Nov 4, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer watches the play against the Texas Longhorns during the first half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

Duke’s Key Player This Season Could Surprise Everyone

Originally posted on Duke Blue Devils on SI
By Michael Canelo | Last updated Nov 6, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Duke Blue Devils got off to the start they wanted to. They won their first game of the season against a Texas Longhorns team that plays hard all the way and gives this Duke team their first challenge of the season.

You could see the youth that Duke has this season and the talent as well. It took some time for them to get settled in, but that is expected when you have young players playing at the college level for the first time.

Head coach Jon Scheyer made the right adjustments and that was good to see from him. He let the game come to his players and made sure to coach them up on things that they could improve on. It is something that he does well, and you could tell that his players responded well to that by the way they played the rest of the way.

One player who did not hesitate in this game was Maliq Brown. Brown showed why this Duke team could be dangerous. He also showed why he is the player who will be the key to this Duke team. He is a great leader on and off the court, and in that win, it showed up well.

DUKE: No one is more important than Maliq Brown

"This isn’t necessarily a surprise, given the difference in Duke’s defensive performance last year between a healthy Brown, a banged-up Brown and no Brown at all, but among his new teammates who lack Cooper Flagg’s athleticism and rim protection down low, Brown’s ability to deny penetration and single-handedly throw sand into offensive gears is more valuable than ever," said Luke DeCock of The News & Observer.

"If anything, he’s more important to this team than he was his first year at Duke, and that’s saying something. His presence takes pressure off Cameron Boozer to defend and Patrick Ngongba to develop as a shot-blocker, although the sooner the latter happens the better Duke is going to be."

"Boozer grew into the game in the second half — and is going to end up paying residency taxes at the free-throw line at this rate after making nine of 12 attempts — and Isaiah Evans looked a year older and a year better, but Brown is a force multiplier for Duke on defense, making the other four players on the floor with him better.

"The Blue Devils have a lot of offensive weapons. Brown is irreplaceable at the other end."

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This article first appeared on Duke Blue Devils on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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