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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Strolling by way of the Hilton Lodge in uptown Charlotte on Wednesday morning, you could not go greater than 5 minutes with out listening to his title uttered by a media member, despite the fact that he wasn’t within the constructing.
Cooper Flagg.
Will he dwell as much as the hype? Is he one of the best school prospect since Zion Williamson? Might he win the national player of the year award?
The 6-foot-9 freshman headlines Duke’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class and is the clear frontrunner to be taken within the high slot on the 2025 NBA Draft. A Maine native, Flagg’s rise as a small-town child who places protection first — and is a rare athlete with a high-level IQ for his age — makes him probably the most intriguing participant within the sport. He can be talked about each day all yr, and, in all chance, many extra years to return. But, with all of that hype surrounding the Gatorade and Naismith Nationwide Excessive Faculty Participant of the Yr, Flagg isn’t thinking about all the excitement.
“Cooper has loads of humility, and I imply loads of humility,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer stated of his top-ranked freshman. “Watching him, you see a confidence and a chip that he performs with, and I like that too. However he genuinely desires to be coached on each little factor, and also you both have that otherwise you don’t. … It simply doesn’t make him higher — it makes our crew higher as a result of it units the tone.
“If he’s going to simply accept teaching to the best diploma, all people else is as effectively. He [has] been terrific with that.”
Flagg, who this previous summer season grew to become the primary collegian to affix USA Basketball’s gold medal crew in coaching camp forward of the Olympics since Doug McDermott and Marcus Smart again in 2013, averaged 16.5 factors, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and a couple of.7 blocks per recreation to steer Montverde Academy to an undefeated 33-0 document and a nationwide championship as a senior in highschool.
“Cooper doesn’t care in regards to the media,” stated Tyrese Proctor, who is anticipated to be Duke’s chief within the backcourt in his junior season with Jeremy Roach off to Baylor and Jared McCain being a one-and-done freshman (76ers). “He’s only a straight competitor. Clearly, with the entire hype and stuff at 17 [years old], you’d assume it could play with him somewhat bit, nevertheless it doesn’t faze him in any respect. He’s a winner and that’s all he cares about. He’s a crew participant and he can do the whole lot.
“He’s so versatile. The extent of competitiveness he has, that’s what makes him so good.”
“Cooper Flagg is as marketed,” sophomore guard Caleb Foster stated. “All people talks about him, however he’s only a humble child who matches in with all of us. He doesn’t attempt to make himself greater than what he’s. He’s only a winner who competes day-after-day at follow. He has one mindset: to take his crew so far as he can.”
“He is aware of win, and he does the whole lot he can to win,” Proctor added. “It doesn’t matter if there are 5 seconds or 10 seconds left in a recreation — or 5 minutes — he’s going to do the whole lot he can in that second to win. I work with him on a regular basis, and he’s all the time within the gymnasium.”
As for the large image in Durham, it’s a crucial third season for Scheyer, who has gone 27-9 in every of his first two years on the helm with an Elite Eight journey that ended with a heartbreaking loss to 11-seed North Carolina State final March. Whereas Flagg is the marquee title, he’s not the one highly-touted freshman in Duke’s top-ranked recruiting class, with NBA Academy Africa product Khaman Maluach and 6-5 wing Kon Knueppel as the opposite high names in a six-member class. Couple that with 4 transfers, together with Mason Gillis from Purdue and former Tulane star Sion James, and also you get a mixed 10 new faces on Duke’s roster.
“I’m shocked individuals aren’t speaking extra about Khaman Maluach,” Foster stated of the 7-1 heart who represented South Sudan in Paris because the youngest participant at this summer season’s Olympics. “He’s a freak athlete. … I’ve by no means performed with anyone like him. He has a 9-8 wingspan. It’s not honest. He protects the paint and I believe he’s forward of his time.”
Scheyer was extraordinarily complimentary of Knueppel, who averaged 25.9 factors, 8.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per recreation as a senior at Wisconsin Lutheran Excessive Faculty en path to incomes the state’s participant of the yr honors.
“Each certainly one of our freshmen has had moments, however what stands out about Kon is he’s giving us these moments day-after-day,” stated Scheyer. “He has the correct habits. From offensive footwork to defensive footwork, he’s been a pure. He’s obtained toughness from inside. He is aware of play by way of contact and he can actually shoot the ball. He’s been superior.”
What’s the highest problem for the 37-year-old Scheyer heading into the 2024-25 season? It’s balancing the top-flight freshman expertise with breaking by way of and getting Duke to the place the place expectations all the time are inside Cameron Indoor Stadium: a Remaining 4.
“It’s the hardest factor for me as a result of I’m naturally very impatient,” Scheyer stated. “I’m an impatient particular person, however I additionally really feel that’s why I’ve been capable of finding success in my profession and simply not really feel like I’ve to attend — and to only go for it and win. However on the similar time, it’s a course of. I don’t need our guys simply hanging their hat on successful and dropping. I need to go 40-0. We need to win each recreation, however I would like them controlling their effort day-after-day and their competitiveness day-after-day, and I believe that every one comes naturally.
“I haven’t mastered it by any means, however I do know we have now to be affected person. We’ve two of the 5 youngest gamers in school this yr, and I’m betting on these guys, however we are going to undergo some rising pains at occasions.”
John Fanta is a nationwide school basketball broadcaster and author for FOX Sports activities. He covers the game in a wide range of capacities, from calling video games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Community to offering commentary on The Discipline of 68 Media Community. Observe him at @John_Fanta.
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