returns two more key players despite Cooper Flagg departures

04/23/2025 01:30 PM

Duke basketball recently got some tough news when Cooper Flagg, as expected, announced that he would be taking his talents to the NBA Draft, where he is widely expected to be the number one overall pick. The decision came just weeks after Duke’s epic collapse against Houston in the Final Four, bringing a great season to a devastating end.

However, it hasn’t been all vibes in Durham as of late. Recently, the team got word that both Pat Ngongba and Maliq Brown would be returning to the program, per Blue Devil Nation on X.

Field of 68 Daily’s Sean Paul then broke down how head coach Jon Scheyer and company have been able to put together a pretty consistent offseason thus far considering the circumstances.

“Duke managed to retain Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evans, Pat Ngongba and Maliq Brown. Really impressive to keep all four nowadays. I expect big things from Ngongba this season especially,” wrote Paul on X.

Duke has also lost Kon Knueppel to the NBA Draft, where he too is expected to be a lottery pick.

As Paul noted in his report, Duke recently also brought back five-star Isaiah Evans, who played a key role in the Blue Devils’ dominance throughout the 2025 season.

Of course, the biggest loss for Duke this offseason was Flagg, who was a Swiss Army Knife on both ends of the floor for the Blue Devils, using his unique skillset to score at will, create shots for his teammates, and crash the glass.

Meanwhile, Kneuppel also brought a degree of floor spacing and scoring punch that Scheyer and company will need to work quickly to try to replace.

Still, considering how bad the vibes were around the Duke basketball program in the wake of their Final Four loss to Houston, Blue Devils fans will likely take any good news they can get.

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