Cooper Flagg looks back on recruitment to Duke after advancing to Elite Eight

Cooper Flagg has fit like a glove at Duke. The 18-year-old assimilated into the Blue Devils culture over the course of his freshman season, and he seems to be on the precipice of a legendary finale.

Throughout the course of the 2024-25 season and his first NCAA Tournament run, Flagg has looked wise behind his years. He’s a bonafide star, and that was never more evident than after Duke’s victory over Arizona during the Sweet 16. Flagg’s fingerprints were all over the win, as he scored 30 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished seven assists. Additionally, he blocked three shots, proving he can get it done on both sides of the floor.

It’s easy to get lost in his transformative play. Still, Flagg is trying to keep the main thing the main thing throughout this run for the Blue Devils. After their win over the Wildcats in Newark, the 6’9” forward took some time to reminiscence about his recruitment, and how Jon Scheyer cultivated this vision for him from the beginning. There was never a doubt this was the right program for him to accomplish his dreams.

“I think it’s just a credit to Coach Scheyer, the vision that he laid out for me,” Flagg said, harkening back to the time before he decided to to take his talents to Duke. “It just really felt like the right place with the right people.”

As a recruit out of Montverde Academy (Newport, ME), Flagg has his pick of the litter. He was a five-star prospect, and the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He chose Duke over programs like Connecticut, Kansas, Texas and Michigan.

Even though the program was in a bit of a evolutionary period, with the retirement of Mike Krzyzewski and the advent of Scheyer as the team’s new leader still taking some getting used to, Flagg decided to become the face of the Blue Devils. It’s paid off handsomely, as he’s etching his name into the illustrious history of the team, and he has the chance to become an icon in just one season if he can lead his team to three more victories.

Duke has already won the ACC regular season crown, the conference tournament title and it will be favored against many of the teams remaining to win the NCAA Tournament. Their next clash will come at the Prudential Center against the Alabama Crimson Tide, and it certainly won’t be an easy task getting by the SEC program.

The Blue Devils saw firsthand what Alabama can do on Thursday. They put up historic numbers against BYU in Newark, right before Duke’s victory over Arizona. The Crimson Tide made 25-of-51 three-point attempts, and Mark Sears had an incredible game, scoring 34 and knocking down 10 threes all by himself.

If Cooper Flagg wants to deliver a national title to Duke, he’ll have to be on his game once again in New Jersey against Alabama. Time will tell if he’s able to get the job done, but a chance at the Final Four will be on the line on Saturday night, in a clash that should have college basketball fans across America tuning in for a doozy of a game.