Note: This brief was updated after Flagg won the Wooden Award April 5.
Cooper Flagg is a walking superlative.
The top scorer, rebounder and passer on No. 1-seed Duke is officially crowned college basketball's best player. On back-to-back days, Flagg was named the AP national player of the year and the John R. Wooden Award winner, the most coveted individual award in basketball.
The Newport, Maine, native became the eighth Duke player to win the AP player of the year award and the sixth to win the Wooden Award, joining legends including Christian Laettner (1992), Shane Battier (2001) and J.J. Redick (2006) to earn both. He is just the fourth freshman of all time to be named player of the year, an exclusive list including Kevin Durant (2007), Anthony Davis (2012) and Blue Devil Zion Williamson (2019).
A force on both ends of the court, Flagg has averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists ahead of the Final Four. Flagg started his rookie season facing off against Maine, the first of many games that drew flocks of supporters from the northern state. Only a 17-year-old at the time, his 18 points against the Bears were a prelude of what was to come.
“He's got a whole state behind him,” Maine head coach Chris Markwood said after the Nov. 4 game. “Everybody is just cheering him along, and can't wait to watch everything he does.”
The entire nation continued to watch as Flagg impressed on the biggest stages. In nonconference play, he racked up 26 points against Kentucky, 24 against Kansas and 22 against Auburn. To open ACC play against eventual second-place finisher Louisville, Flagg registered a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double.
His dunk against Pittsburgh is still being played on televisions around the country thanks to a Gatorade commercial, and he followed up that outing by breaking the ACC freshman single-game scoring record against Notre Dame. Flagg’s efficient 42 points on just 14 field-goal attempts are representative of his season as a whole: He continually makes the right play at the right time for the Blue Devils.
The 6-foot-9 point forward struggled in Duke’s lone conference loss to Clemson, but still nearly brought the Blue Devils to victory in the final minutes. After that, Flagg posted seven consecutive where he shot over 50% from the field and continued to anchor a Duke offense finding its stride.
When Flagg landed awkwardly on his left ankle during the Blue Devils’ ACC quarterfinal matchup against Georgia Tech, Duke fans were forced to hold their breath. But just eight days later, Flagg returned to score 14 in the Blue Devils’ Round of 64 victory against Mount St. Mary’s. He posted a one-of-a-kind Sweet 16 game against Arizona, adding seven assists and six rebounds to 30 points in a Duke win.
In just a few months in Durham, Flagg has accomplished a laundry list of achievements. ACC regular-season title: check. ACC Tournament championship: check. Consensus All-American, Final Four appearance, AP player of the year and Wooden Award winner: check.
There’s only one goal left for Flagg to accomplish, and 80 minutes of basketball is standing in his way.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Dom Fenoglio is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.