• Loading stock data...
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Tuned In is Almost Sold Out! Limited Tickets Remain!

As College Basketball Teams Got Older, Duke Embraced the Fountain of Youth

The Blue Devils pulled off an increasingly rare feat in the era of “unrestricted free agency”: the youngest team in the Final Four.

Mar 29, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) before playing against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the East Regional final of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center.
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Exclusive

Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman, Rob Dauster to Lead On3’s College Hoops Writing

Goodman previously worked for ESPN, CBS Sports, and Stadium.
Read Now
September 13, 2025 |

SAN ANTONIO — In college sports’ new era of “unrestricted free agency,” the average age of top rosters has gotten older, as transfers make up the core of more and more top programs. Teams can build an entirely new roster in just one year, enticing transfers with the promise of NIL (name, image, and likeness) earnings.

But the Duke Blue Devils have remained old-school—by emphasizing youth. Their roster construction looks more like the pre-NIL/transfer era, when programs could land a top freshman, ride his coattails deep into March, and then send him off to the NBA draft. This season’s roster, the current title favorite, is centered on freshmen and likely one-and-done Cooper Flagg. In fact, the Blue Devils’ starting lineup reportedly boasts the youngest average age (19.4) of any team in the Sweet 16 by two years. (Houston and Florida are 21.6; Auburn is the oldest at 23.2). 

It’s an increasingly rare strategy, but they’re still trailblazers in the NIL industry, even if their NIL collective flies somewhat under the radar.

“For this year, we felt very confident that this class we had coming in could impact winning right away,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer told reporters Thursday. “Next year, I feel we have a group that can do the same.” 


At the end of last season, the Blue Devils lost seven players to the transfer portal and two to the NBA. Duke wasn’t the only team forced to rebuild an entire roster in one offseason. But it was, arguably, one of the only elite programs to fill out its roster with freshmen rather than dipping into the portal. (Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster returned from the 2023–2024 team.)

Scheyer recruited the No. 1 freshman class this offseason. Led by the top-ranked Flagg, all five players were listed on ESPN’s top-50 rankings. Four of them were the top players in their respective states. 

Scheyer described the portal as “supplemental.” The team added only three transfers: Mason Gillis, Maliq Brown, and Sion James. Scheyer explained that when he recruited these players, he was looking for shooting ability and defensive prowess. 

Apr 4, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer speaks during a press conference after forward Cooper Flagg (2) won the Oscar Robertson Player of the Year award at Alamodome.
Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

That roster composition has floored even some of the most traditional coaches, who, once upon a time, built rosters around the one-and-done era themselves. “It’s very difficult to win with freshmen,” St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said at his AP Coach of the Year award press conference in San Antonio on Friday. “But they’re doing it.” (Pitino built a program using the transfer portal and NIL opportunities—a team that exceeded overall expectations but was knocked out in the round of 32.)

Scheyer acknowledged “it’s foolish to say you have one way of recruiting”—and that, as he experienced last offseason, it’s harder than ever to keep players. But for now, the old-school approach has taken them all the way to San Antonio.


Recruiting has never been an issue for Duke, and it certainly wasn’t going to fall behind in the NIL era—especially in a post–Mike Krzyzewski world.

By the time NIL began in 2021, the Blue Devils had already begun investing heavily in multimedia storytelling and building a strong brand on social media. At the time, Duke men’s basketball creative director David Bradley told Front Office Sports that recruits were interested in the social media pitch as much as they were the on-court pitch. Duke was offering everything from content that players could share on their own platforms to an athletic department studio for media hits. 

Just a couple of months after Scheyer took the reins in 2022, he hired former Nike and NBA executive Rachel Baker as the NCAA’s first men’s basketball “general manager,” a position dedicated, in many ways, to helping athletes with the NIL landscape. Since 2022, her position has become ubiquitous across the industry.

