Duke’s Cooper Flagg identifies one area of improvement under HC Jon Scheyer

Duke freshman sensation Cooper Flagg said his defense improved several notches under the guidance of Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer.

Flagg made the statement after Duke's exhibition game win over Division II school Lincoln on Saturday at the Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

The 6-foot-9 forward out of Montverde Academy showed his arsenal on both sides of the court, tallying 22 points, two rebounds, six assists and four blocks. His game-high blocks were attributed to his offseason workouts which focused mainly on defense and Flagg was satisfied with his performance.

"I would say probably defensively. Just a lot of positioning stuff, a lot of moving (and) my feet (footwork) getting better defensively," Flagg said. "College is a different game, so I've been working a lot on my defense and that's something that I pride myself on. I want to play good defense." (0:44-onwards)

After allowing 34 points in the first half, Duke clamped down on defense, limiting Lincoln to 22 points in the second half en route to a 107-56 win. The Blue Devils' defense recorded 12 steals and forced their rivals to commit 18 turnovers, resulting in 36 points off turnovers.

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Cooper Flagg shows excitement about Duke's ball movement

Cooper Flagg also praised the Blue Devils' fluid ball movement against Lincoln, emphasizing that the team's solid execution in offense showed their utmost trust in each other.

"We have 10 extremely skilled talented players so if the ball's sticking that's kind of a disservice to each and every one of us. I think if the ball moves it's going to figure itself out. We got to trust each other, trust our teammates and and we'll just work our plays and we'll get the right shots," Flagg said. (1:13-onwards)

The top prospect in the Class of 2024 pledged that he'll do what is asked of him during the college basketball season and he is comfortable operating in any spot on the court.

Flagg also attributed the Countdown to Craziness event as something that helped to loosen up and relax days before the exhibition game. It gave him a first-hand experience of what it's like to play under a packed gymnasium with the Duke fans cheering for them.

The Blue Devils will have another exhibition game against the Arizona Sun Devils on Oct. 27 before they start their regular season against Maine on Nov. 4. They're ranked No. 7 in the AP preseason poll and the tuneup game win against Lincoln shows that Duke is a force to reckon with this coming season.