Cooper Flagg, Maliq Brown injury update: Duke announces stars' status vs. North Carolina

Duke will be without Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown against North Carolina on Friday, the program announced. Both players suffered injuries in Thursday’s win over Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament.

Brown re-injured his shoulder in Thursday’s victory and did not return to the game after going through tests during the game. Flagg then went down with an ankle injury under the basket and was seen in a wheelchair on his way for further testing.

Jon Scheyer confirmed Flagg suffered a sprain and didn’t have any structural damage. As for his status for the remainder of the weekend in Charlotte, Scheyer said it was still to be determined.

Injury update | UNC

Cooper Flagg – out (ankle)

Maliq Brown – out (shoulder)

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 14, 2025

“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,” Scheyer said, via The Athletic’s Brendan Marks. “It’s not worth it. It just isn’t.”

Flagg continues to prove himself as the consensus No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft. He leads Duke in every major statistical category – averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks. His absence changes the Blue Devils’ attack on both sides of the court, although they rallied without him after his departure against Georgia Tech.

Brown, however, is the anchor of the defense. In 23 games this year, he’s averaging 1.3 steals. But a shoulder injury part-way through the season kept him away from the court, and he recently made his return against UNC to end the regular season.

During Thursday’s game, Brown dislocated his shoulder again, Scheyer said. It’s still unclear just how long he’ll be out.

“Maliq was in a lot of pain,” Scheyer said. “He re-disclocated his shoulder … He’s at the hospital now. We’ll figure out how he’s doing.”

Flagg’s injury sent a shockwave around college basketball as people around the sport reacted. Auburn coach Bruce Pearl was among those to weigh in, calling it a “huge hit” if Flagg would be unable to play at any point during the NCAA tournament. He specifically pointed out the way he transforms Duke’s game plan.

“Cooper Flagg impacts winning on both ends of the floor. That’s a huge, huge hit,” Pearl said during the SEC tournament on Thursday. “I don’t like the way he came down – the fact that he was in the air and landed on that thing and rolled it over there pretty good.”