It’s unclear just how much Duke relies on NIL collective dollars, however—the booster-funded payments that have powered countless men’s basketball teams from St. John’s to Arkansas. Duke does have collective money, but the team’s high-profile players are in a class of their own. Flagg, for example, has been appearing in TV ads during March Madness media timeouts and rakes in NIL earnings through partnerships with companies like New Balance, Gatorade, and Fanatics—deals that look more like endorsements for professional athletes than pseudo-college salaries. (Flagg’s AT&T commercial, which shows him playing bingo with his grandmother, is Scheyer’s favorite.)

Duke may have a somewhat unique situation, both on and off the court. And while it’s worked so far, Scheyer and the team know they may have to shift their strategies yet again—especially with the potential upcoming revenue-sharing era. “I do think you have to adapt,” Scheyer said. “I don’t think it can be just one way.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

exclusive

Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman, Rob Dauster to Lead On3’s College Hoops..

Goodman previously worked for ESPN, CBS Sports, and Stadium.

YouTube’s Revised NFL Game Rating Still Has Fox, ESPN Execs Upset 

Adjusted viewership metrics from the streamer reignited debate about the game.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 19: A detailed view of the MLB Debut patch on the jersey of Patrick Monteverde #44 of the Miami Marlins prior to game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 19, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Tiny Jersey Patch at the Center of the MLB Rookie Card..

Autographed cards containing a piece of baseball history have upended the market.

Massachusetts Sues Kalshi To Block Sports Prediction Markets

A lawsuit claims the company’s offerings are indistinguishable from traditional sports bets.

Featured Today

Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Rematch Could Set More NFL Ratings Records

Fox will nationally televise Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
September 10, 2025

ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Ratings Up 8% As NFL Surges to Strong Start

ESPN posts its second-best Week 1 “Monday Night Football” audience.
Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills fans react during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium.
September 9, 2025

As Bills Ascend, Their Next Frontier Lies in Canada

Buffalo and the powerful Canadian entity MLSE come together in a new pact.
opinion
September 9, 2025

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from NFL’s Week 1 Broadcasts

Many viewers decried the addition of ads to “NFL RedZone.”
Mar 4, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks with Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., ahead of President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025.

House Republicans Delay SCORE Act Vote Tentatively Planned for Next Week

They didn’t believe they had enough votes to pass the bill.
Feb 17, 2024; Boise, Idaho, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs guard Jalen Weaver (5) during the first half against the Boise State Broncos at ExtraMile Arena.
September 10, 2025

NCAA Bans 3 Basketball Players for Violating Betting Rules Last Season

The former San Jose State and Fresno State players have lost eligibility.
Jan 25, 2023; Langley, British Columbia, CAN; Highlights from the CHL Kubota Top Prospects game at the Langley Events Centre
September 10, 2025

NCAA Hockey Scouts Denied Passes for Crucial Recruiting League

The CHL won’t welcome scouts on passes: “It comes across as petty.”
Sponsored

How World Series Champ Dexter Fowler Became a Premier League Team Owner

Dexter Fowler discusses navigating retirement and embracing new roles as an owner & investor.
NFL Congress
exclusive
September 10, 2025

College Sports ‘House of Cards’: Republicans, Lobbyists Work to Secure Votes to..

Several House Republicans criticized the SCORE Act on social media.
The cover of the College Football 25 video game.
exclusive
September 9, 2025

Group That Facilitated NIL Deal for Football Video Game Now Says It’s..

EA offered $1,500 and no royalties; it also deleted an opt-out clause.
Sep 6, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; South Florida Bulls place kicker Nico Gramatica (7), South Florida Bulls long snapper Turner McLaughlin (48) and teammates celebrate after a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
September 8, 2025

USF Is the Newest Financial Underdog in the AP Top 25

USF’s athletic department brings in half the amount Florida does.
September 7, 2025

Oklahoma-Michigan Was a Battle of Dueling QB NIL Philosophies

Bryce Underwood got into a heated exchange with his teammate.