Duke Blue Devils freshman phenom Cooper Flagg has had as good of a freshman year as any player could have in college basketball, but what exactly are his best, most outstanding accomplishments?
Cooper Flagg’s Most Impressive Feats and Accomplishments in 2025
As the regular season winds down, it’s time to start thinking about postseason awards. Flagg has put together an excellent season in 2024-25, providing a real case as the best player in college basketball.
He’s had many impressive moments this season, such as his 42-point outburst against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in early January. It’s even crazier when it’s factored in that he shot only 14 times, nailing 11 of them, with four being from beyond the three-point arc. He also added six rebounds and seven assists in the eight-point victory, one of the Blue Devils’ 18 ACC wins to date.
Cooper Flagg is legit, I pray he ends up in Chicago pic.twitter.com/WG6UiAbrHL
— ChicagoBullsCentral (@BullsCentraI) March 4, 2025
There’s also his his masterpiece final game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, as the expected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft dropped 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out seven assists — along with three blocked shots and two steals. He exited the game to chants of “One more year!” from the Duke fans.
Those were only two instances of Flagg’s brilliant performances, with more likely to come in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments, where the Blue Devils are set to make deep runs.
Flagg’s stats this season are just as impressive.
He’s scoring 19.6 ppg, the 27th-highest mark in the country and the second-best among freshmen. The fact that he’s not even known as a bonafide scorer is a further impressive point — fellow freshman and expected top-five picks Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey score fewer points but are more known as scorers than Flagg.
He’s shooting a solid mark of 49.7% from the field, along with 38.2% from deep on 3.7 attempts per game. He’s improved as the season has gone along; in fact, in his last 10 games, he’s nailed 17 threes on 34 attempts, an even 50%.
He does this all with an extremely high usage rate, with much of the offensive creation running through Flagg. His 4.2 apg is a tremendous mark for a freshman, much less a 6’9″ forward.
That length may suggest that he should be a good rebounder — but at only 205 pounds, there were questions about his ability to do so. He’s put those concerns to bed, averaging 7.5 rpg and repeatedly showing an eagerness to mix it up down low.
We’ve gone this far without mentioning maybe his best trait: his defense. Flagg’s defense on the EYBL circuit with Maine United stuck out to evaluators and analysts, and it’s translated perfectly to his time with Duke. His length and versatility on that end of the floor has allowed him to average 1.2 bpg and 1.6 spg — many of them being of the highlight-reel type.
It goes without saying that Flagg drives winning in a gigantic way.
He’s the best, most dominant player on the No. 2 in the nation. The Blue Devils have suffered just three losses this season versus 27 wins, with two of those losses coming in November. Duke has looked unstoppable as of late.
They’ve been able to continue their winning ways due to the play of Flagg, but also his winning mentality and unflappability. The freshman will do anything to win — a huge reason he’s endeared himself to quickly to Duke fans. The pressure that’s come with consistent winning has also not affected Flagg; his competitive nature is always on display but matched with a calm, cool demeanor.
KEEP READING: Analyzing the Player of the Year Contenders
The biggest kicker?
He’s doing all of this at only 18 years old and 17 for the first third of the season. With his mature style of play and impressive moxie, it’s easy to forget that Flagg would be a high school senior if he hadn’t reclassified to join the 2024 class.
His age hasn’t held him back this season, as he’s arguably the best player in the country with the potential to lead a deep run through the NCAA Tournament — along with potentially picking up some hardware in the form of the Naismith National Player of the Year trophy.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in football, basketball, and more!
