Two of Duke basketball freshman phenom Cooper Flagg’s 27 points in Wednesday night’s 78-57 victory over the visiting Cal Golden Bears (12-13, 5-9 ACC) came in the form a fastbreak flush deserving of several more looks.
With the No. 3-ranked Duke Blue Devils (21-3, 13-1 ACC) enjoying a 56-32 lead midway through the second half, Flagg forced Cal head coach Mark Madsen to run out on the floor begging for a timeout. He did so by intercepting a careless pass before preparing for liftoff and the following reverse dunk:
Timeout 🐻 pic.twitter.com/Xliyp6Z0MU
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 13, 2025
“I’ve had that dunk for a while,” the 18-year-old Flagg, frontrunner for ACC and national player of the year honors, said in the locker room afterward. “I didn’t want to get too crazy. But I had to do a little something.”
Just before midnight, the Duke basketball social media team came through with a quick “showtime Coop from all the angles” montage to pay tribute to what is now one of countless Cooper Flagg explosions that have led to thunderous reactions from the Cameron Crazies this season:
showtime Coop from all the angles pic.twitter.com/B4Qilm4CRV
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 13, 2025
The 6-foot-9, 205-pound native and projected No. 1 overall draft pick finished 8-for-14 from the field, 2-for-4 beyond the arc, and 9-for-9 at the foul line against the Golden Bears. He added five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and only two turnovers across his 29 minutes of action.
dub secured ✅ pic.twitter.com/OhyiZ2aF12
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 13, 2025
Duke basketball will now get its Cooper Flagg & Co. show ready to welcome the Stanford Cardinal (16-9, 8-6 ACC) to Cameron Indoor Stadium at 4 p.m. ET Saturday (ABC).
1. Cooper Flagg
2. Kon Knueppel
3. Sion James
5. Maliq Brown
7. Isaiah Evans
8. Mason Gillis
Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball news.
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