Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer gives Cooper Flagg injury update before ACC Tournament championship game
CHARLOTTE — Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer said Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown won't play in the championship game of the 2025 ACC Tournament.
"We need to give it a couple days. We need to get back to campus and figure this thing out. Obviously, there's no expectation of Brown playing anytime soon," Scheyer said Friday after the top-ranked Blue Devils' 74-71 win against rival UNC at Spectrum Center.
"As far as Cooper goes, he's doing better. Sprained ankle, all the imaging came back negative. He sprained it pretty good, though. It's a good sprain. I'm not breaking any news. He's not going to play (Saturday). He can't play. But our goal is to have him ready for the tournament. But we need to see how this weekend goes with the swelling and what he can do."
Flagg has a left ankle injury and Brown is dealing with a dislocated left shoulder. Both players were injured in the top-ranked Blue Devils' win against Georgia Tech in Thursday's quarterfinals. Duke made the official announcement that both would miss Friday’s semifinal game a little more than two hours before tipoff at Spectrum Center.
Brown had a sling holding his left arm on Friday night. Flagg wasn't wearing a walking boot, but he was walking gingerly throughout the evening.
Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, leads Duke (30-3) in each of its five major statistical categories. He started in each of the Blue Devils' first 32 games. Brown has missed nine games this season.
Duke, which won the outright regular-season title, is projected to be among the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels (22-13) are among the bubble teams hoping for a March Madness at-large big on Selection Sunday.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Will Cooper Flagg play for Duke basketball in ACC Tournament championship?
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