After Duke’s stunning loss to Houston in the Final Four, what’s next for the Blue Devils?
Sunday, as the Duke Blue Devils caught their chartered flight home from San Antonio, the sting of their Final Four loss to Houston Saturday night remained fresh, a stunning event not yet 24 hours in the past.
Yet, the college basketball calendar doesn’t allow for much reflection, for savoring a special season that ended horrendously when the Cougars rallied late to stun Duke, 70-67.
The NCAA transfer portal window opened on March 24, and players are already changing teams as coaches rebuild their rosters for next season.
Duke knows it will have major changes, just as it did last season when only two players returned to contribute to this season’s 35-4, ACC championship campaign that ended in the Final Four.
Which direction will Jon Scheyer go this coming season? He offered an idea on Friday, in advance of the Final Four game, when discussing his roster construction philosophy.
“For this year,” Scheyer said, “we felt very confident that this class we had coming in could impact winning right away. Next year, I feel we have a group that can do the same. I think it’s going to vary year to year. I think it’s based on the freshman class and the readiness, who we can have returning. Last year was less. Next year may be a little bit more. Then you supplement in the portal based on readiness.”
Last year’s exodus included a host of underclassmen via the transfer portal in addition to two players leaving for the NBA. The modern college basketball world allows every player to be a free agent every offseason, so decisions will be formed in the coming days and weeks.
Here’s a look at all areas of Duke’s roster and what could happen before next season.
Expected departures
First, there are certainties.
Sion James and Mason Gillis have exhausted their NCAA eligibility, both having used their fifth season (thanks to COVID-era guidelines) to play at Duke this season. So subtract those two.
Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, all freshmen starters this season, are projected as NBA Draft lottery picks so count on all three departing.
Junior guard Tyrese Proctor has one more season of eligibility remaining. He’s projected as a mid-to-late first round pick in the draft and it feels like he’s likely to go. He turned in his best college season, averaging 12.4 points and making 40.5% of his 3-pointers.
So that’s six players from Duke’s playing rotation most likely heading out, all five starters plus a key reserve in Gillis.
Who are next season’s freshmen?
As is an annual occurrence, Duke has a recruiting class that’s among the nation’s best, and Scheyer believes the incoming freshmen can keep the Blue Devils challenging for a national championship.
Led by 6-9 forward Cameron Boozer, Duke’s four-man class also has 6-4 point guard Cayden Boozer (Cameron’s twin brother), as well as 6-11 power forward Nik Khamenia and 6-6 forward Shelton Henderson. Cameron Boozer and Henderson are five-star prospects, with Boozer the nation’s No. 3-ranked player, with Henderson No. 14, Khamenia No. 15 and Cayden Boozer at No. 24, according to 247sports.com rankings.
Duke remains in the running for another five-star prospect in 6-10 center Nate Ament, who has yet to choose a team. The nation’s No. 4-ranked player, Ament is down to Duke, Louisville, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee.
He had planned a commitment last week but canceled it and is still deciding.
Duke can afford, and has room, to take all five players, if it chooses.
Who could return from this season?
Maliq Brown, a 6-9 forward, has one season of eligibility remaining and is not considered an NBA prospect at this point. A strong defensive player who wasn’t asked to contribute much on offense, he’ll need to get the troublesome shoulder that limited him late addressed. That could mean surgery.
But if Brown gets healthy this offseason, he’ll be a major force inside for Duke next season.
Two freshmen players who were part of the regular playing rotation, 6-11 center Patrick Ngongba and 6-6 small forward Isaiah Evans, could be in for major roles next season should they return. Both would clearly be targets of other schools looking to add new players.
Ngongba figures to be Duke’s best big man in 2025-26. After missing his senior year of high school with foot injuries, he was brought along slowly as a freshman at Duke before getting more playing time late when Brown battled knee and shoulder injuries.
Evans saw his role change dramatically from game to game. He’s an excellent 3-point shooter, finishing at 41.6% as a freshman. But in Duke’s last four NCAA Tournament games, all against power conference teams, Evans never played more than eight minutes.
Could another school offer him a nice payday through NIL, attempting to lure him to transfer? Absolutely. Could Evans get a nice NIL deal at Duke, stay and become a major scoring threat for Blue Devils? That’s a yes, too. He’s offered no public acknowledgment that he’d even consider leaving. So we just don’t know quite yet.
Caleb Foster saw his playing time vary during his sophomore season, too. He was a starter for Duke early this season before falling down the depth chart. But he played well as a reserve in the first half against Houston.
Darren Harris was never part of Scheyer’s player rotation. The 6-4 forward, Ngongba’s former high school teammate, appears expendable. Maybe. He and Scheyer need to have their post-season meeting to see if this remains his best fit.
Portal help?
Duke could use some veteran help at center to augment Ngongba and Brown. A veteran ballhandler, like James proved to be this season, could also be on Scheyer and general manager Rachel Baker’s shopping list.
Scheyer certainly saw the value of those moves this season.
“What I found this year in the transfer portal,” Scheyer said, “for the right guy, it could be an amazing situation. But it’s going to be different here. The job that Sion James, Maliq Brown and Mason Gillis have done, that profile for us is going to be there going forward.
“I do think you have to adapt. I don’t think it can be just one way. You see where rev share goes next year, and it may be different a year from now. I think still having an identity of how you want to put together a team, but also having some agility with understanding you need to adjust to all these different things that are being thrown at you.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "After Duke’s stunning loss to Houston in the Final Four, what’s next for the Blue Devils?."