- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 389,485
- Reaction score
- 43
Taking stock of the ways in which Sunday’s opponents know each other, plus some other notes about Duke ahead of the second-round game
You must be registered for see images attach
Jeremy Roach dives for a loose ball against Mississippi State on Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports Images
RALEIGH – You know the obvious one here.
Duke facing Baylor in Sunday’s second-round game of the NCAA tournament means a matchup against Jeremy Roach. The lone scholarship player who played for the Blue Devils in Mike Krzyzewski’s final game as coach and remained for the start of Jon Scheyer’s tenure, Roach was a two-year captain before transferring out last spring.
But did you know Baylor freshman V.J. Edgecombe once gave Kash Knueppel — one of Kon’s younger brothers — a pair of shoes after Edgecombe and Kon were roommates at the Jordan Brand Classic?
Made even more fitting with the Baylor-Duke connections: It was a pair of Zion Williamson shoes.
“He gave my brother a pair of Zions, that was pretty nice. He’s a super nice guy,” Kon Knueppel said of Edgecombe.
Of course, the other part of this connection is Edgecombe’s commitment was either going to be Baylor or Duke.
The connections here aren’t exactly rampant, but the ones that exist run deep. Roach has been one of the most important players at Duke over the last decade; the connector between the winningest coach in college basketball and his successor. Edgecombe went down to the recruiting wire before opting for Baylor; his point guard, Robert O. Wright III, was at Montverde Academy with Duke’s Cooper Flagg last season.
“It's going to be cool. Definitely excited for the matchup, not trying to overlook it or make anything bigger than what it is,” Roach said of playing his former team. “I mean, it's March Madness, but at the same time, it's still another basketball game.
“I don't want to get into I used to go to Duke or anything like that. Just focus on what Baylor has to do — personnel, scout, stuff like that, getting me ready mentally and physically. So not trying to put too much into it.”
In spite of all that … there’s a lot that goes into this.
“I have nothing but love for Jeremy, and our relationship is strong,” Scheyer said. “He'll be a Duke guy forever.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Duke coach Jon Scheyer, left, and Jeremy Roach celebrate after the ACC tournament championship game in 2023.
Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports Images
You can consider Edgecombe the one Class of 2024 recruit who got away from Scheyer.
Duke’s Countdown to Craziness visitors before last season saw three commits attend, which were Darren Harris, Isaiah Evans and Knueppel. There were three targets, too — Patrick Ngongba II, Flagg and Edgecombe.
The Blue Devils went 2-for-3, leaving the 6-5, 180-pound explosive guard as the only one who didn’t pop for them.
“I love both programs, to be honest. I have nothing but respect for both coaches, both cultures and stuff like that,” Edgecombe said. “I just felt like I was drawn more to Baylor, that’s what drew me here.
“It was nothing crazy, to be honest.”
Given Flagg is all but guaranteed to be the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft and there’s a chance Edgecombe goes No. 2, it’s intriguing to realize how close they were to being teammates.
“Me, Pat and V.J., all on our visit together last year, we had a lot of conversations about the three of us coming here, playing together and how cool that would be,” Flagg said. “Maybe in another universe, that would’ve worked out.
“We got kind of closer in the recruitment last year and we played against each other a ton. So, it’s just a cool opportunity and experience.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Here were a few other notes about Sunday’s second-round game between 9-seed Baylor and 1-seed Duke:
One more connection
There’s a little bit of history with Scheyer and Baylor, too.
In Scheyer’s playing career, Duke went one step further in each of his first three seasons. First, a first-round loss to VCU; as a sophomore, a second-round loss to West Virginia; and then a Sweet 16 loss to Villanova.
So, when Scheyer was a senior and Duke was playing in the Elite 8, it was new to him. He had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists, Nolan Smith scored 29, and Duke reached Indianapolis, where it won the program’s fourth title.
“Oh, man, probably the most important game I ever played in, to be honest,” Scheyer said. “That was kind of the making of four years. To get over the hump for us of getting to a Final Four, that was a special thing.
“I remember the whole game was back and forth. It was such a high-level game. … Then the nature of the game, just how it went down to the wire. So special memories.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Norchad Omier celebrates during Friday's win over Mississippi State.
Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports Images
Noting Norchad
Duke doesn’t need a dissertation on Baylor’s center when it compiles the game plan. And Roach isn’t the only ACC transplant playing a role for the Bears.
Norchad Omier, after spending the last two seasons at Miami, is the only player to start all 34 games for Baylor this season. He’s in his final season of eligibility, averaging 15.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game.
In all five of his seasons — two at Arkansas State before two in Coral Gables — he’s averaged a double-double.
“He was a handful there and he's a handful now,” Scheyer said of Omier. “He's as good of a rebounder to me as there is in college. He's got great touch around the basket.”
Things changed at Miami without Omier this season. With the season already pointed south and Nijel Pack sidelined with an injury, coach Jim Larranaga resigned the day after Christmas.
“He’s been one of the greatest coaches I’ve ever been around. I’ve got great respect for him,” Omier said of Larranaga. “I wouldn’t trade my time at Miami for anything.”
First tournament game impressions
It’s obvious that Duke’s freshmen played in their first NCAA tournament game Friday afternoon.
So did Sion James and Caleb Foster. The 148th game of James’ career — 113 of them in four years at Tulane — was his first NCAA tournament game.
“You try to go in without expectations,” James said. “It’s not like — I don’t think it’s fair for me to have expectations. I’ve never been here before, I don’t know what I’m doing. This is my first time doing this.
“My big thing was leaning on the guys who have been here before, Tyrese (Proctor), Mason (Gillis), coaches. They’ve had this experience before and I’m just trying to be ready for whatever gets thrown at me.”
Foster was with Duke last season for the Elite 8 trip but wasn’t playing because of the injury he suffered late in the regular season.
He had some of the experience — just not playing until he scored 12 points, including a 3-for-4 clip on 3-pointers against Mount St. Mary’s.
Khaman Maluach’s 3-point stroke
The 7-2, 250-pound freshman said at the onset of the season he knew he wouldn’t be taking many 3-pointers for Duke this season.
He hasn’t — but he’s made one in two of Duke’s last three games.
“To me, it’s not all about shooting the 3s or shooting more, it’s all about making the right play all the time,” Maluach said after Duke’s first-round win. “So if that’s the right play at that moment, I’ll take a 3.
“But if it’s not the right play, I’ll pass the ball off or set a screen.”
Maluach is 4-for-16 from behind the arc this season. He made one against North Carolina in the ACC tournament and drilled one again against Mount St. Mary’s in the first-half flurry that sent Duke toward a blowout.
Continue reading...
