'Same ole Cooper': What Cooper Flagg, Duke basketball said about NCAA Tournament debut
RALEIGH — Cooper Flagg fell to the ground a minute and a half into his March Madness debut.
As Duke basketball fans throughout Lenovo Center held their breath in that moment, Flagg watched as his shot went through the net. He stayed on the ground for another second or two, flexing before rising to his feet.
Following his first bucket of the 2025 NCAA Tournament and the free throw that followed to complete a three-point play, Flagg and the top-seeded Blue Devils rolled to a 93-49 rout of No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s on Friday.
“For me, it was just a normal play,” said Flagg, who finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in just over 22 minutes against the Mountaineers.
“. … So I didn’t have any doubts, any worries at all. I was completely comfortable out there.”
Back in the starting lineup after missing the final two games of the ACC Tournament with an ankle injury, Flagg looked like himself and led the team with a plus-31 mark in the plus/minus stat.
“He was the same ole Cooper. The same ole Cooper,” Sion James said with a laugh. “He was competitive, he was ready to go. He was being Cooper Flagg.”
Duke coach Jon Scheyer said the Blue Devils were prepared for Flagg “to play as many minutes as he needed to” play, even with it being a first-round game. Flagg exited the game for the final time at the 10:53 mark of the second, with Duke up 32. He sat there and cheered on his teammates for the rest of the game.
“I mean, look, for me – and I've been on many sides of this in my playing days, coaching days – you don't take any game for granted,” Scheyer said.
“I think it's very easy to say, yeah, you should just rest. … I think just as important was the fact of him playing. I didn't think he looked like it, but you have some natural rust. You have some – just the game experience, I think is really important to understand what the tournament is like.
“So for me, there wasn't a question. I know for him there wasn't a question. But at the same time, like, we weren't going to risk anything either. When we knew he was ready, he was going to go.”
Following its wire-to-wire win against the Mountaineers (23-13), Duke (32-3) will play former Blue Devil guard Jeremy Roach and No. 9 seed Baylor (20-14) on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16. The East Regional is in Newark, New Jersey.
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: What Cooper Flagg said after March Madness debut with Duke basketball
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