Cooper Flagg injury update: Mother teases potential timeline on ankle

Duke won the ACC Tournament over the weekend, but they had to do so without their top player in Cooper Flagg, who sprained his right ankle. That put his NCAA Tournament status in doubt, at least for the opening weekend, but his mother Kelly has eased the concerns of Blue Devils fans everywhere.

Speaking with Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports if she’s expecting her son to play this weekend in the Round of 64 and subsequently the Round of 32, provided Duke takes care of business, Kelly Flagg stated, “I will expect to see him. Yes, very soon.”

That’s great news for Durham, North Carolina and all of the Duke fans around the nation. The question for Flagg over the past week or so has been whether he’ll be ready for the Blue Devils’ first game on Friday afternoon, and ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg debated whether Duke should simply put their star on ice until the Sweet 16, avoiding any further injury trouble in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

“That’s fiction,” Greenberg responded, regarding whether Duke should rest Flagg until the Sweet 16, via Get Up. “This is really simple. This decision will be made by the medical staff, Coach [Jon] Scheyer, his parents and his agent. That’s what it’s going to be. If he’s healthy enough to play, he’s going to work out today. He’ll have a real practice, probably on Wednesday or Thursday. They don’t play until Friday. They will evaluate him. If he has any setbacks, he won’t play in the first game. That’s just the way it is. 

“If he doesn’t have any setbacks, and they feel he’s made progress and he’s good to go, he’s going to play. That’s just the way it is. So, you know — I think this week will tell a lot. If he’s good to go, they will play him. If he’s not 100%, they won’t.”

All told, it’s easy to see why Flagg would want to play if he’s healthy, regardless if Duke can get the job done without him in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. He’s simply too good of a player to allow to sit on the bench when ready to roll.

Cooper Flagg has helped Duke have their most successful season in recent memory this year, and they’re hoping to cap it off with being crowned national champions at the end of it all. He’ll need to be 100% to get the job done, and if he’s back to form this weekend, it’s hard to see the Blue Devils holding him out.