Dick Vitale makes unprecedented claim about Cooper Flagg amid Duke blowing out UNC

Like they have done so many times this season, the North Carolina Tar Heels have gotten off to a slow start on Saturday. And unfortunately, it’s against the wrong team to do it against. The Duke Blue Devils. Cooper Flagg put on a show in the first half. And longtime college basketball aficionado Dick Vitale is one of the many that are smitten with Flagg’s skill set.

“All I can say in 45 years at ESPN I have not seen a player as young as Cooper Flagg so skilled–he is in his own World–he is THAT GOOD!” Vitale tweeted out in the first half. Duke was dominating the Tar Heels in the first half, holding a commanding 47-25 advantage.

All I can say in 45 years @espn I have not seen a player as young as @Cooper_Flagg so skilled – he is in his own World – he is THAT GOOD!

— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) February 1, 2025

The praise of Cooper Flagg doesn’t stop there. Vitale is not alone in being enamored with the Blue Devil star. Basketball analysts across the country have raved about Flagg for years.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas gushed over him on the set of ESPN College GameDay on Saturday.

“I think he’s the most advanced freshman in every facet of the game that Duke’s had, and they’ve had some unbelievable freshmen here,” Bilas said on ESPN College GameDay ahead of Saturday’s Duke-UNC matchup. “I’m not saying he’s the most talented, there’s Jayson Tatum, Kyrie [Irving]. … There have been some great freshmen here, but what he’s doing on a competitive level — he’s the most competitive freshman I’ve seen.

“It’s hard to quantify that, because a lot of players are really competitive. It’s just on a different level with him,” Bilas said.

Duke and Cooper Flagg looked dominant against UNC

Duke got a balanced scoring effort on Saturday night, flexing their muscles and dominating their in-state rivals in the process. The Blue Devils coasted to an easy 87-70 victory in Cameron Indoor. The No. 2 ranked team in the nation played like it. Their roster is oozing with blue chip talent all over the place and it showed. Kon Knueppel poured in 22 points, dished out five assists, had two steals, one block and also grabbed five rebounds.

He’s one of the purest shooters in America and while Flagg gets plenty of deserved attention for Duke, Knueppel is a name that plenty of teams in the NBA Draft are salivating over. He connected on 7 of his 11 shots from the field, including two of his four shots from deep.

Flagg poured in 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out seven assists, had three steals, and two blocks. Simply put, he’s the most complete freshman in America and he’s been showing that in the stat sheet time and time again this season. He was ranked the No. 1 overall prospect in the country coming out of high school for a reason.

Duke also got double digits from Tyrese Proctor (17 points) and Sion James (13 points). Star freshman Ian Jackson had a quiet evening for UNC, only scoring eight points. But Drake Powell, yet another talented freshman for the Tar Heels, chipped in 12 points.

Duke improved to 19-2 overall and 11-0 in the ACC. UNC dropped to 13-10 overall and 6-5 in the ACC.