The entire nation held its breath when Duke freshman Cooper Flagg went down during the Blue Devils' quarterfinal appearance in the ACC Tournament. Duke fans went into panic mode as their young star went to the locker room and then sat on the bench for the rest of the game.
While on the sideline, Flagg was reportedly seen saying, "I can't move it... I'll be back for tomorrow."
However, following the announcement that Flagg had suffered an ankle sprain – and his subsequent x-ray coming back negative for any tears, breaks, or another more serious injury – Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer pumped the breaks on Flagg's return.
"It’s not about being ready to go tomorrow. That’s not the most important thing for us. We’ve got to see if we can get him right for this run that we can make in the [NCAA] Tournament," Scheyer said. "He may not be able to go anyway. He probably won’t be able to go anyway. But I think it’s a real long shot."
While the loss of Flagg for even part of the conference tournament is a burden for the rest of the Blue Devils to shoulder, the idea of resting the star player so that Duke can make a deep run in the Big Dance is what the fans should focus on.
Rest means recuperation, and with Duke having a clinched bid to the NCAA Tournament, Flagg returning for the (arguably) more important tournament is exactly what the Blue Devils need, even if it means forfeiting the conference tournament title.
“We just have to understand there’s going to be swelling,” Scheyer added after Duke's quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech, “and see how he recovers and how he goes from there.”
Ankle injuries are easy to aggravate further, but the notion of resting Flagg so that he will be ready for a complete comeback during the NCAA Tournament should allow Blue Devil fans, especially the Cameron Crazies, to breathe a sigh of relief.