This remarkable Cooper Flagg stat proves he's the best one and done in Duke history

College basketball has never been short on individual talent, and all 364 teams have a legitimate star who gets circled on the opponents scouting report. That is never going to change, but some teams have superstars all over the roster. Kentucky, Duke, Michigan State, Purdue, North Carolina, and UConn are the teams most people associate with superstars all over the roster and usually those teams do have a lot of guys who are considered superstars.

There is only one team over the last 15 years that has had multiple players who grab the media's attention as the best college basketball player or the best freshman ever, and that team is none other than the Duke Blue Devils. Everyone reading this knows precisely the players I am talking about. First, we had Jayson Tatum, then Zion Williamson, and now Cooper Flagg. I am going to go out on a very sturdy limb and say that Flagg is the best freshman that Duke has ever had, and when we delve into the numbers in a little while, you will see that he isn’t that far off from the best freshener to play college basketball.

Flagg came into Duke with Zion Williamson-type hype but for many different reasons. Williamson arrived with a following for his sheer athleticism and highlight-reel dunks. It turned out that the forward was everything he was supposed to be and must watch television. Flagg was the number 1 recruit in the country, would have been the first pick of the draft straight out of high school, and everyone in the media who knows what they are talking about said how talented Flagg was. Some may have brushed it off because we had all heard it before about big-time high school kids and their potential only to fizzle out in college, especially when they are as talented as everyone claimed Flagg was.

In case you have not been watching the freshman is excellent. It is hard to find words to describe how good Flagg is because no one has seen a player with this level of talent in a long time, especially as a freshman. A month ago, the National Player of the Year was all but wrapped up and was going to go to Johni Broome at Auburn on February 18th, 2025; I am not so sure that Broome is as big of a lock for that award as we all once thought. Flagg is close behind and is closing the gap quickly.

In the first half of the Blue Devils most recent game against Virginia, the freshman phenom did something that has not happened the ACC in 25 years. Flagg reached 500 points, 100 assists, and 30 blocks. He reached that milestone in 26 career games. Taking this even a step further he is one of the three players, joining Dwayne Wade and Ben Simmons as the only players to reach 450 points, 150 rebounds, 100 assists, 40 steals, and 25 blocks through their first 25 games. Flagg is doing things that no else has done in a Duke uniform, and only three other players have done this century.

Flagg is great this year, but Tatum and Zion had to be better, right?  I am not here to tell you who was better because the game is drastically different for all three of those players, but Flagg is putting up historic numbers. Tatum was also at Duke for one season; before heading to the NBA and dominating that league, he did his fair share of dominating the ACC. Tatum, like Flagg, led Duke in scoring in his lone season but only scored 488 total points. The Celtics star only had 63 assists but did meet the blocks threshold with 33. Tatum was the best Duke player that I remember watching until Zion came along.

Zion’s numbers have to be close to Flagg, right? The answer to that is yes. Zion was very close to Flagg in terms of impact and talent. Williamson scored 746 points and had 59 blocks but only had 68 assists. These were numbers over a full season for Zion though. Flagg is on pace to surpass all these numbers that Zion put up. Flagg currently has scored 511 points, has 201 rebounds, and 31 blocks. If the Freshman guard continues to score his 20 points per game and they make the finals of the ACC and then make the Elite Eight, he will be able to catch Zion in points. As we all know, there is so much more to the game than scoring points.

Flagg impacts the game in more ways than his counterparts, as evidenced by his numbers in only 26 total games. Zion played 33, and Tatum played 29. The Flagg-led Blue Devils are having a better season than any Duke team in the past 10 years and once again look like a legitimate National Title contender. Zion got hurt on a great team, and he put up huge numbers. Tatum also played on a good team that got bounced early in the NCAA tournament.

No matter who you believe, it is irrelevant if you’re a Duke fan. History always teaches us something, and if his closest comparisons at Duke are any foreshadowing of how this year is going to end up, he will end up as a consensus All-American, ACC Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year. He will also end up as the Naismith Player of the Year over Broome. Zion also won the Player of the Year. There is zero question that Flagg is going to be an All-American, ACC Player of the Year, and National Freshman of the Year. Does he have enough to catch Johni Broome?  Time will tell, but for now, let’s just all agree that Flagg is the best one and done ever to wear the Blue and White.