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Duke fans chant 'one more year' at Cooper Flagg in Cameron Indoor season finale

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•about 19 hours•

BarkleyTruax

Cooper Flagg season finale
© Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Was Monday night the final time Cooper Flagg plays for Duke inside Cameron Indoor Stadium? The Cameron Crazies sure hope not.

As Flagg checked out of the game during the 93-60 win over Wake Forest, fans inside the student section, along with the rest of the Duke faithful in Durham chanted “One more year,” to the freshman as he walked to the bench. He received a standing ovation on his way out.

“Run it back,” Cooper Flagg appeared to respond to the chants.

That does not appear to be a legitimate declaration of Flagg’s possible return for a sophomore campaign. As mentioned on the broadcast, that may be a poor business decision. That comment was made given he’s been the consensus choice for the No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s 2025 NBA Draft.

However, his response to the Duke fans isn’t necessarily surprising given Flagg’s recent comments. The thought of Flagg coming back for another year picked up steam when he told The Athletic, “I want to come back next year,” while talking about how much fun he’s having during his freshman year. That led to a discussion about how feasible a return could be while comparing the salary for the top pick in the draft and what Flagg can earn through NIL.

Regardless of his decision, Flagg is putting together a monster season for the Blue Devils during his true freshman season. He put up 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Duke’s 93-60 win over the Demon Deacons on Monday night. Per game, he’s averaging 19.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists on the year.

As arguably the face of college basketball, Cooper Flagg currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of 4.8 million, which ranks No. 1 in the men’s college basketball NIL rankings. It’s also No. 2 in the On3 NIL 100 – the first of its kind and de facto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation. He trails only Texas quarterback Arch Manning.

Flagg’s growing NIL portfolio includes notable deals with Gatorade, New Balance and The NIL Store as the NCAA Tournament approaches. How that stacks up against a guaranteed NBA contract remains to be seen, but it appears to be an idea Flagg is at least entertaining.

For now, Flagg has his sights set for Chapel Hill, where he’ll lead the Blue Devils into Chapel Hill with the goal of sweeping the regular season series against North Carolina. Tip-off is set for Saturday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.