Apr. 12—After a season to remember, Cooper Flagg has a decision to make.
The Newport native took over the college basketball scene in his debut season at Duke, winning the Wooden and Naismith Awards as the player of the year, and leading Duke to the Final Four.
Now, the 18-year-old Flagg will decide whether to return to Duke for his sophomore season, or declare for the NBA draft to start his professional career.
Flagg, the consensus pick to be the top overall selection in the draft, talked to reporters this month about the NBA career awaiting him when he does decide to move on.
"That's a dream of mine, to play in the NBA," Flagg said, according to NJ.com. "I would feel completely blessed and honored to play for any team."
The speculation since the start of the season has been that Flagg would declare for the NBA after just one year of college. His trainer and coach, Matt MacKenzie, said he believes Flagg will go pro, but said that Flagg hasn't yet made up his mind.
"The decision's going to be something that he needs to own, and something he's comfortable with," MacKenzie said. "But I think that he will most likely decide to enter the NBA draft.
"There are different things he needs to weigh from a business standpoint before making a decision, and I know he'll do that. He'll sit down with his parents and his agent and our entire close circle, and put all the options on the table and make a decision that he's comfortable with, that he can own, and one that he knows is responsible for him moving forward."
Speaking on Wednesday, MacKenzie said that announcement will be made "within the next week or so."
"Cooper just wants to take a little bit of time to decompress and get through the initial disappointment of how their season ended, and really be able to take a step away and enjoy some time off away from the court," he said. "After that reflection, he's very likely to make a decision and announce what that next step will be."
Speaking on ESPN's SportsCenter Friday night, Flagg said he's not rushing the decision.
"Now, it's time for me to reflect," he said. "Take a couple of days, take a week, take a month, whatever it is for me to talk to my parents, talk to the coaches and really decide what's best for me."
Even if the decision is to declare, MacKenzie said Flagg's stint at Duke hasn't made the choice an easy one. Flagg has repeatedly spoken about how much he's enjoyed his time at one of college basketball's premier programs.
"It just comes down to the incredible experience he's had at Duke," MacKenzie said. "I think coming into college, the plan has always been for him to be a one-and-done if everything worked out the way it should. But he's just had a remarkable experience at Duke, he's loved every moment of wearing a Blue Devil uniform and playing for coach (Jon) Scheyer and his staff, and bonding with the teammates that he had."
It's hard to turn down status as the draft's top pick, however, and Scheyer indicated as much when he was asked about Flagg returning on the Dan Patrick Show before the Final Four.
"I can dream about that. I think that's all it is, in this case. I think it's a dream," Scheyer said. "I think he's got to take the next dream in his life and be the top pick in the NBA draft and start his professional career."
Andy Bedard, Flagg's AAU coach at Maine United, said he's spoken with his former player since the Final Four loss to Houston but their conversations haven't been about his future.
"My conversations with him (are) basically how ...
