DURHAM, N.C. — Cooper Flagg insisted he’s “living in the present” and wouldn’t speculate on whether he’d just played his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but as Duke wrapped its home slate Monday with an emphatic 93-60 win over Wake Forest, the projected No. 1 pick in the NBA draft admitted there were still a lot emotions as he left the court to chants of “One more year!” from the crowd.
“I was just playing with a lot of emotion and a lot of fire,” Flagg said.
If it was his final home game in a Duke uniform, he leaves on a high note. Flagg finished with 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
Flagg lamented Duke’s lackluster performance in a January game at Wake Forest, suggesting revenge was among his motivations Monday, but he was still peppered with questions about his future after the win. His coach, Jon Scheyer, said he took note of the moment, too.
Flagg left the court with the rest of the starters at the 2:21 mark in the second half with the Blue Devils up 40, an admittedly humble ending to an electric season on Duke’s home court, Scheyer said.
“I just hope everybody recognizes, if we were in more close games, his numbers would be like this a lot,” Scheyer said. “He’s so unselfish. I wanted to put him back in just for people to be able to recognize him and what he’s done. He plays so hard, he’s competitive, he’s a great teammate, and obviously his ability is special.”
For Duke, the dominant win wrapped a perfect 17-0 season at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the victory was the Blue Devils’ fourth straight by at least 30 points.
Flagg said the performance was indicative of a team “playing at a really high level,” but he emphasized that the job was far from over.
Still, Monday was a time for reflection — even if Flagg wasn’t ready to admit he’d played his last game inside Duke’s historic arena. He recalled his coast-to-coast dunk against Pitt (“a surreal moment,” he said) as his personal best memory from his season here, but befitting a player lauded for his selflessness on the court, pointed to teammate Sion James‘ dunk against NC State as the high point.
“The feeling I had — the crowd, it was the loudest it’s been all year,” Flagg said. “I was back on defense, and I could almost feel the building shaking.”
Whether that feeling would be enough to lure Flagg back for one more year, as the crowd implored Monday, remains a dubious proposition given his NBA draft stock. But Flagg said the experience of this season at Duke has exceeded his expectations, and leaving Cameron for potentially the last time was another memory worth cherishing.
“This is the best place in college basketball, for sure,” Flagg said. “I’ve loved every single minute of being here. It’s been an amazing year.”
