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Duke’s ACC run was impressive, but to raise a national title banner it’s going to need a healthy Cooper Flagg
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Even without its Flagg, Duke earned another banner to raise to the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils overcame the adversity of losing their best player to injury early in their first game and rallied from a 5-point halftime deficit to beat Louisville 73-62 Saturday to win their record 23rd ACC Tournament title.
It was a statement victory that finished off an impressive 3-day run that showcased Duke’s depth, talent and resolve while validating its claim as the top overall seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament.
And yet, as good as MVP Kon Knueppel, freshman classmate Khaman Maluach and their teammates were with Cooper Flagg watching from the bench nursing a sprained left ankle, their only realistic hope of winning a national championship this season is if the projected No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft is healthy enough to contribute as usual.
The good news is that the 6-foot-9 prodigy showed no signs of a limp as he climbed the ladder to take his turn cutting down the Spectrum Center net on Saturday. Even more encouraging is the fact that Duke has informed the NCAA selection committee that its star will be available for the Tournament.
That, of course, doesn’t take into account the possibility that the Blue Devils have simply learned a lesson from the misfortune of Florida State’s football team and the effect reporting Jordan Travis’ season-ending injury had on its 2023 national title hopes.
Or the even more remote chance that Flagg and his advisors decide to shut their valuable commodity down to preserve his health – and potential earnings – for the Draft process.
Relying solely on coach Jon Scheyer’s postgame comments, though, the prognosis is that Flagg will be a go. If not for an opening-round walkover against a 16th-seeded sacrificial lamb, but for the more challenging second-round game that follows 2 days later.
“That’s exactly my intention,” Scheyer said. “I think it’s trending in a great way where Cooper will be ready to go right away in the NCAA Tournament.”
Assuming that’s the case, Scheyer’s top-ranked Blue Devils might be in an even stronger position to bring home their school’s sixth national championship than they were before they made the short trip from Durham to Charlotte just a few days ago.
Not only did they face some serious game pressure for the first time in a month – something they’ve had to do only a handful of times all season – but they found other ways to win besides getting the ball to Flagg and staying out of his way. They also got a chance to showcase some of the radiant talent that’s been effectively blotted out by the massive shadow cast by their generational star.
And it wasn’t just Knueppel, who stepped into a leading role by averaging 21 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists in the Tournament. Or veteran guard Tyrese Proctor, who broke out of a shooting slump to make 6 3-points and lead the team with 19 points in the title-clinching win.
An even bigger revelation, in both contribution and size, was the growth shown by Maluach and Duke’s other freshman center, Patrick Ngongba.
The 7-foot-2 Maluach added a scoring component to his already developed rebounding and shot-blocking prowess by hitting for double figures in all 3 games. And the 6-11 Ngongba, whose early progress was slowed by a foot injury, blossomed in an expanded role made necessary by another key injury to defensive stopper Maliq Brown by going a combined 10 of 13 from the floor, pulling down 7 rebounds and blocking 5 shots.
“For us to be tested the last 3 games the way that we have, I think we’re going to learn a ton from it,” Scheyer said. “And it gives us extra motivation and lessons to move forward.”
The most valuable of those lessons was learned at halftime on Saturday.
It came in the form of a challenge by Scheyer to his team after it allowed the second-seeded Cardinals to shoot 55% from the floor and score 7 straight points into the break to trail 38-33 after 20 minutes.
The message was simple.
This isn’t the regular season anymore. You can’t play soft and expect to win against top teams. Every possession is going to be a struggle. And if you lose your focus and let your opponent push you around, as Louisville was doing, you’re going to be heading home a lot sooner than you want.
“I just challenged our guys because I didn’t think we had the necessary toughness you need to win a championship,” Scheyer said. “Our guys responded. They knew it. I thought they came out with just a different edge to them in the start of the second half.
“I think that’s something we had to go through to really understand. Postseason basketball is different.”
Now that they understand that, postseason Duke is a different team. It was good in winning the ACC regular season. And better in becoming the tournament champion.
Two down, one to go, as Knueppel proclaimed on the postgame podium after Saturday’s game.
With the Blue Devils’ continued evolution, they just might have what it takes to pull it off and earn an even more important banner 3 weeks from now in San Antonio. But only if their Flagg is flying at full mast.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
