Mike Kryzyzewski shares his thoughts on Cooper Flagg

Former Duke head basketball coach Mike Kryzyzewski has been retired for a year now. But he’s still been around sharing his thoughts on a number of topics on the game of college basketball today. On Wednesday, the legendary basketball coach couldn’t contain his excitement for the No. 1 overall player in the 2024 cycle that recently committed to the Duke Blue Devils, Cooper Flagg. He spoke with Tom Kirkland of the Olympic Channel on Wednesday afternoon about Flagg and a number of other topics.

Just how good does he think Cooper Flagg is? Is he a legitimate one-and-done prospect? “Yeah, if it was earlier, he’d be done. He is that good. And he’s tough to describe because he does everything well….He reminds me defensively of one of the great international defensive players, Andrei Kirilenko. But offensively, he can really pass. There’s not an aspect of the game he can’t do. But then, you add spirit and competitiveness at the highest level. And all those things that you do well. You know what. You do them really well. And I’m anxious to have him here at Duke,” Krzyzewski said.

Andrei Kirilenko was a first round selection by the Utah Jazz in 1999. In the 2003-2004 NBA season, he ranked third in the league in blocked shots per game and also ranked fourth in the league in steals per game, becoming just the second player in league history to rank in the top five in both categories (David Robinson was the other).

While starring for the Jazz, he averaged over three blocks per game in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He was also the NBA’s blocks leader in 2005. A native of Russia, Kirilenko played for the Russian national team, guiding them to a bronze medal in 2012 in London.

The funny thing about Coach K comparing Flagg to Kirilenko, On3’s National Basketball Recruiting Expert, Jamie Shaw recently interviewed a coach in the Big East who discussed the same comparison. And while they agreed, they also said they think Flagg’s offensive skill set is much further along at the same stage.

“I heard someone compare Cooper Flagg to a young Andrei Kirilenko over the summer. I watched Andrei when he was 16 years old, and I think that is a spot-on comparison. The difference in my view is that Cooper’s offensive skill set is much further along at the same stage. And for the generation that has never heard of Andrei or doesn’t know his game, research his first couple years in the NBA. I think Cooper needs to improve his three-point shooter, but it’s only natural for uber-talented, long prospects for that to be the area. That was AK’s ‘hole’ and he never really developed it, but was an excellent NBA player.”

Without a doubt, Flagg is one of the most highly anticipated basketball prospects in recent memory. He committed to the Duke Blue Devils on Monday, giving them their fourth commitment for the 2024 cycle. The Five-Star Plus+ small forward reclassified to the class of 2024 in August. He’s expected to be a lottery pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Duke’s class currently sits as the No. 1 rated class in On3’s 2024 Team Recruiting Rankings.

On3’s Jamie Shaw also contributed to this article.