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David Hale
Durham, NC – Cooper Flagg He insisted that he is “living in the present” and would not speculate if he had just played his last game in the Cameron Indoor Stadium, but when Duke wrapped his home list on Monday with an emphatic 93-60 victory over Wake Forest, the general selection projected in general in the NBA Draft admitted that there were still many emotions when he left the court to Chants of “one more year” of the crowd.
“I was just playing with a lot of emotion and a lot of fire,” Flagg said.
If it was his last game at home with a Duke uniform, he leaves with a high note. Flagg finished with 28 points in 10 of 16 shots, eight rebounds, seven assists, three blockages and two robberies.
Flagg lamented Duke’s dazzled performance in a January game in Wake Forest, which suggests that some revenge was among his main motivations on Monday, but he was still splashed with questions about his future after victory. His chief coach Jon Scheyer said he also took note of the moment.
Flagg left the court with the rest of the headlines in the 2:21 brand in the second half with Duke Up 40, an admitted end that ends with an electric season on the local court of Duke, Scheyer said.
“I just hope everyone recognizes, if we were in closer games, their numbers would be much like that,” said Scheyer. “He is so selfless. He wanted to put it again so that people can recognize him and what he has done. He plays so hard, he is competitive, he is a great teammate, and obviously his ability is special.”
For Duke, the dominant victory over Wake Forest ended a perfect season of 17-0 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and Monday’s game was the consecutive fourth of the Blue Devils for at least 30 points.
Flagg said the performance was indicative of a team “playing at a really high level”, but emphasized that the work was far from finishing.
Even so, Monday was a moment of reflection, even if Flagg was not ready to admit that he had played his last game within Duke’s historical sand. He remembered his coast overturning against Pitt (“A surrealist,” he said) as his best personal memory of his season here, but according to a player praised for his disinterest on the court, he told his teammate. Zion James‘I used to NC State as the highest point.
“The feeling it had: the crowd was the strongest that has been all year old,” Flagg said. “I was back in defense, and I could almost feel the building.”
If that feeling would be enough to attract Flagg for one more year, as the crowd implored on Monday, it is still a doubtful proposal given its NBA draft stock. But Flagg said that this season’s experience in Duke has exceeded his expectations, and leaving Cameron for potentially, the last time was another memory that was worth appreciating.
“This is the best place in university basketball,” Flagg said. “I loved every minute of being here. It has been an incredible year.”
