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There is no doubt that Duke basketball is a must watch this season because of freshman Cooper Flagg, projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. Despite being a freshman, the Duke basketball team is favored to win it all because of Flagg's influence as he displayed his talents during an exhibition contest against Lincoln on Saturday which garnered a response by head coach Jon Scheyer.
Duke basketball's Jon Scheyer on Cooper Flagg's outing
In the game, Flagg recorded a team-high 22 points to go along with two rebounds, six assists, and four blocks while shooting eight of 16 from the field and two of five from the three-point range. Scheyer would say after the game how the game of basketball comes organically to the 17-year old according to Andy Katz.
“He's a natural, and he has great instincts,” Scheyer said. “Obviously with how hard he plays, and then you add in his feel, he's going to make some special plays today, he had four blocks. Think he can even add in some steals preferably next time going for it. but i thought it was good for him, just I thought he was himself. I thought he even for Coop just he can rebound more, you know, just the decision. There's so much there for him. And I thought it was great for him to get a feel today though.”
Jon Scheyer on Cooper Flagg’s 22-point, four-block exhibition win for @DukeMBB over Lincoln (Pa.): @MarchMadnessMBB @accmbb pic.twitter.com/SKdk7zDgXW
— Andy Katz (@TheAndyKatz) October 19, 2024
Duke basketball's Jon Scheyer on realities with Cooper Flagg
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The Maine-native has always been a highly touted prospect for basketball as Flagg even impressed as part of the Team USA select team where there was noise of him doing impeccably well against NBA players. Scheyer has sung the praise of Flagg time and time again, even back in late September where he spoke about the type of expectations he has on him with the Duke basketball team according to The Athletic.
“I’ve seen a lot of different seasons, different hype, different expectations. With Cooper, I don’t know if we’ve ever had a 17-year-old with as much attention around him — and a lot of it rightfully so with the high school career he’s had and what he’s done,” Scheyer said.
“But we talk about all the things we can control. And that’s been our focus,” Scheyer continued. “Cooper does an amazing job of coming to practice to work every day. I don’t think he likes the attention, to be honest. I think he’s all about, he wants to be just like the other guys in terms of not caring about the attention, wanting to win, wanting to compete.”
It's important to remember that with how young Flagg is, he will have his highs and lows, even if he looks more polished as a basketball player.
“He’s 17. So, beginning of the season, he’s going to go through some stuff. That’s part of it,” Scheyer said.
“I want this to be — I want him to enjoy this year. I want him to enjoy the practices, enjoy being a student at Duke, enjoy with his teammates and obviously work like crazy to become a better player.”
Duke starts the season on Nov. 4 vs. Maine.
