NEWARK, N.J. — In the early hours of Friday morning, a handful of kids stood in the chilly Newark night, hoping to catch a glimpse of the biggest name in college basketball. As the last few people departed the Prudential Center for the adjacent parking structure, they stopped reporters and arena staff alike frantically and excitedly asking:
“Do you know where Cooper Flagg is?”
None, myself included, knew where he was then. But now, roughly 48 hours later, we know where Flagg and the rest of the Duke Blue Devils are going.
After an 85-65 dismantling of Alabama, they’re heading to San Antonio and the Final Four.
“I couldn't be more proud of the team as a whole,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. “Their attitudes the whole season, from Day 1, I think this group has been different.”
Flagg, the freshman phenom who has rewritten record books in his first — and presumptive only — season in Durham, North Carolina, was somewhat anticlimactically named the Most Outstanding Player for the East region. His unprecedented performance on Thursday night all but cemented that accolade provided Duke finished the job on Saturday.
And while Duke did cut down the nets, it wasn’t due to a tour-de-force performance from Flagg. It was such a balanced effort that the entire starting lineup — Flagg included — joined Scheyer on the dais after the postgame celebration.
“I wouldn't have been able to do it without the guys sitting next to me and the guys in the locker room,” Flagg said. “All credit to them, the coaches for putting me in really good situations, spots on the court, giving me the ball in the right spots. And then just allowing me to play free off the ball, on the ball, whatever it was, just letting me be me. And just got to give all the credit to my teammates and coaches.”
That isn’t to say Flagg played poorly — he didn’t — but it was evidence that the likely No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s NBA Draft is somewhat human on the basketball court.
