Cooper Flagg injury update: Jon Scheyer blunt about Duke star's status for remainder of ACC Tournament

With just under three minutes left in the first half of Duke‘s 78-70 win over Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg left the game after spraining his ankle. Following the game, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer provided an update on Flagg’s status for the rest of the tournament.

“To be honest with you, I would have to be convinced by everyone in the locker room when I go back that he should play. It’s not worth it. It just isn’t,” Scheyer said, per The Athletic‘s Brendan Marks.

While it’s unfortunate news for Duke in the short-term, Blue Devil fans can be thankful Flagg’s injury wasn’t worse. When the standout freshman first went down, many fans feared he’d suffered a season-ending injury.

Evidently, they weren’t alone. Duke rolled Flagg back to the locker room in a wheelchair for further evaluation. However, Flagg returned to the bench in the second half and Scheyer confirmed the X-rays were negative after the game.

If he is ruled healthy enough to play, Flagg won’t have long to recover before his next game. Duke will take the court again on Friday at 7 p.m. ET to play in the ACC Tournament semifinals. It appears Scheyer currently plans on resting Flagg until the NCAA Tournament instead of risking injuring his star further.

Flagg isn’t the only Duke player whose ACC Tournament may be coming to an early end. With 4:58 left in the first half against Georgia Tech, Duke forward Maliq Brown left the game after suffering a shoulder injury. Following the win, Scheyer provided an unfortunate update on Brown’s condition.

“Maliq was in a lot of pain,” Scheyer said. “He re-disclocated his shoulder … He’s at the hospital now. We’ll figure out how he’s doing.”

Brown also dislocated his shoulder in February and has been working to recover. Now, it’s unclear if Brown will be able to make his way back on the court this season.

Brown is averaging 2.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game this season while shooting 64.1% from the field. Even if Duke falls in the ACC Tournament later this week, it’s unlikely the Blue Devils will miss out on a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Alas, Duke could miss out on being the No. 1 overall seed in the Big Dance. After all, BetMGM immediately dropped Duke’s odds of winning the national championship from +320 to +375 after Flagg’s injury.