Three Good Reads From The Chronicle
Good stuff all the way round.
The Duke Chronicle has three articles up you’ll want to see: one is about Caleb Foster as a sophomore and leader, one is about Cooper Flagg not being like Zion Williamson, despite the massive hype, and the last is about Duke’s ties to Paul VI in Chantilly, Virginia.
Foster’s journey is interesting. He has always come across as a quiet sort of a guy but as a sophomore, he’s coming into his own. Hosting the Brotherhood Podcast has sort of forced him to open up and he’s really grown a lot as a communicator. And as you probably know, from Mike Krzyzewski to Jon Scheyer, communication at Duke is a very consistent thing.
The Flagg vs. Zion thing is interesting and will get a lot of play this year but it’s really a tough comparison. Zion was a freak of nature and for a while, Duke turned into a circus. It was amazing to see how people reacted to him and his prodigious talent.
Flagg is not that kind of player, but he’s already shown that he’s highly unusual. Everyone could see the impact Zion had. With Flagg, not everything is going to be obvious. He’s going to be a delight though for people who understand the subtleties of the game. You could kind of compare him to Wayne Gretzky, who knew where the game was going and acted to affect and adjust the flow of the match. Gretzky said to skate to where the puck would be and in some ways, Flagg does that with basketball. He’ll have some spectacular plays every night but to understand what makes him special you’ll have to watch for the small things too.
As for Paul VI, that’s become an interesting story. Duke first got Jeremy Roach, then Trevor Keels, now Patrick Ngongba and Darren Harris. It’s kind of cool to have a feeder school, if you will, and it’d be even cooler if the tradition continues.