Homecoming, and then a beatdown: Inside Duke basketball’s dismantling of Arizona State
Smiles and good vibes filled Cameron Indoor Stadium before Duke and Arizona State played their men’s basketball exhibition Sunday night.
First, proceeds from the game are donated to Duke Children’s Hospital, with many of the current and former patients in attendance, some in wheelchairs.
Then Duke legend Bobby Hurley, now coaching the Sun Devils, was welcomed with a standing ovation and a highlight video from his playing career. Mike Krzyzewski and current Duke coach Jon Scheyer joined an emotional Hurley on the court, with Krzyzewski putting his hand on Hurley’s shoulder as they watched the video.
There was nostalgia, brotherhood and generosity.
Then, the basketball began, and No. 7 Duke unleashed an attack that was not fun for Hurley to watch.
The Blue Devils needed fewer than 10 minutes to build a 10-point lead, extended it to 16 points at halftime and rolled to a 103-47 victory.
“It’s an honor to have Bobby back here,” Scheyer said. “You know, I’ve been a huge fan of his ever since, you know, I’ve watched college basketball. So to have that moment before the game with him and Coach K meant a lot to me, hopefully meant a lot to him, and I know for our program, just to welcome him back and the crowd, just how they responded to him, was special.”
Six Duke players scored in double figures, led by freshman Kon Knueppel’s 19, as Arizona State had more turnovers (18) than made field goals (16).
It’s the kind of beating Hurley helped regularly administer during his career from 1989-93, when Duke won two NCAA championships and made three Final Fours. Only now, he was on the opposite end, seeing the Blue Devils overwhelm his Sun Devils with fast breaks, blocked shots, steals and 3-pointers.
“I’ve been here long enough to know, from my four years,” Hurley said, “that what just happened has happened before, and it could happen to me, and it did.”
The scary thing for future Duke opponents? The Blue Devils accomplished this with freshman forward Cooper Flagg, a preseason all-American, hitting just 3 of 9 shots to score nine points.
So much length
After having Maluach come off the bench in a 107-56 exhibition win over Division II Lincoln (Pa.) on Oct. 19, Scheyer used the freshman center in the starting five on Sunday night.
He joined fellow freshmen Cooper Flagg and Knueppel as starters, along with returning guards Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster.
All that size and length gave Arizona State massive issues getting into its half-court offense to find any flow on that end of the court. The Sun Devils hit just 2 of their first 15 shots from the field while committing six turnovers as Duke took an 18-8 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
Maluach impacted Arizona State’s decisions at the rim and as its players tried to get the ball in the lane.
Early in the second half, Sun Devils star freshman Jayden Quaintance — who played locally at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh — took a pass on the low block with the shot clock ticking below five. The 6-9 Quaintance immediately drew a double team from Flagg and Maluach. He attempted to get a shot on the rim but Maluach swatted it away and created a shot-clock violation.
“Jon is doing a great job here, with just seeing it firsthand,” Hurley said. “Just the commitment they have to guarding and guarding with physicality and multiple efforts.”
The Blue Devils were also effective in getting in the passing lanes to force turnovers. Duke scored 10 fast-break points in the first half while building a 16-point halftime lead and finished with 17 fast-break points.
Scheyer liked how the team progressed defensively from the first exhibition to Sunday night.
“Much improved,” Scheyer said. “Between the two games, I thought we were way more connected. We made some switches from some things I didn’t like. I didn’t think I coached him as well as I could have in that first game with how we were playing ball screen defense and just our pickup. I thought we were just soft overall. And I thought this game that the physicality, I think it shows with the points in the paint, obviously the rebounding, those two stats, I think a reflection of that, and then they just busted their butts.”
Duke held a 47-31 rebounding edge and scored 38 points in the paint to Arizona State’s 14.
Knueppel impacted things before shots dropped
Known for 3-point shooting already, Knueppel showed off that skill when he hit four 3-pointers in the first five minutes after halftime as the Blue Devils pulled away.
But even when the shots didn’t, like when he missed all three of his 3-pointers during the first half while going 1 of 5 from the field, Knueppel contributed five rebounds, three assists and two steals while playing 14 minutes, 34 seconds.
That was a gritty half.
The fun stuff came after halftime, when Knueppel put on a shooting clinic by hitting shots from different spots beyond the 3-point line. He even came off a screen to hit one at the top of the key while drawing a foul. He hit the free throw to complete the four-point play.
The 6-7 Knueppel played 21 minutes against Arizona State, scoring 19 points on 6 of 11 shooting (including 4 of 8 on 3-pointers) with five rebounds and four assists.
Hurley’s thoughts on return, Blue Devils
Hurley, who wears his 1992 NCAA championship ring during games, attended a dinner with Krzyzewski on Saturday night that also included many in his school’s traveling party for the weekend. He enjoyed lunch at Durham’s Bullock’s Bar-B-Que earlier Saturday and, on Sunday, took a run on the Duke University Golf Course, just like he did during his undergraduate days three decades ago.
The weekend, off the court, was an enjoyable as he’d hoped, with his family, including his granddaughter, in town.
“My granddaughter is never going to remember this game,” Hurley said. “She’s three months old. Thank God. It was her first game. So hopefully there’ll be better days ahead for her. But it was nice. It was nice having them there. And it’s great seeing Grant Hill.”
Hill, Hurley’s teammate on the 1991 and 1992 NCAA championship teams, flew in from Atlanta to sit courtside during Sunday night’s game.
“It was special for people 30 years later to still acknowledge what we did,” Hurley said. “There’s great appreciation for great teams and teams that that give their heart and soul like our team did.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2024 at 10:27 PM.