The Duke Blue Devils came up short in the NCAA tournament, after a surprising comeback from the Houston Cougars ended their season in the Final Four. Many pondered if Flagg would return to college next season to settle any unfinished he might have felt like he had.
Unfortunately for Blue Devils fans, Flagg is cashing in and taking his talents to the NBA, where he is expected to be the first overall pick in the draft, regardless of which team wins the upcoming draft lottery.
“Duke fans, my teammates, the brotherhood, everybody that was along for the journey. It was an incredible year, probably the best year of my life and I have so much gratitude and I feel so blessed for all the opportunities that I was given,” Flagg said, according to ESPN.
“Duke has always been a dream for me, but I’m excited to announce that I’ll be entering my name into the 2025 NBA draft.”
Flagg knows that even though his time at Duke is over, he has built relationships that will last him all of his life.
“Today is just the beginning, but I have the Brotherhood with me for life.”
“Really proud of Cooper for the special season that he had this year,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said of his departing star. “I think the accolades speak for itself, with what he did, winning every National Player of the Year award.
“His highlights, his statistics, the ways he impacted the game on both ends of the floor, really in every category, was off the charts. As good of a freshman season that a guy has had here.
“But to me, the separator and the joy of coaching Cooper is the person he was every day, the teammate that he was. Never about statistics or anything other than creating an environment and helping his team to win.
“And we won a lot of games and had a lot of success and a lot of times that environment is created from your best player. And Cooper did an incredible job in every facet of our program, on and off the court, with what he’s done.”
Whichever team lands the first pick is sure to be walking away with a special talent if they go with Flagg.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.