Cooper Flagg has an ideal NBA suitor all thanks to Duke coach Jon Scheyer

The Duke Blue Devils have won 14 straight and are 18-2 on the season, emerging as early favorites in March Madness projections. Jon Scheyer has done an amazing job on the sideline and in the locker room, but it's hard to overlook the benefits of good ol' recruitment. Duke just has a talent overload, which few teams in the college ranks can match.

Cooper Flagg is, of course, the centerpiece. A projected No. 1 pick since high school, Flagg has somehow exceeded expectations as a freshman. In addition to splendid defensive offerings, he has emerged as a dominant offensive fulcrum, averaging 22.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on .508/.360/847 splits since the calendar flipped to December.

There are precious few holes to poke in Flagg's game. He started the season on rocky shores from 3-point range, but has since rounded into form as a dynamic scoring threat at all three levels. Early-season stumbles have forged Flagg into a better all-around player. Gone are the days of ill-timed turnovers in crunch-time. Barely a month past his 18th birthday, Flagg is the best player in college hoops and the object of affection for every tanking team in the NBA.

As for where he's best suited to land at the next level, several factors could favor the Brooklyn Nets — not least of all their head coach.

Cooper Flagg might appreciate Jordi Fernandez's tough love as Nets head coach

The Nets are clearly in tank mode after trading Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors and Dorian Finney-Smith to the Los Angeles Lakers, with Cam Johnson probably next out the door ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline.

That said, Jordi Fernandez has done a tremendous job in his first season as head coach, consistently getting the most out of a hamstrung, patchwork roster. His creative scheme and excellent sense for rotations is one thing, but how effectively Fernandez navigates the locker room and inspires his players is what sets him apart.

Fernandez has become known for his tough-love strategy, speaking frankly to his players and encouraging growth through brutal honesty. That happens to be what Flagg loves in a head coach.

Here's what he said about Jon Scheyer in a recent interview, courtesy of the New York Post.

"Coach [Scheyer] is always honest with me about what he thinks, and that’s one of the reasons I chose him to be my coach," Flagg said. "He’s always honest with me and he keeps it 100. So, that’s what I need from a coach, and that’s what he does."

Flagg also hails from Monteverde Academy, a longstanding NBA pipeline that has produced four current members of the Nets roster. The future No. 1 pick's high school coach, Kevin Boyle, held a similar reputation for holding his players accountable. Brooklyn wing Dariq Whitehead, one of Boyle's profession progeny and a fellow Duke product, thinks Flagg would fit right in with the Nets' culture.

"Everybody in the top [echelon] in the country, they have a great skill set," Whitehead told the New York Post. "But for him, playing hard with it. You’ve got a lot of top guys, their skill set gets them by. For him, he has an edge with him when he’s playing. He goes out and plays like he’s the last guy on the bench. That’s what separates him from a lot of other guys, the mentality he has in going out there and playing like he’s not the No. 1 player in the country, which he is."

Brooklyn currently has the fifth-best odds to land the No. 1 pick on draft night at 10.5 percent. The Nets' roster resembles unmolded clay, with nice young pieces to build around, but also a ton of cap flexibility and future draft picks. That would be a tremendous setup for Flagg, allowing the Nets to scale up and build quickly around him, should the 18-year-old wind up in the borough.

That Fernandez is the exact kind of coach Flagg cherishes is the cherry on top.