Duke followers did their greatest to make a case for Cooper Flagg to return for one more season.
After seemingly signaling to “run it back” whereas on the bench, the freshman phenom was as diplomatic as attainable when addressing his future after the Blue Devils’ closing residence sport of the season Monday night time.
The Cameron Crazies serenaded Flagg with chants of “ONE MORE YEAR!” as he exited the courtroom for doubtlessly his final time at Cameron Indoor Stadium with a bit of greater than three minutes left in Duke’s 93-60 win over Wake Forest.
Flagg is projected to be the highest decide on this 12 months’s NBA draft after a stellar season.
The Blue Devils guard dapped up his teammates as he reached the bench — the chants echoing within the background — and Flagg even jokingly appeared to say “run it back” as his mother and father had been proven having fun with the second from the stands.
However after the sport, his coy responses to questions on his future with Duke appeared extra telling about his subsequent transfer after the season ends.
“I’m living in the present right now,” Flagg advised reporters after placing up 28 factors within the win, in keeping with 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 second to consider the truth that the sport could possibly be his final time taking part in at Cameron Indoor, however deflected a bit as effectively.
And he even admitted to “having a lot of emotion” over Duke honoring its senior class of 2025 on Monday night time.
Demon Deacons at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils received 93-60. IMAGN IMAGES through Reuters Join
“Just living in the moment. As of right now, it’s our last game of the year in Cameron,” he mentioned.
The importance of the sport on Monday wasn’t misplaced on head coach Jon Scheyer, who was conscious that it wasn’t simply seniors who had been taking part in their closing sport with the staff, however he wasn’t “gonna get into speculating who that is.”
It has appeared like a foregone conclusion that Flagg would flip professional after this 12 months at Duke, although he did fire up a attainable return when he was quoted as saying, “I want to come back next year” in an article revealed final month by The Athletic.
Flagg definitely placed on a present if Monday was certainly the ultimate residence sport of his collegiate profession, producing a 10-of-16 capturing efficiency together with eight rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.
