Cooper Flagg is a major doubt to face UNC today after sustaining an injury in Duke’s 78-70 win over Georgia Tech in the ACC quarterfinals on Thursday.
The 18-year-old forward suffered the injury at the 2:48 mark of the first half after grabbing a defensive rebound on a missed 3-pointer. Flagg fell down to the floor after appearing to turn awkwardly as he came down from the rebound.
Cooper Flagg Unlikely To Face UNC Tonight Ahead of NCAA Tournament
The 6-foot-9 star hobbled as he walked off the court before sitting briefly on the court, where he was attended to by trainers. He later returned to the locker room and underwent further testing, including X-rays.
Flagg was ultimately ruled out for the remainder of the game, ending his day with just two points on 1 of 7 shooting from the field.
Scheyer told reporters after the game that X-rays showed that Flagg had sprained his ankle.
“Cooper, he just came down, sprained his ankle, X-rays were negative, which is great,” Scheyer said. “We just have to understand there’s going to be swelling and see how he recovers and how he goes from there.”
Scheyer revealed in his postgame press conference on Thursday that is a “long shot” for the forward to play today. The head coach revealed he is cautious about featuring the forward with the NCAA Tournament starting next Thursday.
“Well, I already know how he’s wired. And look, to be honest with you, I would have to be, like, convinced by everybody in the locker room when I go back there that he should play. It’s not worth it. It just isn’t,” Scheyer said during the news conference when asked about Flagg’s chances of playing today.
“Again, he was swollen already. It’s not about being ready to go tomorrow. That’s not the most important thing for us. We’ve got to see if we can get him right for this run that we can make in the tournament.”
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Scheyer also said that he would need to be fully convinced about the 18-year-old’s fitness before considering whether to play him tonight or not.
“But I would have to be really convinced that we should even consider seeing if he can go tomorrow. He may not be able to go anyway. He probably won’t be able to go anyway. But I think it’s a real long shot. A real long shot,” he added.
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