Seth Greenberg praises Cooper Flagg, compares him to Jayson Tatum

ESPN’s Seth Greenberg heaped immense praise on Duke’s Cooper Flagg following his spirited effort against top-ranked Kansas on Tuesday evening.

Flagg chose Duke after being anointed as the top-prospect during this past season’s recruiting cycle, and Greenberg believes he’s eventually going to ascend to incredible heights, likening the star forward to former Blue Devils star Jayson Tatum, and stating his belief that he’ll be the unquestioned first choice when the 2025 NBA Draft rolls around.

“He’s going to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft,” Greenberg proclaimed, via Get Up. “There’s one other guy, Egor Demin from BYU, 6-9 point guard, Russian kid who can see over the defense and shoot the ball. But the problem is, in the NBA, there’s spacing, and the 24-second clock. He’s playing with no space right now. But when he gets to an NBA roster, there will be tremendous space. There will be shot-makers and floor-gamers all over the floor that will give him room to make plays. Right now, he’s playing with a short-court. Every catch is tough. Every move, basically, he’s playing in a crowd. When he plays with better players, and he’s playing with great players right now, but better spacing and great spacing, he’ll have more room to make plays, he’ll be harder to guard and he’ll make a greater impact on the game.

“I’m not saying he’s going to be Jayson Tatum or Mo Wagner, but he’s got a little bit of each of those guys. He’s his own player, and his own person. He impacts the game more than just in scoring, but he has a unique skillset. A little bit of Tatum though, I think. He’ll eventually be a big time shooter. He’s fine. The spacing Duke is playing with is hurting him, because people are game-planning to get the ball out of his hands. You can’t do that in the NBA.”

Moreover, Flagg didn’t have his best game against Kansas, but the Blue Devils still only fell by three during his 13-point effort. On the season thus far, the star forward is averaging 17.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists.

Alas, Seth Greenberg believes Cooper Flagg can only go up from here, and his talent will continue to shine throughout the 2024-25 college basketball season. It remains to be seen if he’s correct in his assessment, but plenty of NBA squads are watching the Blue Devils with a keen focus on their young burgeoning star.