Duke fans can breathe a little easier after Cooper Flagg’s ankle scare in the ACC Tournament, but ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith isn’t taking any chances—and he doesn’t think Jon Scheyer should either.
As the Blue Devils prepare to face the winner of the First Four matchup between American and Mount St. Mary’s, which will determine their No. 16 seed opponent in the East Region, Smith made it clear that he thinks Flagg should not be on the floor for that opening game.
“I don’t care if holy water is sprinkled on this brother’s ankle—he shouldn’t play Friday,” Smith declared on “First Take” Monday. “He shouldn’t play in that first-round game against the 16th seed.”
His reasoning? If Duke, a No. 1 or 2 seed depending on how things shake out, needs Flagg to get past a 16-seed, that’s a much bigger problem than just one injured ankle.
“If the Duke Blue Devils can’t beat the 16th seed without Cooper Flagg, you don’t deserve to be in the tournament,” Smith continued.
And he didn’t stop there. Smith noted that Duke’s roster is stacked, pointing to players like Tyrese Proctor and the rest of the squad, who should be more than capable of handling business without their star freshman.
“You’ve got [Tyrese] Proctor, you’ve got the rest of the crew—these brothers can ball,” Smith said. “You can go out there and beat the 16th seed and buy Cooper Flagg two additional days of rest for the rest of the NCAA Tournament. No way he should play that first game.”
Smith’s take makes sense—Duke should be able to cruise past a No. 16 seed, and risking Flagg’s long-term health this early could be a mistake. But will Scheyer take his advice? That remains to be seen.
