Pitt's Jeff Capel knows all too well about Duke's legacy of freshman talent

Jeff Capel paged through his earliest, childhood basketball memories in response to a question presented to him Monday during the ACC coaches’ conference call:

What does Duke do to develop such outstanding freshman talent every year and provide a smooth transition from high school to almost immediate stardom in the ACC?

The question came up the day before Capel and his Pitt players left for Durham, N.C., and a game Tuesday against No. 4 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

In Durham, Pitt (12-2, 3-0 ACC) will put its five-game winning streak to the test against Duke and its starting lineup featuring freshmen Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. All three have started every game for the Blue Devils (12-2, 4-0).

Flagg, the projected No. 1 choice in this year’s NBA Draft, is averaging 17.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Knueppel scores at a 12.4-point rate and the 7-foot-2, 250-pound Maluach checks in at 7.9 points and 5.4 rebounds.

How have they found success so quickly?

“I do think some of it is talent,” Capel said. “They get the best of the best, and they’ve done that since 1982 when Johnny Dawkins got there.”

Capel, who played for and coached under Mike Krzyzewski, said his boss was an underrated recruiter. More than that, Capel said Krzyzewski — and now current coach Jon Scheyer — know what to do with great players when they get them on campus.

“What Jon has done — and the same way coach K did it — he’s allowed that talent to have freedom within that structure and allowed that talent to be unique. He’s encouraged them and created an environment where they can be unique. When you do that, then you have a chance to have something special.

“Coach (K) used to always say, ‘These guys are going to do stuff that makes us, coaches, look good and make them look like we’re teaching them stuff when we’re really not. They’re just that good.’ ”

Capel said that freedom attracts other great players. Thus, the cycle continues.

“They want to follow in the footsteps of a Johnny Dawkins or Danny Ferry or (Christian) Laettner or (Bobby) Hurley or (Grant) Hill or (Elton) Brand or (Shane) Battier. I could keep going. Now to Cooper. They probably have some more coming in next year.

“When you have unique talent like that, it takes unique coaching to be able to foster that. I hope they really appreciate what they have in Jon right now.”

Scheyer said he has coached freshmen every year at Duke, first as an assistant for nine seasons, then as head coach for the past 2 1/2.

“(The current group’s) maturity and their personalities at the same time have been as good as any group we’ve had,” he said. “They talk. They want to understand the game at a deep level. We put them in tough situations off the bat. They showed they’re not afraid. They’re great competitors, and they’re not about themselves.”

He said it also helps to have “secure upperclassmen … who are not about themselves.”

“For me, it’s been a special group to coach.”

Capel was asked how he plans to slow down Flagg, who scored 24 points Saturday in Duke’s 89-62 victory at SMU.

“I don’t know if it’s possible, just because he is so dynamic is so many different areas,” he said.

Capel hadn’t seen much of Flagg, largely because Pitt’s coach adheres to extreme focus and seldom looks beyond the next game. But he said, “I’ve watched him a lot since Saturday evening (after Pitt’s victory against Stanford).

“He has a competitive toughness, a competitive urgency. He’s a great rebounder. The thing I’ve been most impressed with is his passing. He has such a good feel as a basketball player on both ends. You just have to try to match his competitive spirit and try to make things tough for him and, hopefully, he misses some (shots).

“Very rarely do you see, especially a young guy, a freshman, who plays that hard and is that competitive on both sides of the ball. That’s rare on top of all the skill.”

While preparing for Duke, Capel found himself almost becoming a Flagg fan.

“It’s really awesome to see on tape,” he said. “I don’t know how awesome it’s going to be to see (Tuesday). As a fan of basketball, you love to see that.”