Freshman superstar Cooper Flagg was named an AP All-American Tuesday afternoon.
The Newport, Maine, native — along with Auburn's Johni Broome — were unanimous first-team selections on AP's All-America team. They are joined by Alabama's Mark Sears, Purdue's Braden Smith and Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. Flagg and Broome were both on the preseason team, living up to the hype bestowed on them in October. The two standouts are likely in a two-man race for the Wooden Award, college basketball's highest individual honor.
Duke leads the nation in consensus first-team All-Americans in the modern era with 25, and Flagg is the first Blue Devil since RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson in 2019 to receive the honor. He is also the first Duke freshman to be selected to an AP All-America team since Paolo Banchero in 2022.
Flagg was recently named ACC Player of the Year and leads the Blue Devils in every major statistical category. He averages 18.9 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game, and Flagg has an immeasurable impact on the defensive end for head coach Jon Scheyer's bunch. His three-level scoring has improved since the start of the year; he shoots 36.8% from deep and 83% from the free-throw line.
The 6-foot-9 forward injured his left ankle in Duke's ACC Tournament quarterfinal win against Georgia Tech. While he missed the final two games of the Blue Devils' ACC championship run, Scheyer noted that it's trending in the right direction for Flagg to be "ready to go right away in the NCAA Tournament."
Duke — the No. 1 seed in the East Region — will kick off its NCAA Tournament run Friday at 2:50 p.m. in Raleigh against the winner of American and Mount St. Mary's.
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Ranjan Jindal is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.