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Jay Bilas: Cooper Flagg draws Christian Laettner comparisons at Duke

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•01/11/25•

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Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg could be the next Christian Laettner for the Blue Devils, so says ESPN’s Jay Bilas.

Bilas acknowledged Flagg was better than advertised coming into college basketball. But the competitive drive is what stands out at the halfway point of the season.

It helps when Flagg is guiding a 13-2 and No. 4 ranked Duke squad.

“I think we’re allowed to say that he’s a complete player,” Bilas said on the ESPN broadcast of Duke-Notre Dame Saturday. “He’s been better (than the expectations) frankly. He’s been better. The maturity level and I think the level of competitiveness that he has, it honestly reminds me of the kind of competitor that Christian Laettner was when he was here at Duke.”

Coming into Saturday, Flagg averaged 17.5 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists per game, shot 45.8% from the floor and 30.8% from three-point percentage.

As a member of the Class of 2024, Flagg was a five-star-plus recruit out of Newport (Maine) Montverde Academy (Fla.), according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 1 overall prospect in the state, the No. 1 small forward in the class and the No. 1 overall prospect in the class.

So to compare him to Laettner is nothing to scoff at. Flagg could be that good when it’s all said and done.

However, Laettner is regarded as one of the greatest college basketball players of all time and played four seasons with Duke. Flagg is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft.

“I know I’m biased or whatever but if we’re not talking about him as one of the best — if a chance to be the best player in the country. To me, he is the best player,” head coach Jon Scheyer said after Tuesday’s win over Pitt. “I think he’s proven that with who we’ve played, the competition. The fact that he does it in such a mature way, he doesn’t hunt numbers. He just puts up numbers because the game comes to him, he plays the game the right way.

“So, I think we need to make sure we’re talking about him that way. He’s proven it to me, he’s got to continue to prove it. But to me, when we step on the floor, we have the best player in the country. That’s a big deal.”