Cooper Flagg completed one of the best freshman seasons in college basketball history during the 2024-25 campaign. The Duke star and projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft captured CBS Sports Freshman of the Year honors and exited as one of the most accomplished one-and-done players this century.
Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was well gone from the program before Flagg arrived after retiring after the 2021-22 season. Still, the legendary college basketball coach is a frequent observer from the sideline of the program. Krzyzewski attended the Final Four in San Antonio earlier this spring and saw Duke’s season come to a close with a 70-67 loss to Houston.
In an interview with “Dusty and Danny in the Morning,” Krzyzewski called former star Grant Hill the best player to play at Duke while adding that Flagg is “definitely” the best freshman who has come through one of the sport’s most historic programs.
“Grant (Hill) is the best player to ever play at Duke. (Christian) Laettner is the most accomplished,” Krzyzewski said on Sirius XM. “Cooper (Flagg) is definitely the best freshman that has ever played.”
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Krzyzewski has a point. Only four freshmen have won Naismith College Player of the Year honors in college basketball history. Flagg became the latest winner of the award after a terrific freshman campaign. He joined Texas‘ Kevin Durant, Kentucky’s Anthony Davis and Duke’s Zion Williamson as the only players to win the award during their first college season.
Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 blocks in 37 games. Had Duke won the national title, Flagg would have been a popular pick to claim the crown as the best one-and-done player in the modern era.
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