Jay Bilas offers lofty praise for Cooper Flagg, makes Christian Laettner comparison

As he gets ready for his first taste of the Tobacco Road rivalry against North Carolina, Cooper Flagg leads Duke in every statistical category. He appears to be finding his stride, and ESPN’s Jay Bilas offered lofty praise for the projected No. 1 pick.

Bilas put Flagg in a league of his own compared to other freshmen to come through the Duke program. Through 20 games, he leads the Blue Devils with 19.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while sitting tied for the team lead with 1.5 steals per game.

The ability to put up those numbers on both ends of the floor put Flagg in a class of his own, according to Bilas. He also drew a comparison to Christian Laettner.

“He’s becoming more assertive,” Bilas said of Flagg on ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption. “He’s been their leading scorer, rebounder, assist guy, shot-blocker, you name it, throughout the year. But over the last 10 games or so, he’s been really decisive and assertive, especially as a scorer. Earlier in the season, there were times when he would try to make a dribble move, maybe play with the ball a little bit. He’s not doing that now. Over the last five games, he’s averaging 27 a game. The last time I was in Cameron was for the game against Notre Dame – he had 42.

“He’s the best full package of a freshman I’ve seen here at Duke in the 40-plus years I’ve been associated with this program. That doesn’t mean he’s going to be the best player in the NBA or all that. But when you combine his skill level and his mental makeup as a freshman, nobody’s had that. He’s got the same kind of competitive nature that Laettner had. And to me, that’s saying something. Laettner was the most competitive person I think that’s played in this program, I believe. I think Cooper Flagg, at least to this point as a freshman, is equal in that department. Whether he’ll be equal as a player, he won’t be here long enough to match his four-year record. But he’s the real deal.”

PTI co-host Michael Wilbon expressed surprise at Jay Bilas’ response, pointing out Grant Hill’s achievements in Durham. But Bilas clarified he was just speaking about a freshman season. He still considers Hill the best player in Duke history.

“Grant Hill was the best player to ever play here, in my view,” Bilas said. “But as a freshman, Flagg’s ahead of him. As a freshman. Now, Grant took it to another level. I called Grant, Sandy Koufax. His first seven years in the NBA were comparable to any great player that’s ever played.”