Jay Bilas, Jay Williams make bold statement on where Cooper Flagg stands in Duke history

Cooper Flagg has long been thought of as the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft coming out of high school. Before he can get there, however, he’s leaving his mark on Duke like no freshman has before in the history of the program.

That’s not just a bold prediction or high praise coming from the internet — it came straight from the mouths of two well-respected Duke alumni — Jay Bilas and Jay Williams.

“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.”

Flagg is averaging 19.9 points per game, 8.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists through 20 games of his true freshman season. However, he’s averaging 26 points per game in his last three outings, and is five games removed from his historic 42-point performance against Notre Dame.

He’s been held under 10 points just three times this season, but in each of those matchups was able to impact the game in every other facet.

“For being the second youngest player in college basketball, I think he’s the most complete player that Duke has had in basketball history,” Jay Williams added. “Just because, look, I think Kyrie is probably the most skilled of all time, because Kyrie is just very special. But there’s no way Kyrie was doing what Cooper Flagg is doing on the defensive end, right? There’s no way.

“Maybe Jayson Tatum, a little bit of Paulo Banchero. Jabari Parker was also super talented. … He’s just a different package, and nothing about his game feels forced.”

To put Flagg’s name up there with some of the best-ever from the later years of the Mike Krzyzewski era and into the first years of Jon Scheyer’s is high praise — especially coming from someone of Williams’ stature, who has his jersey hanging from the rafters inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Flagg has a chance to add to his Duke resume on Saturday with an opportunity to defeat North Carolina in front of the Blue Devils faithful. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET live on ESPN.