Cooper Flagg made his college basketball debut with Duke on Friday night. The Blue Devils held their annual ‘Countdown to Craziness’ event and their star freshman lived up to the hype.
However, a stain ruined a fantastic night for the No. 1 overall recruit.
Flagg either sat in an undisclosed liquid in the locker room or on the bench, sweat through his shorts, or defecated his dungarees. Even though it was probably just poor optics, it certainly looked like he had an accident.
The placement is really unfortunate.
Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
I can confidently say @DukeMBB ‘s Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel will be the most dangerous duo in college basketball this season.
— kaileigh grieb (@kaileighgrieb) October 5, 2024
(and you can quote me on that 😈) pic.twitter.com/yijAPo9UyS
To make matters worse, his name sets him up for all kinds of jokes that will likely stick with him throughout the season.
Pooper Flagg pic.twitter.com/xPdKaEvY4j
— Mike Zakarian (@MikeZakarian) October 5, 2024
Neither Duke nor Flagg offered any sort of clarity on what might’ve happened. Although that could probably be expected, the latter might want to clear the air with some self-deprecating humor.
Alleged feces stain aside, Flagg looked awesome in his first official on-court action with the Blue Devils. The highly-touted five-star recruit finished with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists during the Countdown to Craziness exhibition scrimmage.
Flagg was hesitant as a scorer at times during the first half, which he attributed to some sensory overload in his new environment. Head coach Jon Scheyer agreed that his star freshman could’ve been more aggressive but was very glad to have him on the court.
I thought Cooper tonight was being a little hesitant, and just getting a feel for things. That’s the beauty of Coop: He’s such a team player, and he has such a great feel for the game.
— Jon Scheyer
Despite the early jitters, Cooper Flagg finished with the third-most points overall and the most points during the second half with nine. His first bucket at Duke got a raucous ovation from the Cameron Crazies.
Cooper Flagg makes his Blue Devils debut 🥶
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 5, 2024
The Cooper era has officially begun 🍿🔥 pic.twitter.com/fKhpoozhgV
Regardless of whether this is a one-and-done season or the first of many, it was immediately clear that this is going to be a special career. Flagg just needs to avoid any yellow or brown liquids moving forward— if that is what it was…