The Duke basketball season is not on the radar screen of most hoops fans now that Team USA basketball is in the Olympics, but for Cooper Flagg, the countdown has officially begun. The heralded freshman forward got a whirlwind experience playing against LeBron James and Team USA during the exhibition season and now he's revealing his thoughts.
Flagg was compared to a Russian basketball legend recently ahead of his first season with Duke. Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer got an impressive message from another top-tier recruit.
Will Cooper Flagg live up to his billing as arguably the best prospect college basketball has seen in decades?
That remains to be seen, but for now Flagg and the Duke basketball program are still buzzing about Flagg's experience with Team USA at the Olympics showcase.
Flagg waxes poetic on LeBron James experience
What did Cooper Flagg think as he laced up the sneakers to face off against one of his idols? Flagg said the experience was “surreal” and admitted he felt the nerves pretty starkly as he prepared to guard ‘King James' in preparation for Team USA's Olympic summer in Paris this off-season.
“They first day, for sure, I was nervous,” Flagg said. “I didn't know what to think. I got on the court, and I was like, ‘Wow.'
“I was guarding LeBron in the corner. It kind of just hit me for a second, and I had to snap out of it.”
Duke basketball on verge of historic run?
Duke basketball is known for great recruiting classes, but the 2024 class is the one that could launch Jon Scheyer's program back into the stratosphere.
Duke hauled in the number 22 transfer portal class and the number one overall class along with Flagg, the number one overall recruit.
Four players ranked from 97 overall to 100 overall in terms of the latest 247Sports.com rankings are included in the class, which is being heralded as one of the best in Duke basketball history.
That is saying a lot considering the bevy of household names that Duke basketball has signed in the last few decades to join up with the Durham, NC based program.
Flagg got praise up and down the United States roster by players fans didn't expect to hear from including the ‘Easy Money Sniper' himself, Kevin Durant, who recently had a breakout performance with Team USA. Durant cited Flagg's ability to stay cool and calm under pressure as the trait that made him standout during practice runs with some of the world's most outstanding players in recent memory.
If Flagg can continue to live up to expectations, Duke basketball could become the new UConn and Jon Scheyer could become the next Dan Hurley. It's all setting up nicely for Flagg and the Blue Devils, as one of college basketball's blue blood teams prepares to reclaim its place on the pantheon of college hoops programs.
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