Cooper Flagg dominates to makes 25-year-history ahead of looming NBA decision ...Middle East

Duke university star Cooper Flagg put up another breath-taking performance.

The freshman dominated in Duke’s 80-62 win over Virginia on Monday night and in doing so, made history in the process.

Flagg notched his seventh double-double of the season when he scored 17 points and 14 rebounds as his team cruised past Virginia.

The win was business like for Duke as they shot 40 per cent from the three-point range and out-rebounded their opponents 41-21, with an 8-0 run in the second half cementing the win.

The victory also means the Blue Devils have now fully recovered from their embarrassing defeat to lowly ranked Clemson on Feb. 8, winning all three games since.

For Flagg, the game also saw him become the first Atlantic Coast Conference player in 25 years to reach 500 points, 100 assists and 30 blocks.

Such performances has made the Newport native the favourite to be the National Player of the Year, displaying NBA-calibre level that has fans expecting he’ll make himself eligible for the draft this year.

Should Flagg enter the draft, he is likely to be the No.1 overall pick but despite this the 18-year-old has turned heads over recent comments about his future.

In an recent interview with The Athletic, the freshman said he would ‘want to come back next year,’ meaning he’ll stay at Duke and not enter the draft.

“I still feel like a kid, this is the only way I’ve ever known college,” Flagg said.

“That’s how I see it. I really wouldn’t know how kids felt before, and if this feels different, if this feels more like being a professional.

“I mean, it’s the same thing for kids in high school, too, getting paid a lot of money. I don’t know. I feel pretty normal.”

Flagg is right about being paid a lot while in college, his current $4.3 million NIL deal is the highest in the country and is money previous generations of college basketball players were never able to secure.

Although, it is a fact that the star would be paid much more while in the NBA, the estimated rookie-scale salary for the top pick in 2025 is $11.5 million.

This doesn’t even include the increases in endorsement money and opportunities Flagg will get for being an NBA player compared to a college star.

If Flagg was to bypass the NBA draft, it would be the biggest shock in draft history this century, no player expected to be the number one pick has returned to play college basketball for another year.

The phenom’s average of 19.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks this year suggests college basketball has been breeze so far and is why he should play in the NBA later this year.

Ultimately, despite Flagg’s remarks, it is still expected the teenager will enter the draft and fans of tanking NBA teams hoping to have him on their roster next year can exhale.

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