Duke Blue Devils News: Flagg ROTY favorite, CFB ratings released, Sion James draft moment stained by ESPN mistake

The Duke basketball program saw its entire starting five from the 2024-25 season selected in the 2025 NBA Draft on June 25th and 26th. Cooper Flagg was selected with the first overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks, Kon Knueppel was selected fourth overall by the Charlotte Hornets, Khaman Maluach was selected tenth overall by the Phoenix Suns, Sion James was selected 33rd overall by Charlotte as well, and Tyrese Proctor went 49th overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

However, one Blue Devil draftee's moment was stained by a colossal mistake by ESPN.

On the gridiron, EA Sports' College Football 26 has released its team ratings, and the Blue Devils were respected with their numbers.

Here's the latest round-up of Duke Blue Devils news.

Cooper Flagg heavy Rookie of the Year betting favorite

Everyone knew that Flagg was going to be the first overall pick to Dallas as he's the most complete prospect in this draft, and one of the best prospects coming out of college in the last fifteen years. The betting markets agree, as the Maine native opened as a heavy betting favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award with -190 odds per FanDuel. The five rookies with the best odds to win the award are Flagg, Ace Bailey (+850), Tre Johnson (+850), Dylan Harper (+1200), and VJ Edgecombe (+2500). The other top ten rookies from Duke, Knueppel and Maluach, sit with +3500 odds and +10000 odds to win the award, respectively. Now, Flagg is in an interesting situation, as he's not on a young, rebuilding team like most other top rookies. Instead, he enters a franchise with playoff aspirations, which is very uncommon for a No. 1 overall pick. It's unclear exactly the type of role that Flagg will play with the Mavs, but the potential limit on his offensive usage could prevent him from putting up the numbers necessary to win the award. Although, he's still the most talented player in this class and should thrive with talent around him, so it makes sense to put him as a heavy favorite to be the best rookie in the NBA next season.

EA Sports releases CFB 26 team ratings

EA Sports has released the team ratings for all programs in College Football 26, and the Duke football program was given the respect it deserves as a top 25 team in the nation. Manny Diaz's program was given a team rating of 84, the 23rd-highest rating of any college football team in the game. Four other programs were also given team ratings of 84: SMU, Missouri, Auburn, and Tennessee. The Blue Devils, along with SMU, are the third-highest rated programs out of the Atlantic Coast Conference in the game. Clemson leads the way out of the ACC with a rating of 88, followed by Miami at 86. Duke didn't make the top 25 in offensive rating, but slid into the 16th-highest defensive rating of any program in the game with an 88. The Blue Devils are looking to build on that stellar defense in year two under Diaz after returning some of their top contributors from a season ago, most notably rising senior cornerback Chandler Rivers, who is viewed as one of the top returning secondary pieces in college football this upcoming season.

Sion James draft moment stained by critical ESPN mistake

Duke basketball veteran guard Sion James was widely viewed as a mid-second round selection, but no one saw it coming where he was taken as high as the 33rd overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets, joining fellow Blue Devil Kon Knueppel, However, James' moment on TV was wasted, as when ESPN showed the four Hornets draft picks, including James, the network put someone on screen that...wasn't him.

That's not Duke's lead guard from a season ago; that's Nebraska guard Brice Williams, who ended up going undrafted. Regardless of the mishap by ESPN, James still has the chance to become the steal of the 2025 NBA Draft. James is an elite perimeter defender, a phenomenal downhill driver, and rarely makes mistakes. He can impact winning in so many different facets of the game and can contribute from day one.