Cooper Flagg injury update: New details emerge on Duke star ahead of NCAA Tournament

Duke enters the NCAA Tournament with major health questions, specifically with star freshman Cooper Flagg. He suffered an ankle injury early in the ACC Tournament but has working toward gearing up for a postseason run with the Blue Devils. One day before their first-round game, positive news has come in.

According to ESPN’s David Hale, Flagg is “pain-free” and is set to be fully healthy for Friday’s matchup against Mount St. Mary’s. A massive boost for Duke, getting a National Player of the Year contender back.

“Cooper Flagg says he is “pain-free” after suffering an ankle injury that kept him out of the majority of Duke’s ACC tournament championship run, and he expects to be fully healthy for the Blue Devils’ NCAA tournament opener against Mount St. Mary’s on Friday,” Hale said.

Flagg suffered the injury facing Georgia Tech Thursday in the ACC Tournament. He wound up missing games against North Carolina and Louisville. Duke was still able to find an immense amount of success in Charlotte, cutting down the nets with another conference title.

Mount St. Mary’s may not be the team where Flagg is needed. Duke is a heavy favorite heading into the game after being awarded the second No. 1 seed by the Selection Committee. But a potential second-round matchup against Baylor/Mississippi State would not be easy without Flagg.

Getting him back on the court allows Duke to be at full strength. And not many teams have been able to take them down when at that level.

Seth Greenberg debates whether Duke should rest Cooper Flagg early in NCAA Tournament

Cooper Flagg missed much of the ACC Tournament with a sprained right ankle. Still, Duke rose above and won their conference battle in the end, and now they’re setting the stage for what they hope is a championship run in the NCAA Tournament.

The question for Flagg is whether he’ll be ready for the Blue Devils’ first game on Friday afternoon in the Round of 64. ESPN analysts 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. Evidently, they don’t expect that to be the case for the Blue Devils.

“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.”

On3’s Steve Samra contributed to this report