Duke Basketball Transfer Responds to Coach With Zero-Pressure Threes

Among several other things, Maliq Brown brings relatively untapped 3-point potential to his Duke basketball journey.

Duke basketball forward Maliq Brown / Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff landed four players via the transfer portal in the offseason, perhaps none as integral as former two-year Syracuse forward Maliq Brown.

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Although Brown proved his dynamic skill set by averaging 9.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.2 steals en route to garnering ACC All-Defense honors as an Orange sophomore, the 6-foot-9, 222-pound chiseled enforcer from Culpepper, Va., barely scratched the surface when it came to delivering on his floor-stretching potential from downtown. He posted a mere 7-for-19 clip beyond the arc across his entire Syracuse career.

Now, albeit courtesy of another notably small sample size, there's reason to think Scheyer may have found a way to capitalize on Brown's seemingly smooth-enough 3-point stroke to the tune of about two deep attempts per game.

This week, the Duke basketball social media team shared the following highlights of the 37-year-old Scheyer's strategized "zero pressure" 3-point instructions to the 20-year-old and Brown's 2-for-2 response from the corner:

The way Coach @JonScheyer believes in our guys >>> pic.twitter.com/NgmTWZpgfH

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) October 18, 2024

"Just shoot two threes today [in scrimmages]," Scheyer tells Brown in the video. "And I want you to put zero pressure — zero — if it goes in or not."

Splashes. Simple as that.

Maliq Brown and the rest of Jon Scheyer's third Duke basketball team face their first opponent when they host Lincoln (Pa.) for an exhibition bout at 1 p.m. ET Saturday (ACC Network Extra).

The No. 7-ranked Blue Devils wrap up their exhibition slate on Oct. 27 when they welcome program legend Bobby Hurley's Arizona State squad to Cameron Indoor Stadium, where the 1991-92 back-to-back national champion point guard's No. 11 forever hangs from the rafters. Duke's regular season begins at home against Maine on Nov. 4.

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Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball news.