Duke Freshman Will See First Big Test of the Season in Kentucky

Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils play against the Kentucky Wildcats tonight. How do they match up?

Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Tonight at 8 p.m. CT, the Duke Blue Devils will have their first real test of the season versus the Kentucky Wildcats.

Coming into the game, the Blue Devils are the current favorites to win the game. It’s clear that Duke is the more talented team on paper as they have three guys that are projected to be top ten picks while Kentucky currently have fringe second round prospects, but that doesn’t mean anything in college basketball.

Cooper Flagg will be the main headline tonight, as he is the consensus number one prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft. He will likely do special things tonight, especially on the defensive end but scouts are very curious on how his shot-creation and scoring versatility will be. He has clearly shown consistent improvements as an offensive player every single year, but does he have enough scoring ability to carry the load on the offensive end?

Tonight should be very telling. Kon Knueppel is another freshman that has really shocked some scouts with how productive he has been. Reliable sources tell me that NBA personnel absolutely love Knueppel. The Duke wing has shown to be an elite 3-point shooter while possessing a ton of shot versatility and scoring ability.

He’s more than just a shooter as he has good passing chops, is a willing and capable defender and is a very enticing offensive prospect. He should comfortably translate to the NBA with few issues as he’s an ideal connector piece in today's NBA. We should closely monitor his shot-creation looks versus a well rounded Kentucky team with three great defensive players in Lamont Butler, Otega Oweh and Amari Williams.

The third freshman for Duke that’s a potential top ten pick is Khaman Maluach out of South Sudan. The 7-foot-2 center has unreal physical and athletic tools. Maluach is absolutely oozing with potential as there’s not many prospects in this year’s draft that comes close to his size, tools, motor and skill level. He hasn’t really shown much on the offensive end to this point as Jon Scheyer has given him a dirty work role.

The high upside center has done a great job at rebounding, playing with energy and altering shots at the rim. He’s still very young though so will he be able to stay out of foul trouble versus elite and veteran college teams? That’s a big question scouts will be asking. His feel for the game goes a bit underrated, but the potential is evident when watching him play.

He’s not quite as polished as Flagg or Knueppel, but he still makes his presence felt throughout the course of a game. Tonight will be a fun scouting game for these Duke prospects and what these prospects do well and need to work on should be clear after tonight at the Champions Classic.

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