Cooper Flagg injury update: Jon Scheyer reveals availability for Duke star in ACC Championship game

Duke freshman star Cooper Flagg will not play in the ACC Tournament Championship, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Flagg sprained his ankle in Duke’s win over Georgia Tech on Thursday and didn’t play in the team’s win over North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

On Saturday, the Blue Devils will square off against the winner between Clemson and Louisville. Duke almost missed out on competing in its conference championship game.

On Friday, the Blue Devils were just a play away from giving up a 24-point lead to the Tar Heels. However, the Blue Devils caught a stroke of luck when UNC forward Jae’Lyn Withers committed a lane violation on a potentially game-tying free-throw attempt.

The officials awarded Duke the ball and freshman Kon Kneuppel iced the game with two free throws. Although Flagg wasn’t able to contribute on the floor, he brought no shortage of energy to the sidelines, cheering on his teammates every moment of the game.

It’s not necessarily a surprise that Flagg won’t be playing on Saturday. After the ACC Player of the Year went down with an injury on Thursday, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer didn’t seem eager to play Flagg again in the ACC 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.

It’s a significant loss for the Blue Devils. Cooper Flagg is averaging 19.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game this season while shooting 49.4% from the field and 37.7% from beyond the arc.

In the midst of a legendary debut campaign, Flagg is a frontrunner for the National Player of the Year Award. After Duke’s 82-69 win over North Carolina in its regular-season finale, Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer weighed in on the race for the coveted award.

“Look, I mean, for me, it’s Cooper,” Scheyer said last Saturday. “That’s not knocking anybody — I mean, we played [Auburn star Johni] Broome, he’s a great player — but Cooper, the way he impacts every aspect of the game, I don’t think we’ve seen in college for a long time.

“He impacts it in every way, and tonight’s a good example… But again, that’s not what Cooper plays for. That’s not what we play for. But obviously, recognition you always appreciate and is good. But we’ll keep control of what we can. That’s the best we can do.”