Duke fans did their best to make a case for Cooper Flagg to return for another season.
After seemingly signaling to “run it back” while on the bench, the freshman phenom was as diplomatic as possible when addressing his future after the Blue Devils’ final home game of the season Monday night.
The Cameron Crazies serenaded Flagg with chants of “ONE MORE YEAR!” as he exited the court for potentially his last time at Cameron Indoor Stadium with a little more than three minutes left in Duke’s 93-60 win over Wake Forest.
Flagg is projected to be the top pick in this year’s NBA draft after a stellar season.
The Blue Devils guard dapped up his teammates as he reached the bench — the chants echoing in the background — and Flagg even jokingly seemed to say “run it back” as his parents were shown enjoying the moment from the stands.
But after the game, his coy responses to questions about his future with Duke appeared more telling about his next move after the season ends.
“I’m living in the present right now,” Flagg told reporters after putting up 28 points in the win, according to the Fayetteville Observer. “I’m living in the moment. Taking it day by day, practice by practice, game by game. I don’t know what the future holds.”
Flagg acknowledged that he allowed himself a moment to think about the fact that the game could be his last time playing at Cameron Indoor, but deflected a bit as well.
And he even admitted to “having a lot of emotion” over Duke honoring its senior class of 2025 on Monday night.
“Just living in the moment. As of right now, it’s our last game of the year in Cameron,” he said.
The significance of the game on Monday wasn’t lost on head coach Jon Scheyer, who was aware that it wasn’t just seniors who were playing their final game with the team, but he wasn’t “gonna get into speculating who that is.”
It has seemed like a foregone conclusion that Flagg would turn pro after this year at Duke, though he did fan the flames of a possible return when he was quoted as saying, “I want to come back next year” in an article published last month by The Athletic.
Flagg certainly put on a show if Monday was indeed the final home game of his collegiate career, producing a 10-of-16 shooting performance along with eight rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.
