“In my mind, it’s full steam ahead. I wanna get Coop back as soon as we can, and he wants to do the same,” Duke’s head coach Jon Scheyer said before their March Madness opener against Mount St. Mary’s. Duke fans were eager to see Cooper Flagg return—and after they took home the ACC tournament title, who wouldn’t be? Even without Flagg available for part of Duke’s ACC tournament run, Tyrese Proctor and Sion James took center stage. While fresh faces like freshmen Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach bolstered the Blue Devils’ depth. But the question remains- how ready is Flagg?
However, there still seem to be doubts surrounding his recovery. Graham Hill from ESPN 99.9 The Fan revealed that Flagg’s recovery may not be as smooth as fans would hope. “He went through his first full practice on Wednesday. He did not have the best shoot-around yesterday. As someone who was in attendance at Lenovo Center noted during their open practice. There were a couple of times when he actually appeared to get frustrated with himself.” Hill said. “Maybe it’s just because it’s his first time back; it’s his second time stepping on the court in about a week since the Georgia Tech injury. But I don’t know—it’s something to keep an eye on regarding him finding his rhythm.”
Interestingly, though, even if Flagg isn’t immediately up to par, Duke’s stacked talent could mitigate any early missteps.
“Let’s be honest. Even if Cooper Flagg gets off to a slow start, this Duke team can afford it with how many four- and five-star recruits they have to carry the weight.” Hill said. With so much support around him, Duke can still make noise in March Madness — just be on the lookout for how Flagg rebounds.
This is a developing story…
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