Duke's Chris Carrawell, Cooper Flagg, Tyrese Proctor talk win over SMU

Duke associate head coach Chris Carrawell along with players Cooper Flagg and Tyrese Proctor spoke with the media after the win over SMU. Here’s what they had to say.

DUKE COACH CHRIS CARRAWELL

Opening Statement: “I just want to shout out my guy, Coach [Jon] Scheyer, who I know wanted to be here. He was texting, calling, bothering us, because he cared so much. I want to thank our team, our coaching staff, Coach [Jai] Lucas, Coach [Emanuel] Dildy, Coach [Will] Avery, Coach [Mike] Schrage. They did an excellent job on the bench. And our players really came out today and played well on both ends from start to finish. Excellent job. Total team effort. Go Duke.”

On the experience of prepping for the game without Duke head coach Jon Scheyer: “It’s tough. You find out, late last night, that he wasn’t going to make the trip. But our guys, with their prep, did an excellent job. Coach Lucas had this scout, and we were prepared. There wasn’t really a lot to say. You’re thinking, ‘man, do I go and give my Knute Rockne speech?’ And these guys don’t know who Knute Rockne is. I knew they were ready. It was different. Lot of crazy stuff going on, but our guys responded and played a great game today”

On how the offense has sharpened up recently: “Well, to start the year, we had a brand new team. The only returners were Caleb [Foster] and [Tyrese Proctor]. It takes time. I thought our defense was, of course, ahead of our offense. But guys are learning how to play with each other. [Proctor and Cooper Flagg] are really excellent leaders for our team. We go how they go. Their voice, their leadership. Coop turned 18, young buck, but [Proctor] has been in our program for three years, man. He’s been in every role. He’s been a great leader for us this year.”

On what changed from the first half going into the second half for Duke: “I thought we did a good job in the first half. We didn’t settle. thought we did a really good job of attacking the paint in the first half. We got downhill. At halftime, I think we had 12 assists and one turnover. We didn’t turn the ball over, we got quality shots for the most part of the game. And in the second half, we were able to get downhill and it opened up. We made our kicks and guys were ready to shoot the ball. Cooper is able to put pressure on the defense and any time he’s in that mode, attacking, it opens up a lot for us.”

DUKE FRESHMAN GUARD/FORWARD COOPER FLAGG

On how he has changed as a player since the early part of the season: “I think for me, my whole mindset this whole year, has just been trying to get better every single day. I think that as we’ve gotten more comfortable as a team, we’ve come together more. I think our offense has definitely sharpened up a lot, and that’s helped me as well. A lot of guys have stepped up through a lot of different games, so it’s just a team effort that having guys like Tyrese [Proctor] and Kon [Knueppel] on the court helps open everything up for me.”

On what makes Duke so good away from home: “I think it’s our togetherness as a team. Our ability to come together and fight for each other. Without Coach Scheyer today, it really showed how we can come together and win on the road.”

On Duke’s high assist numbers against SMU: “I think it speaks to our team. We have such a talented team, it’s a disservice to everybody on the team if we don’t share it and get the right looks.”

DUKE JUNIOR GUARD TYRESE PROCTOR

On how Duke was able to limit SMU in transition: “The number one emphasis the whole week was to limit their offensive transition. So, focus on [defensive transition] for us and rebound. They’re a really good rebounding team. They sort of punched us in the mouth early, in terms of getting balls and offensive rebounds. I feel like, once we adjusted to that, we just played the game in our favor, and we do what we do.