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DURHAM, N.C. — Duke was minutes away from completing a perfect record on its famed home court
That’s when the buzzer sounded for freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, who checked out — possibly for the final time at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“One more year! One more year!” Duke’s “Cameron Crazies” chanted toward their star rookie, who delivered his latest stellar performance during Monday’s 93-60 win over the Demon Deacons.
Did he hear the chants?
“For sure,” he said.
And?
“I mean, I’m living in the present right now, living in the moment, taking it day by day. … I don’t know what the future holds.”
The player who has long been mentioned as a likely No. 1 overall NBA draft pick isn’t ready to talk about his future plans just yet. But that left room to consider the season-long journey for the 6-foot-9 prodigy, who arrived as a 17-year-old facing impossibly high expectations and now is the tested — by college standards, anyway — veteran at the heart of Duke’s title aspirations in March.
He finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals against Wake Forest. That included 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting after halftime as Duke turned a 13-point halftime edge into a 40-point bulge on the way to clinching at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.
Along the way, there were the highlights that he’s made look routine with his versatile game, from his passing ability to his reliable 3-point shot. And he’s proven dangerous in transition, like when he pushed the ball up the court, used a crossover to get inside of Wake Forest’s Cam Hildreth in the paint and then took off for a two-handed dunk — punctuated by a flex for the roaring crowd.
When the time came for him to check out with 3:34 left, he slapped hands with teammates Sion James and Isaiah Evans, then started untucking his jersey as he made his way to the Duke bench. He greeted coach Jon Scheyer with a high-five and a hug, then made his way down the bench embracing coaches, staffers and teammates as the crowd began asking for an unlikely second act next season.
“The talent speaks for itself. Love coaching his talent,” Scheyer said. “But I love coaching the person. He’s all about the right stuff.”
Flagg acknowledged thinking earlier Monday that it could be his final game at Cameron, even as he quickly pivoted back to that “live in the moment” answer that revealed little.
If this was the end, he made plenty of memories in the venerable arena.
There was , with Flagg posting a stuffed stat line in his first taste of the blueblood rivalry. This was also the venue where Flagg scored
Or there’s his personal favorite: on which he all but stuffed 7-foot defender Guillermo Diaz Graham into the basket while being fouled.
“I mean, this is the best place in college basketball for sure,” Flagg said. “I’ve loved every single minute of being here. I’ve loved everybody I’ve met, everybody I’ve been around for this whole year. It’s been an amazing year.”
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