Duke’s discovery “locked in” by Cooper Flagg after a historic 42-point explosion
Duke basketball freshman phenomenon Cooper Flagg he feels good. Flagg had just poured in 42 points in the team’s all-time ACC victory over Notre Dame. Flagg says he was completely focused during that epic performance.
“I was just playing outside,” Flagg said after the win in a conference call, according to the Associated Press. “When I’m in the game, I don’t really know what’s going on.” I just play locked in.”
Duke beat Notre Dame on Saturday86-78. In his performance, Flagg set the league’s single-game hitting streak record. He was all over the floor, looking like Superman against the Fighting Irish.
“He’s himself,” Duke teammate Zion James said. “And that’s the magic of Cooper Flag, to be himself.” He does not force anything. He’s just a player, seeing them come. He saw something he liked, and 42 points later, here we are.”
The Blue Devils are now 14-2 on the season and occupy first place in the ACC standings.
Cooper Flagg looks like the right player for Duke basketball
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Flagg is one of several fantastic freshmen for Duke basketball this season. The big man stands out, leading Duke in essentially every single category.
Flagg leads the team in points, rebounds, steals, assists and blocks. It’s remarkable to see the impact a freshman has on the team. Flagg is averaging over 19 points per game for the Blue Devils and 8 rebounds. He is also the team leader in minutes played, and is the only Duke player to log more than 30 minutes in a contest.
“They have a real mix of guys with him,” Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “If they had it and they didn’t have the shot or they had people who needed the ball and dominated, then it probably wouldn’t have worked.” But they’ve done a good job of evaluating and finding the right people around him, so it’s a really tough matchup.”
Duke basketball will need a freshman to keep up that incredible production for the team to have a chance at a national championship. Blue Devils coach John Scheier is looking for his first trip to the Final Four. He came close last season, as Duke lost to North Carolina State in the elite eighth round of March Madness.
Duke is now on a 10-game winning streakafter taking down Notre Dame. The Blue Devils next play against Miami on Tuesday.
2025-01-12 15:20:00
