The Cooper Flagg show grounded to a halt against Clemson on Saturday. Duke suffered an embarrassing defeat to the lower-ranked Tigers, their first conference blemish of the season. After becoming accustomed to record-breaking performances every week, the Duke forward was a letdown. But what led to this? Flagg, the NPOY candidate, looked indecisive and unlike himself throughout most of the game. Analysts, however, are considering Cooper Flagg’s performance through a critical lens.
On The Mark Titus Show, show hosts Mark Titus and Tate Moore discussed the NPOY race and Duke’s woes. Titus, though he is a fan, criticized the Blue Devils forward for being a major reason for their losses. “If we’re being honest? Cooper Flagg, in Duke’s three losses, has had the ball late and turned it over. He just turned the ball over. Against Clemson, he slipped.”
To be honest, Titus was fair in his assessment of Flagg. The game against Clemson truly wasn’t his fault. Duke lost to the Tigers 77-71, with Cooper Flagg putting up 18 points on poor efficiency, shooting 6-17 from the field. However, there was a more memorable scenario that the reporter wanted to remind viewers of.
“There’s a clip that went semi-viral against Kentucky. Mark Pope, Kentucky’s coach, in a time-out before the play was like Cooper Flagg is gonna spin to the middle and we’re gonna be here when he does. And then he spun to the middle, and they stole the ball.”
It wasn’t just a single turnover, though, it was two. Flagg turned the ball over twice in the last minute to deny his team any chance of winning. Though Mark Pope deserved credit for reading the NPOY candidate’s move, a lot of the blame lies on Cooper Flagg’s shoulders as well.
Dec 4, 2024; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) controls the ball in front of Auburn Tigers center Johni Broome (4) during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images
Duke will have to lock in and keep the momentum going, but it isn’t all bad for the Blue Devils. According to a lot of analysts, it was better to have lost now than to go into March having only won. With a potential National Player of the Year on their team, Duke can look towards a title run this year. Cooper Flagg has competition for the honors, however, but nothing is set in stone just yet.
Duke’s dependency on Cooper Flagg, who will be the NPOY?
Experience versus explosive talent. Who wins? Johni Broome has entered his fifth year of college ball, while Cooper Flagg has burst onto the scene recently. Both of them have been balling out, but the question remains of who will win the NPOY award this year? Cooper Flagg has been making a strong case for the honor, leading his team to a near perfect record. He does everything from offense to defense, but it also backfires on Duke at times.
The Blue Devils have grown heavily dependent on the six-foot-nine forward, and set them up for failure if he does not perform. On top of that, Duke’s victories aren’t weighed as much as Auburn. Broome is currently averaging 18pts, 11reb, and a shocking 2.7blks for the season. Meanwhile, Flagg is not so far behind averaging a highly impressive 19.5pts per game and about 8rebs.
Broome, however, does not have the same expectations placed on him that Flagg does. The six-nine wing has to carry both the offensive and defensive workloads, and he gives it his all every time. It will be interesting to see how this battle plays out, as these are the top two seeds in the nation at the moment.
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