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Cooper Flagg became the 34th consensus All-American in Duke program history this year after setting the college basketball world on fire.
The freshman forward isn’t yet done, either. His Blue Devils face Houston on Saturday in the Final Four. Duke is just 2 wins away from its sixth national championship. If Flagg can lead Duke to its first title in a decade, he’ll go down as one of the most revered players in Duke history. Flagg was hyped as a future No. 1 NBA Draft pick before he played a second of college basketball. And all he has done since that debut second is live up to expectations.
Or, rather, surpass expectations. At least in the eyes of Mike Krzyzewski.
During a SiriusXM radio appearance on Friday, the Hall of Fame coach dubbed Flagg the best freshman to ever play for Duke.
“Grant (Hill) is the best player to ever play at Duke, (Christian) Laettner the most accomplished, and we’ve had great players. Cooper, in his freshman year, is definitely the best freshman that has ever played (for Duke),” Krzyzewski said. “He’s a great, great player and really has an amazing future.
Krzyzewski went on to say that, with health, Flagg’s future is “incredible” and he has the potential to be an NBA MVP-level player.
“Hopefully, his future, when he looks back, he says, ‘Yeah, and it started at Duke when we won that national championship,” Krzyzewski said.
The 6-foot-9 Flagg was named the AP Player of the Year on Friday. He took 41 of 61 possible first-place votes for the award. Perhaps that’s a signal that another major honor is coming his way in the near future. The latest Wooden Award odds suggest Flagg is the favorite to win that Player of the Year award as well.
Flagg swept everything in the ACC’s postseason awards. He was the league’s Player of the Year, the league’s Rookie of the Year, an All-ACC selection, an ACC All-Freshman selection, and an ACC All-Defense selection. Entering the Final Four, Flagg is averaging 18.9 points to go along with 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Among all Division I players, Flagg ranks top 5 in PER, win shares, and box plus/minus.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
