Sometime over the summer, around the time of K Academy, is when Caleb Foster had a realization about Khaman Maluach.

Sure, the 7-2, 250-pound freshman is one massive presence. But something else about Maluach’s presence is worth noting.

He’s loud. And vocal on defense.

“He’s ahead of his time, he’s very vocal,” Foster said of the South Sudanese big man. “Not many freshmen come in like that but he’s different.”

Maluach is soft spoken and cautious with his words in the Duke locker room — at least when media has been in there after Countdown to Craziness and last weekend’s exhibition against Lincoln (Pa.).

But the freshman center has a booming voice on the court and it’s something that Duke hasn’t had to coach into him.

“It’s something that came along with me, something that started a long time ago,” Maluach told Devils Illustrated last weekend. “I just make sure that I’m loud and my (teammates) get to hear me and get to play defense as a team.

“Make sure, let them know that I’m here and I’ve got their backs.”

The Blue Devils beat Lincoln last weekend 107-56 and face a stiffer test in their second and final exhibition game, which is Sunday night against Arizona State.

Whether you’re at Sunday night’s game or watching, you could be able to pick up how vocal Maluach is on the defensive end.

“I’ll tell you what … he’s a natural at it,” coach Jon Scheyer said of Maluach’s vocality. “He came in that way, reminds me of (Dereck) Lively, reminds me of Jared McCain.

“Just the energy (Maluach) brings all the time, he knows no other way. And it just changes your defense when you have him back there commanding it. I wish I could take credit but I can’t, that’s all him.”

Here’s what to know ahead of Sunday night’s exhibition:

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium.

TV: ACC Network.

Announcers: John Schriffen (play-by-play) and Cory Alexander (analyst).

Series; last meeting: Duke leads 1-0; Duke won 64-53 in Nov. 2009, when Scheyer had 16 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Records: N/A.

Stat to watch: 10/7.

That’s how many offensive rebounds and second-chance points (in that order) Lincoln had against Duke last weekend.

Granted, Duke still outrebounded Lincoln 47-31. Giving up seven second-chance points might register as decent for most games on the Blue Devils’ schedule. Duke had 28 defensive rebounds, meaning Lincoln’s offensive rebound rate was 26.3%; last year, the Blue Devils had NCAA tournament wins over Houston and James Madison while surrendering offensive rebound rates of 32.4% and 34.4%, respectively.

But the offensive rebounds were the first thing mentioned by a couple of players in the aftermath of last weekend’s exhibition, which means it was probably a sticking point for Scheyer and the coaching staff in the post-game discussion. It’s something Duke wants to clean up now before it becomes a problem when games count.

Matchup to watch: Arizona State’s Jayden Quaintance (No. 21) vs. Duke’s Cooper Flagg (No. 2).

The two youngest players in college basketball square off in this one.

Quaintance is so young that he’s not eligible for the next NBA draft and will have to spend two seasons at Arizona State (or next season elsewhere). He just turned 17 in July; NBA draft rules state that a player has to turn 19 in the calendar year of the draft to be eligible.

Flagg, turning 18 on Dec. 21, is barely eligible for the 2025 draft.

Setting aside the age factor, these are bound to be two of the most talented freshmen in college basketball, too. You know all about Flagg; Quaintance was the No. 8 player in the Rivals150 after he reclassified. He’s a 6-9 forward who played at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh.

Quaintance was committed to Kentucky but jumped to Arizona State after John Calipari left for Arkansas. His highlight film showcases him as a driver and ferocious dunker more than a shooter.

For the record: Maluach is the fifth-youngest player in college basketball this year, having turned 18 on Sept. 14.

Sun Devil to watch: Senior guard Adam Miller (No. 44).

He has … been around.

Miller was a freshman at Illinois in the 2020-21 season, scoring 28 points on 10-for-12 shooting in his debut and finishing fifth among Big Ten freshmen in scoring. He transferred to LSU, where he missed the entire 21-22 season because of an ACL injury. The following year, he started all 33 games and averaged 11.5 points for LSU.

And then he transferred to Arizona State, where he had to sit out to start last season as a two-time transfer. He was cleared by the NCAA’s blanket decision to clear all two-time transfers in December, so Miller wound up playing in 23 games for the Sun Devils last season.

Now? He’s going to be the veteran guard on a team oozing with young talent, given Quaintance, 5-star guard Joson Sanon and 4-star guard Amier Ali. Miller is the only returner from Arizona State’s top four scorers last season (averaged 12.2 points).

Blue Devil to watch: Freshman guard Kon Knueppel (No. 7).

With Scheyer all but confirming after last weekend’s exhibition that he’ll have a different starting lineup in this one, who would you feel *most* certain about remaining in the starting lineup?

The answer starts with Flagg and is followed by Knueppel.

The freshman wing scored 17 points last weekend, burying five 3-pointers in the first half and posterizing a Lincoln defender early in the second half with a vicious one-handed dunk.

Knueppel isn’t going to get as many wide-open looks from behind the 3-point arc as he did against the Lions, though. The intriguing part that comes with that will be watching how Knueppel moves off of the ball to find space for himself.

And, of course, you’ll want to see if he gets any more highlight reel dunks.

What’s on deck: Both of these teams start their seasons the next time we see them; Duke plays host to Maine on Nov. 4 and Arizona State plays Idaho State on Nov. 5.

KenPom prediction: No such thing for exhibitions.

Devils Illustrated prognosis: Ah, still, just remember that it’s an exhibition game.

Scheyer is still likely to spend more time tinkering with lineups and combinations than he normally would, even if this were an early season game.

As important as it is for Duke to win, that takes a backseat to the Blue Devils needing more time to gel together against a power-conference opponent. As talented as this team is, and as much as we think we know they’ll be tougher than teams of the last couple of years, it’s still a team with five freshmen and three transfers in its top 10 players.

Most importantly: Remember that this is a charity game. Proceeds will benefit Duke Children’s Hospital.