DURHAM – There is a big difference between attending Countdown to Craziness as a recruit and being the player who everybody in Cameron Indoor Stadium is watching.

Cooper Flagg can now attest.

“I was a little tired, to be honest. I wasn’t ready for that, man. It kind of shocked me a little bit,” Flagg said after Friday night’s preseason event. “I had energy but I felt it in my lungs a little bit, just being a little bit gassed.

“Incredible environment, wouldn’t want to play anywhere else, to be honest.”

Countdown to Craziness always has more to do with Duke’s newcomers — a qualification for 8 of 10 starters in the Blue-White scrimmage — getting an introduction to the atmosphere and the Crazies than it has to do with the on-court product and/or results.

Of the eight newcomers, six have seen a game at Duke. Five of them were recruits when they first saw a game here; the sixth has a unique backstory, given Maliq Brown’s career-high came here in a Syracuse jersey last season.

“It’s incredible, I never thought that I would have this jersey on,” Brown said. “Being able to have this jersey on, looking in the future, it was just a good feeling.”

The other unique background here is the tallest player on the team who donned a South Sudan flag as a cape during his introduction.

Khaman Maluach played in the Olympics and has played in front of larger crowds, but the one at Duke is different.

“I basically played on a big stage before where there’s 25,000 people, but it’s really different here because all of the fans are on our side,” Maluach said. “These are my fans. I’ve always played against other fans, so I’ve never had my fans have my back like this.

“Cameron is such … I wouldn’t say it’s a small arena, but the 9,000 people, you really feel like everybody is engaged with the game.”

Here were other notes about Duke’s Countdown to Craziness:

One of the most interesting parts to this night always happens several hours beforehand.

That’s when the rosters are announced and you can gauge how Jon Scheyer sees combinations and lineups forming, who he wants to play together and who he wants to see across from one another.

For interior players: Flagg and Maluach were both on the White team, matched up against Brown and Mason Gillis.

For guards: Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster were on opposite teams, which was probably expected, given they’re the team’s top two ball-handlers.

The transfer from Tulane is both comfortable in his own skin and comfortable with where his game fits for the Blue Devils.

In a way, Sion James does a bit of everything; no single skill standing out but also covering enough bases that his versatility in contributions becomes his best attribute.

“I do what I can, really get in where I fit in,” James said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can do a lot of things and are going to be really good at the things they’re doing. So, my job is to make them better and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

James and Maluach were the only two players who could claim two wins. They were on the White team for a 20-17 win, and then were traded to the Blue team for a 37-21 rout in the second 10-minute segment.

He was happy during an interview to be asked of notching two wins — while also noting there isn’t a reward for it.

“I was on the winning side both times. I’m so glad you brought that up,” James said. “A win in November and December means a lot more than one in October, so bragging rights for now. Hopefully some wins down the line mean a little more.”

TIP INS: The three recruits who were reported to be coming — Shelton Henderson, Acaden Lewis and Nate Ament — were all in attendance and sat with the Crazies for the last couple of minutes. … Maluach had four rebounds and a foul in the first 10-minute game. He had seven points, including a banked-in 3, four rebounds and two blocks when he played for the Blue team. … Foster led the game in scoring with 16 points. Freshman Isaiah Evans scored 15 and made three 3s, at one point scoring eight straight points for the White team in the first game, and Flagg scored 13.