Cooper Flagg is just living in the moment.
And can you blame him? It’s a pretty good moment.
The Duke freshman just put up 28 points, brought down eight rebounds, dished out seven assists, delivered three blocks and added two steals for the No. 2 team in the country on Monday night. He and the Duke Blue Devils beat Wake Forest 93-60 in their last home game of the season — a game that could also be the last at Cameron Indoor Stadium for Flagg, who is projected to be the top pick in this year’s NBA draft.
After the freshman year that Flagg and his team have put together, it’s also hard to blame the Duke fans for wanting another year with him. They may be called the Cameron Crazies, but there’s nothing crazy about wanting to keep Flagg around.
He continues to lead the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks — a statistical feat not accomplished in the Atlantic Coast Conference for 25 years.
As he went to the bench late in the win over Wake Forest, the Duke fans roared, “One more year!” to their star freshman. And as the Fayetteville Observer reported, Flagg then responded by apparently saying, “Run it back.”
Reporters asked Flagg about the fan support and his future after the game.
“I’m living in the present right now, I’m living in the moment,” Flagg said, as shown in a video from the Observer. “Taking it day by day, practice by practice, game by game.”
“I don’t know what the future holds,” Flagg added.
Flagg called it “a great year, a long year” and said Monday night’s game was “a little emotional” since it was senior night for Duke.
For now, the present offers plenty to focus on for Flagg and the Blue Devils. Duke is at the top of the ACC standings, and expected to be a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. Duke coach Jon Scheyer discussed Flagg’s play after Monday night’s game, as reported by ESPN.
“I just hope everybody recognizes, if we were in more close games, his numbers would be like this a lot,” Scheyer said. “He’s so unselfish. I wanted to put him back in just for people to be able to recognize him and what he’s done. He plays so hard, he’s competitive, he’s a great teammate, and obviously his ability is special.”
Duke finished 17-0 at home this season.