SAN ANTONIO (news agencies) — Cooper Flagg and his Duke teammates were days away from clinching a spot in the Final Four, and the Blue Devils’ freshman star was planning ahead.
It wasn’t about anything on the court, though. It was to be ready the next time teammates Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba broke out water guns at the cold tubs.
“I’m definitely ordering one as well,” Flagg said with a grin, a nod to the fact that he’s still “just being a kid.”
Maybe so, but the the 18-year-old’s game has been far more advanced than his age from the opening tip of his college debut. Scoring. Rebounding. Setting up teammates as a playmaker, then aiding them as a defender. He did it all amid high expectations as the potential No. 1 overall NBA draft prospect, the driving force with a relentless competitive edge and mature focus for a team now two wins from a national championship.
It is why Flagg was named media men’s college basketball national player of the year on Friday, becoming only the fourth freshman to win the award in its 64-year history.
The 6-foot-9, 205-pound forward from Newport, Maine, won a two-man race with Auburn star Johni Broome. Both players were unanimous first-team news agencies All-Americans with teams at the Final Four, and they were the only two to receive player-of-the-year votes — though Flagg earned 41 of 61 votes from news agencies Top 25 voters.
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