By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer
Duke star Cooper Flagg is headed to the NBA as the favorite to be the No. 1 overall draft pick.
The program announced Flagg’s move in a social media post Monday following after a lone college season that saw the 18-year-old become only the fourth freshman named as The Associated Press national player of the year while leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four.
Flagg had reclassified to get to Duke a year early, and his decision was expected all year, even as he generally declined to spell out plans about his professional future as the season pushed into March or mentioned how much fun he had playing in college.
“I mean, it’s been an incredible year with a really great group of people,” Flagg told the AP in March after winning national player of the year.
The 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward from Newport, Maine, averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals to lead the Blue Devils in each category. He’s a versatile threat who showed the ability to thrive as a scorer, playmaker and defender.
“His highlights, his statistics, the ways he impacted the game on both ends of the floor, really in every category, was off the charts — as good of a freshman season that a guy has had here,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said in a social media video from the program about Flagg’s NBA declaration.
“But to me the separator and the joy of coaching Cooper is the person he was every day, the teammate that he was — never about statistics or anything other than creating an environment and helping his team to win.”
The statistical highlight came when Flagg scored 42 points to set an Atlantic Coast Conference freshman record against Notre Dame in January, along with having 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists to help Duke hold off Arizona in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. There were plenty of impressive single plays, too, that demanded highlight-reel placement like his transition dunk through a defender against Pittsburgh in January.
Flagg closed with 27 points and seven rebounds in a loss to Houston in the national semifinals. The Blue Devils had led by 14 with about 8 1/2 minutes left but faltered late, with Houston scoring the game’s last nine points in the final 33 seconds and Flagg missing a late shot for the lead.
Still, he was an elite and hypercompetitive force for one of college basketball’s top teams all season with a game far more advanced than his age, capable of making an impact from baseline to baseline and sideline to sideline. He won’t turn 19 until December, which would be roughly two months into his rookie season.
Flagg is the third Duke player to announce an early exit for the NBA in the past week, joining freshman wing Kon Knueppel and junior guard Tyrese Proctor.