The Duke Blue Devils entered Madison Square Garden on Saturday night for a rare late-season non-conference matchup with a very good Illinois squad as considerable favorites, but even the most optimistic supporters of the Dukies likely didn’t have a 43 point victory on their Bingo card. In a 110-63 win, superstar freshman Cooper Flagg did what he’s done on a regular basis since arriving in Durham… filled the stat sheet — 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists — and did all of the little things that contribute to winning.
At this point, it’s no secret that Flagg is not just the best freshman in the nation, but the best player altogether. Assuming he decides to go to the NBA, which apparently isn’t a foregone conclusion, he’ll be the top overall pick in the Draft, and it’s a virtual certainty that he’ll go on to have a long and successful career as a player who at the very least continues to contribute to winning on the highest level. That however is Flagg’s floor. His ceiling is much higher than that.
How much higher will continue to be a debate until Flagg eventually makes his NBA debut, but UCLA head coach Mick Cronin, who made a pitstop FOX College Hoops’ pregame show on Saturday night, went as far as stating that the National Player of the Year front-runner will be “a perennial All-Star in the NBA for many years.”
“He’s the best player in the country… Cooper Flagg is generational.”
UCLA coach Mick Cronin with high praise for the Duke guard pic.twitter.com/sjUieSllkM
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 23, 2025
What makes Flagg such a unique, can’t-miss prospect is that Mick Cronin’s evaluation is likely spot on. He possesses super-duper-star potential on both ends of the floor. But let’s say Flagg never quite reaches that potential, which admittedly, by the game, feels less and less likely. At only 18 years old, Flagg already plays like a grown man who has years of pro basketball experience under his belt. He plays at his own pace, never presses for the spotlight, and values things like help defense, making extra passes, setting screens, and all of the very important nuances we rarely talk about when discussing star players.
At the very least, Flagg will settle into a niche as one of the most valuable and overqualified roles players in the history of professional basketball. A second or third offensive option who we all know could be the number one guy if he needed to be, only allowing him to not have to carry that burden on a nightly basis will set him free to do all of those little things that help good teams become great teams. His style of play will be contagious, as it’s already become at Duke, which was on full display on Saturday night when seven different Blue Devils scored between 11 and 17 points.
The more likely scenario is that Flagg lives up to that perennial All-Star tag while doing all of the little things anyway. Even if he doesn’t put up the biggest numbers, he’ll force basketball fans to become smarter. He’ll facilitate more insightful discussions about what constitutes as winning basketball, and force us to look beyond the box score. And we’ll all be better for it.
The post Mick Cronin makes huge Cooper Flagg NBA claim appeared first on ClutchPoints.
