The Duke Blue Devils captured the ACC title over the weekend, despite their best player and projected No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, Cooper Flagg, being sidelined with an ankle sprain he suffered against Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
With the Blue Devils set to play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, the growing question and concern is whether Flagg will play. Duke head coach Jon Scheyer has indicated that he will likely be ready to go on Friday.
With a bright future ahead and being the consensus first overall pick in the eyes of just about everyone, some believe he shouldn’t play, especially in the first round. However, legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski sent a clear message about Flagg as the team prepares to face the winner of Mount St. Mary’s and American, who will meet in Wednesday’s First Four matchup in Dayton.
“I think Jon Scheyer did a great job and our medical staff saying right from the start you’re not playing, so it puts in Cooper’s mind, ‘Okay, I’m gonna be completely honest.’ You know this kid wants to play. I think he’s as good of a player as there is in college basketball—not think, I know he is. So, you took that out of his mind and everybody else’s mind… So Duke doesn’t play until Friday, and I expect Cooper to play, but we’ll be better as a result of him being out and going through those situations, going through adversity.
“Cooper Flagg has arguably been the best player in all of college basketball this season. While Duke’s national title hopes could potentially hinge on his health, the team has proven they can manage without him, as evidenced by their victories over North Carolina and Louisville—both of whom made the NCAA Tournament.
Flagg leads the Duke roster in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and minutes played. Entering the tournament, he is averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks, while shooting 48.8% from the field, 36.8% from the three-point line, and 83.0% from the free-throw line.
