Seth Greenberg showers Cooper Flagg with praise after dominant performance in win vs. Illinois

ESPN’s Seth Greenberg showered Cooper Flagg with praise following a dominant display for Duke against Illinois.

It didn’t hurt that the showcase was at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Blue Devils dominated the Fighting Illini 110-67 and Flagg put up 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists in just 23 minutes.

Just another day at the office for Flagg.

“What you see within every single time he plays the game, the poise letting the game come to him, taking what the defense gives him, making the right decision, getting his teammates involved, and then he makes one or two of those plays where you go ‘whoa,’” Greenberg said on SportsCenter.

“I mean, he’s just different, because a guy of his talent, he could chase shots. He could try to make difficult plays. You know what he does? He makes the right play, whether it’s the hit ahead in transition, whether it’s getting in the paint … whether it’s a little hesitation and punching it in the gap … The guy has an incredible basketball IQ, but the maturity to not chase it, but just let and take what the defense gives him.” 

Greenberg even put it into context how Flagg had all of that production in a few shots.

“Think about yesterday, shot attempts, field goal attempts, Cooper Flagg took 10 shots last night,” Greenberg said. “Three other players in the starting lineup took nine … All five starters scored double figures. But Isaiah Evans when he comes off the bench. He’s like the microwave but he doesn’t even have to shoot it, because his ability to make shots creates that spacing that makes it even easier for everyone else.”

Head coach Jon Scheyer liked what Flagg and the rest of the Duke offense brought to the table in that first half.

“I thought we were playing with a good deal of confidence. Getting out in transition. The guys are sharing it. Gotta close better. But sharing it has been great,” Scheyer explained. “We’ve seen a lot this year. And it’s prepared us for these kinds of moments. I thought we were ready to play. We gotta close the half better. But they’re competitive, man. They compete. And I’m very proud of them, but we’ve got a long way to go here.”

Finish they did. Flagg and Duke outscored Illinois 56-30 in the second half to improve to 24-3 on the season.