The Duke Blue Devils and the ACC have made a concerted effort to express confidence that superstar freshman Cooper Flagg will be available for the 2025 NCAA Tournament. And now, Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer has thrown his hat into the ring
Speaking on ESPN during Selection Sunday special, Scheyer said it's "full steam ahead" for Flagg, who's missed Duke's last two games with a left ankle injury. That's a hugely positive development for the Blue Devils, though the speedy recovery has also raised some red flags (no pun intended).
Cooper Flagg's 'full steam ahead' injury update sounds too good to be true
Flagg sat out most of Duke's conference championship run after taking a nasty spill and appearing to roll his ankle quite severely in the quarterfinal. Suddenly, less than a handful of days later, Scheyer deems him good to go for the start of March Madness. Something about that doesn't add up.
Following his optimistic outlook, Scheyer (inadvertently) contradicted the idea that Flagg is 100 percent healthy heading into the Big Dance. Duke's program leader said the latter will begin "on-court work and then build up where he can practice later in the week."
Again, not a particularly encouraging sign. Flagg won't get many live reps before the Blue Devils' Round 1 meeting against the winner of American University and Mount St. Mary's on Friday. Of course, Duke doesn't need him to be in peak form versus the East Region's No. 16 seed, but it speaks to his murky health status. Moreover, the concern would be moving forward to the Second Round of the tournament and beyond and what Flagg's status looks like at that point, especially with a quick turnaround from playing against the No. 16 seed.
Given the circumstances, Scheyer's expeditious perspective on Flagg may be more wishful thinking than concrete. Duke and the latter have a common "goal" of putting this issue behind them come their first-round clash with American/Mount St. Mary's. But are they willing to push physical boundaries to achieve that objective?
The Blue Devils are the consensus betting favorites to win this year's national championship, largely because of Flagg. Moreover, the 2024-25 ACC Player of the Year is the unquestioned No. 1 prospect of the 2025 NBA Draft class. So, the ramifications of his ankle ailment are colossal. One wrong move and he can jeopardize his entire future, so all eyes are on how he and Duke proceed.