Duke Basketball: Impact of Blue Devils landing No. 1 prospect Cooper Flagg

Why Duke?

I have seen the comments and heard the moaning and groaning of why did the best player in the country choose to go to Duke?  I get it, why would he go to the school that already has 2 other 5 stars and another 4 star committed in the 2024 class?  Why not go and pave your own path and build up a program?  There are many who wondered if he should stay home and go to Maine and change history for that program. Flagg is projected to be the number 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. He is going to Duke for exposure, and he is going to there to separate himself from the rest. There was a lot there so let’s explain my reasoning there.

Just for argument’s sake let’s pretend the big man did stay home and attend Maine. Sure, Orono would be hopping, and it would be great for the Black Bear program, but it would not be good for Flagg. The Black Bears are never on TV much less cable TV and they play in the America East that doesn’t get many NBA scouts to their games. Flagg would hurt his chances of going number 1. Duke is on ESPN, ACC Network, NBC, and Fox every night. They already have numerous pro prospects on their roster and they will be playing against pro prospects on other teams every night. Duke was the best place for Flagg to develop into his best self because he will be facing stiff competition every game. That is why he left Maine and went to Montverde, he needed to be challenged.

So then why Duke over another powerhouse?  The finalists for Flagg were Duke and UConn. Those were also the only visits that he took as well. As mentioned earlier, Coach Scheyer and the Blue Devils have been heavily recruiting the forward since he was a 15 year old in Maine. They were his very first offer. UConn got in the mix early as well. Flagg choosing Duke over UConn was his decision and only he knows truly why he picked one over the other but the path to playing time at Duke is a much clearer picture than it is at UConn.

I know the Huskies just won the title and their name has always held weight, but no one, and it does seem like no one is going to out recruit Duke. Kids play the game for an offer from the Blue Devils. They have more clout on the recruiting trail than 361 other teams. Kids who want to play for National Championships and have a chance to be a lottery pick, with all other things being equal are going to be pick Duke. We have all seen it play out this way too many times.

Duke already had the number 1 class in 2024 but now they have a player who as a freshman may win the National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Freshman of the Year, and be named a first team All-American. That should all be a great pre-cursor to being the first overall pick in the NBA draft and having a long illustrious career in the NBA. The Brotherhood got stronger with this commitment, and it is going to see the Blue Devils open the year ranked in the top 3 two seasons in a row.