In what is big news for Duke basketball, Cooper Flagg was officially activated for the team’s NCAA Tournament opener against Mount St. Mary’s. There was a lot of uncertainty about his status after he suffered an ankle injury, but it looks like he’s healthy enough to go out on the court and try to help his team win a national championship.
Head coach Jon Scheyer spoke about Flagg’s availability, and it sounds like he’s good enough to get out on the court in their tournament opener, according to The Athletic’s Brendan Marks.
“This is about him being able to move properly. He wasn’t going to play if he was compensating. No matter what, an ankle sprain, to say he’s 100% tomorrow, he’s still working through that,” Marks wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Flagg is by far the best player in college basketball right now, and there is a very good chance that whatever NBA lands the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, he’ll be going there. For people who love March Madness, this would have been a great time to watch what Flagg does in a win-or-go-home situation, and with him being active, they get the chance to see that.
Before their tournament opener, Flagg opened up about how he feels after suffering the injury.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Flagg said. “We have an incredible training staff. We’ve been working through the steps of getting back to 100 percent.”
Duke has a good chance to go all the way in the tournament, but as history suggests, anything can happen in these types of high-pressure situations.
Flagg has shown he’s one of the best in college basketball, averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game this season while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from the 3-point line. It’ll be interesting to see what Flagg can do in his first game back, and Duke is hoping he can help them get a national championship.
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