Jon Scheyer reacts to Cooper Flagg's debut at Duke

Duke‘s five-star freshman Cooper Flagg made his college basketball debut for the Blue Devils on Monday.

Defeating Maine 96-62, the former No. 1 overall recruit finished his collegiate debut with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer reacted to Flagg’s first regular season performance after the game.

“I’m proud of him for just impacting the game and playing every possession,” Scheyer said. “He’s giving it everything he had. I think that’s great that he can admit and say that he was emotional. I think that’s natural, you know? I think anybody is for their first game, let alone the fact he’s playing Maine where he’s from. His mom went there, but again I thought he did — he lead us in assist [and] rebounds. I thought he was close to having 25 [points] tonight, honestly, with some of those finishes a couple open shots. That’s going to fall.

“I think the thing that’s exciting for him is just for me, I should say, watching him. It’s just how he makes everybody better and how he plays every possession.”

Flagg struggled to find a consistent shot during his college debut and was unable to find his mark from deep, going 0-4 from 3-point range. However, he went 6-6 at the charity stripe and found a way to impact the game in every other way.

While Flagg led the team in rebounds and assists, it was fellow freshman Kon Knueppel to lead Duke in scoring with 22 in his collegiate debut. Tyrese Proctor, Caleb Foster, Mason Gillis and Sion James all scored in double figures as well.

Despite his 6-15 shoting total, Flagg’s all-around performance is a strong showing for the No. 1 overall recruit. He’s only expected to get better as his freshman year progresses.

Duke will match up with Army on Friday, giving the five-star freshman another opportunity to get some experience before the Champions Classic game against Kentucky next Tuesday.