Duke head men’s basketball coach Jon Scheyer expressed some worry Tuesday night regarding his team’s recent cramping issues following a 77-72 loss to Kentucky.
Star freshman center Khaman Maluach was in and out of the game and played only 10 minutes in the second half due to cramping, and Scheyer addressed his thoughts on the situation after the game, telling reporters: “It’s concerning. Part of it is we have young bodies. I think that’s part of it. We got to help these guys. We’re not just trying to dip our toes in the water … We got to take a hard look at it.”
Previously, superstar freshman Cooper Flagg missed significant time during the second half of Duke’s win over Army last week due to cramps. Scheyer stressed the importance of preventing similar complications in the future, saying:
“We’ve got to help him. We’ve got to help him. I’m not happy about it, for him. We’ve got to help him. And we will. Right after [Friday’s game], I can promise you I’m going to be meeting [with the team’s training staff]. I don’t care if it’s all night. We can’t have that happen. Bottom line.”
While Duke was able to overcome Flagg missing some time against a far inferior opponent in Army, having to play long stretches without a key player like Maluach against another blue-blood program cost the Blue Devils on Tuesday.
Along with Flagg and Kon Knueppel, Maluach is one of the hugely talented freshman expected to make Duke a national championship contender this season.
He entered Tuesday’s game as Duke’s leading rebounder, and he is now second on team in rebounding with 9.0 per game, placing him behind only Flagg. He is also tied with Flagg for the team lead with 1.7 blocks per game, and he is averaging 9.0 points per game on 80.0 percent shooting.
Maluach played the fewest minutes Tuesday of any of the Duke starters with 23, but he was highly effective when he was on the court, finishing with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks.
It is likely no coincidence that Duke went from leading 46-37 at halftime to getting outscored by 14 points in the second half while the 7’2″ big man struggled to stay in the game.
The loss dropped the No. 6 Blue Devils to 2-1 on the season, while new Kentucky head coach Mark Pope got his first signature win, improving the No. 19 Wildcats to 3-0.
Although it was a disappointing result for Duke, the Blue Devils are still considered a top national title contender thanks to their three star freshman, all of whom could be lottery picks in the 2025 NBA draft.
Assuming Flagg, Knueppel and Maluach are indeed all one-and-done players, there is likely a sense of urgency on Scheyer’s part to win big and win now, which may be where the cramping concerns stem from.
Duke has a stacked schedule, which means there is a tough road ahead, but also plenty of opportunities to put the Kentucky loss in the past.
Games against No. 9 Arizona, No. 1 Kansas and No. 5 Auburn are on tap over the next couple of weeks, and winning two or three of those contests would go along way toward easing the sting of Tuesday’s defeat.
