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So much for any lingering concern about Cooper Flagg’s left ankle sprain.
The most celebrated freshman in college basketball demonstrated that he was moving spryly in the opening minutes of his NCAA tournament debut.
Ninety seconds into Duke’s 93-49 demolition of 16th-seeded Mount St. Mary’s on Friday, Tyrese Proctor tipped a lazy pass and sparked a two-on-one fastbreak for the Blue Devils. Flagg drew a foul and finished through contact, the collision sending him sprawling to the floor.
Only minutes later, Flagg cut backdoor, received a slick pass from Patrick Ngongba and threw down a soaring two-handed slam. Flagg jogged back down court pointing at Ngongba and flashing an irrepressible grin.
At halftime, CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson asked Flagg how his ankle was feeling. Flagg confirmed what his play had already demonstrated, telling Wolfson the ankle was “feeling great.”
When Flagg got hurt leaping for a rebound eight days ago in the ACC quarterfinals, the sight of him writhing on the floor wincing in pain evoked memories of notorious March injuries past. Twenty-five years ago, Kenyon Martin’s broken right leg in the C-USA tournament derailed No. 1 Cincinnati’s national title hopes. Kendall Marshall’s fractured wrist during the NCAA tournament robbed 2011-12 North Carolina of a potential title shot. So did Houston losing Jamal Shead to a badly sprained right ankle against Duke in last year’s Sweet 16.
Then reporters in Charlotte posted social media images of Flagg in a wheelchair headed to get X-rays. Was this going to be another college basketball what-if?
The answer, it turned out, was no. The X-rays were negative. Flagg returned to the Duke bench without a walking boot. While Duke coach Jon Scheyer wisely did not play Flagg again in the ACC tournament, Flagg struck an optimistic tone when he spoke to reporters on the eve of Duke’s matchup with Mount St. Mary’s.
“I'm really confident about going 100 percent tomorrow,” he said.
Flagg finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. He would have tallied even bigger numbers if Duke needed it. The top-seeded Blue Devils led by double figures after three minutes, by 26 at halftime and by as many as 45 en route to setting up an intriguing second-round matchup against ninth-seeded Baylor.
The sight of Flagg moving like his normal self is an encouraging sign for Duke's national title hopes. Flagg is the presumptive No. 1 pick in this year's NBA Draft and the favorite to be named college basketball's national player of the year.
Without him, Duke was still able to win the ACC tournament. With him back and healthy, the Blue Devils are primed to take aim at their first national title since 2015.
Continue reading...
The most celebrated freshman in college basketball demonstrated that he was moving spryly in the opening minutes of his NCAA tournament debut.
Ninety seconds into Duke’s 93-49 demolition of 16th-seeded Mount St. Mary’s on Friday, Tyrese Proctor tipped a lazy pass and sparked a two-on-one fastbreak for the Blue Devils. Flagg drew a foul and finished through contact, the collision sending him sprawling to the floor.
Only minutes later, Flagg cut backdoor, received a slick pass from Patrick Ngongba and threw down a soaring two-handed slam. Flagg jogged back down court pointing at Ngongba and flashing an irrepressible grin.
At halftime, CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson asked Flagg how his ankle was feeling. Flagg confirmed what his play had already demonstrated, telling Wolfson the ankle was “feeling great.”
When Flagg got hurt leaping for a rebound eight days ago in the ACC quarterfinals, the sight of him writhing on the floor wincing in pain evoked memories of notorious March injuries past. Twenty-five years ago, Kenyon Martin’s broken right leg in the C-USA tournament derailed No. 1 Cincinnati’s national title hopes. Kendall Marshall’s fractured wrist during the NCAA tournament robbed 2011-12 North Carolina of a potential title shot. So did Houston losing Jamal Shead to a badly sprained right ankle against Duke in last year’s Sweet 16.
Then reporters in Charlotte posted social media images of Flagg in a wheelchair headed to get X-rays. Was this going to be another college basketball what-if?
The answer, it turned out, was no. The X-rays were negative. Flagg returned to the Duke bench without a walking boot. While Duke coach Jon Scheyer wisely did not play Flagg again in the ACC tournament, Flagg struck an optimistic tone when he spoke to reporters on the eve of Duke’s matchup with Mount St. Mary’s.
“I'm really confident about going 100 percent tomorrow,” he said.
Flagg finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. He would have tallied even bigger numbers if Duke needed it. The top-seeded Blue Devils led by double figures after three minutes, by 26 at halftime and by as many as 45 en route to setting up an intriguing second-round matchup against ninth-seeded Baylor.
The sight of Flagg moving like his normal self is an encouraging sign for Duke's national title hopes. Flagg is the presumptive No. 1 pick in this year's NBA Draft and the favorite to be named college basketball's national player of the year.
Without him, Duke was still able to win the ACC tournament. With him back and healthy, the Blue Devils are primed to take aim at their first national title since 2015.
Continue reading...
