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Cooper Flagg injury update: Jon Scheyer reveals diagnosis on Duke superstar

by:Alex Byington•03/13/25•

_AlexByington

NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Quarterfinal - Duke vs Georgia Tech
Mar 13, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) is injured in the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer updated the status of ailing Blue Devil big men Cooper Flagg and Malik Brown on Thursday afternoon. Both Duke players were ruled out with first-half injuries in Thursday’s 78-70 win over eighth-seeded Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the 2025 ACC Tournament in Charlotte.

Scheyer revealed x-rays inside the Spectrum Center were negative on Flagg, describing it as a “sprained” ankle. He then confirmed Brown re-dislocated his shoulder and is currently at a Charlotte-area hospital.

“I’ll just tell you real quick: Maliq was in a lot of pain, he redislocated his shoulder, that’s why I’m sure some of you saw it, we got him a stretcher just to tolerate the pain. He was in a lot of pain, and he’s at the hospital now,” Scheyer said during his postgame press conference. “And (with) Cooper, he just came down, sprained his ankle, x-rays were negative, which was great. We just have to understand there’s going to be swelling and see how he recovers and how he goes from there.”

No. 1 Duke (29-3) advances to Friday’s ACC Tournament semifinals at 7 pm ET and will face the winner of Thursday’s next quarterfinal. That game is between No. 4-seeded Wake Forest and No. 5-seeded North Carolina.

With 2:46 remaining in the first half, and just minutes after Brown left the floor after re-injuring his dislocated left shoulder, Flagg appeared to roll his left ankle while coming down with a defensive rebound and immediately hit the floor, writhing in pain. Flagg would be taken to the Duke locker room in a wheelchair for X-rays but would return to the Blue Devils’ bench under his own power, though was eventually ruled out with a left ankle injury.

“Before the break we saw Cooper Flagg wheeled to a room for X-rays, the good news here is he’s able to walk on his own (and is) coming back to the floor,” ESPN sideline reporter Jemel Spearman said on the call. “He was getting looked at for his ankle. Yes, Duke is on a 12-0 run, but the fans in this building were cheering for (Flagg) walking all the way back to the bench. He’s officially ruled out today because of the ankle. But to see him on the floor, you mention how tough this guy is, he wanted to be here for his teammates and is hopeful for what goes on moving past this game.”

Brown is still recovering from a dislocated left shoulder suffered in mid-February agaisnt Virginia, with X-rays and an MRI revealing the damage. Brown has also missed time this season with a sprained toe and a sprained knee.

Brown didn’t record any stats Thursday after just about four minutes of action after coming off the bench against Georgia Tech. Meanwhile, Flagg was struggling through a 1-of-7 shooting start for just two first-half points before leaving the court Thursday.

Along with being named the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Rookie of the Year, and an All-ACC First Team selection, Flagg is considered the frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors as well as National Freshman of the Year while averaging 19.4 points on 49.4-percent shooting — including 37.7-percent from 3-point range — along with 7.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game this season.