The final showdown of the year is here! 3 weeks of drama, all chasing for glory, and amidst this, there’s a bombshell on the Blue-eyed boy of the league as anxiety runs through the Blue Devils! A routine rebound has put Jon Scheyer’s team on the chopping block, and everything is up in the air right now. Cooper Flagg sat out half the game against Georgia Tech, and their SEC championship game as well, and no guarantees have been given about his fitness for the first round of March Madness. Can he come back and hit the hardwood? Here’s the scoop on Flagg’s health.
Well, luckily for the Cameron Crazies, the scans revealed nothing serious. But whether he’ll be fit to play on Friday or not is still a question mark. In the absence of Cooper Flagg, analysts are showing concern about Duke and their playoff run this year.
On The Field of 68: After Dark, show hosts Tyler Hansbrough, Randolph Childress, and John Fanta talked about Duke’s chances and Cooper Flagg’s injury in detail. After a successful career in both the NCAA and the NBA, Hansbrough seemed concerned over Flagg’s ankle sprain. “I do not, just based off of having ankle sprains and looking at how he did it? That is not something, give it a week and it heals, based off of what I saw.” And Childress, with heaps of hoops experience, agreed.
“I’m with you,” The Wake Forest alum said, “and to see him come out the wheelchair? It made me think he was going to be in danger of not playing in the first round.” The sight of Cooper Flagg being wheeled out after the first half for scans was scary, to say the least. Even though he made his way back to the sidelines later, it was still a shock!
However, according to John Fanta, there’s no reason to expect clarity about any injuries in March. “I think all of this with any injury this time of the year, you gotta play a lot of poker.” He said, talking about how this information would be an advantage or disadvantage for other teams. Fanta said giving everything out in March Madness isn’t a wise idea, but his predictions about Flagg were quite orthodox. “I don’t think he’s at a 100%, I wouldn’t do anything with him in their first-round game.” Risk is not an option, but is it affordable?
Duke has an illustrious history in the NCAA Tournament, and Jon Scheyer has a lot to live up to. The Duke head coach has been phenomenal in spotting and recruiting talent during his tenure at the school. Not only that, he’s given the Blue Devils two ACCT championships in his three years at Duke. But what does his mentor, the legendary Coach K, think about their injury-ridden path this year?
Coach K on Cooper Flagg, Jon Scheyer, and Duke’s resilience
There’s no name bigger in Duke basketball than Coach K. When he says something, we listen! Even after his retirement, he hasn’t backed down from the Blue Devils organization and regularly keeps in contact with his mentee. And when Cooper Flagg got injured? Coach K didn’t hit the panic button.
He praised Jon Scheyer and the Duke organization for their handling of the situation. “I think Jon Scheyer did a great job and our medical staff saying right from the start you’re not playing, so it puts in Cooper’s mind, ‘Okay, I’m gonna be completely honest.’” Not only that, Coach K gave some high praise to Cooper Flagg as well, calling him one of the best players in college basketball.
NCAA, College League, USA Basketball: Florida State at Duke Mar 1, 2025 Durham, North Carolina, USA Duke Blue Devils center Khaman Maluach 9 and Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg 2 react during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Durham Cameron Indoor Stadium North Carolina USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xZacharyxTaftx 20250301_ams_bx6_0184
This isn’t a new compliment, however, as the legendary coach has talked about Flagg’s versatility and greatness many times before. Still, the Hall-of-Famer expects the six-foot-nine forward to join his fellow Blue Devils in action in the first round and talked about the unexpected benefit Duke got in his absence. “We’ll be better as a result of him being out and going through those situations, going through adversity.”
There’s no doubt that Duke is a very talented team, even aside from Flagg, but this is the first time we’ve seen them in full flow. To win a conference championship without your best player is nothing to scoff at, and players like Kon Knueppel, Isaiah Evans, and Maluach are certainly stepping their game up! It will be interesting to see how March pans out for them, and how much Flagg’s injury will affect them going forward. Stay tuned!
The post Cooper Flagg Injury Update: UNC Alum Triggers Distress in Duke Nation as Pressure Mounts on Jon Scheyer’s March Madness appeared first on EssentiallySports.
