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Cooper Flagg
DURHAM, N.C. — Cooper Flagg wants to keep things simple.
Basketball first. Treat the extra attention and hype as an afterthought, as best he can anyway.
The versatile 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward for No. 7 Duke arrived as the nation’s top recruit and heads into the season as a potential No. 1 overall NBA draft pick. Hype is churning at pedal-to-floor speed with his college debut looming. Managing that will be key in what is an all-but-certain single college season for Flagg.
It wasn’t that long ago that Zion Williamson captured every camera as Duke’s freshman star. Now it’s Flagg’s turn.
“As far as hype and all that goes, that’s something that you learn to deal with,” Flagg said. “For me, it’s about just playing basketball.”
The Blue Devils open the season against Maine, Flagg’s home-state program. But the buzz in Durham has rolled since Jon Scheyer won the recruiting battle with two-time reigning national champion UConn to land Flagg.
The McDonald’s All-American turned heads with his play against veteran NBA stars during a July scrimmage on the U.S. Olympic team. He is only the ninth freshman named to The Associated Press preseason All-American team that dates to the 1986-87 season. And earlier this week, he became the first men’s college basketball player to reach an endorsement deal with Gatorade.
All before he turns 18 (in December).
Flagg’s game
Scheyer, entering his third season as successor to retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski, doesn’t sound worried. He commends Flagg’s approach in practices and his work ethic. The 37-year-old coach has seen it in moments like arriving at the gym for a 6 a.m. workout only to find Flagg already shooting in the gym.
“He’s a confident player, a real confident player, which is great,” Scheyer said. “But he wants direction. He wants to be told when he’s not doing something as well as he can or as hard as he can. And that’s blown me away.”
Flagg has a soft touch with his shot and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/cooper-flagg-long-faced-spotlight-155014588.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-11-01 15:50:00
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