Jon Scheyer states Cooper Flagg dunk 'reminded me of a Zion kind of play'

Duke sensation Cooper Flagg is no stranger to producing the epic highlight reel play, and on Tuesday night in a game over Pittsburgh, he delivered a SportsCenter worthy dunk.

Flagg got the ball in the Duke backcourt and took it the length of the floor with just a few bounces, racing ahead and then flushing a one-handed slam over a Pittsburgh defender.

The moment sparked Cameron Indoor Stadium and helped lead Duke to a comfortable 76-47 win. Flagg’s head coach was left stunned.

“It reminded me of a Zion (Williamson) kind of play, that’s what it reminded me of,” coach Jon Scheyer said. “Because of how it sparked Cameron. Not me myself, but we’ve had a few guys through the years that make a couple plays that just spark everybody in the building. And that was one of those moments tonight.”

Cooper Flagg went to another level for the ridiculous dunk, one that helped provide some serious momentum to the team.

And it came as a result of what he perceived as a bad call.

“Well I think he and I were both pissed because there was a disagreement on the out-of-bounds call right beforehand I think is what it was,” Scheyer explained. “So I was focusing on that, he was focusing on next play, which I should have been too. So I just caught the end of it.”

Cooper Flagg lets anger fuel him

The result of the bad call was one of the best plays of the year. It debuted at No. 3 on ESPN’s SportsCenter, behind only a timeless dunk from LeBron James at 40 years old and a 360 windmill dunk by none other than Zion Williamson.

For Cooper Flagg, the bad call was enough to get the juices flowing.

“He does get angry. He does get angry,” Scheyer said. “But he’s so loose at the same time. He just, he loves being in the moment, being in the arena, but he’s got an edge to him now. That can go quick. I think we saw that tonight. He was pissed at himself and the second foul, and then all the sudden he picks up his third and it just got him going.”

How good can Cooper Flagg be this year? Well, talk of going No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft isn’t for nothing.

He’s that good.

“Look, for me, I know I’m biased to whatever,” Scheyer said. “But we’re not talking about him as one of the best, a chance to be the best player in the country. To me he is the best player. I think he’s proven that with who we’ve played, the competition. The fact he’s done 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 for me when we step on the floor we have the best player in the country. That’s a big deal.”