Duke head coach Jon Scheyer and freshman phenom Cooper Flagg are on an incredible run together. After a 28-3 regular season and an ACC tournament win, the Blue Devils have stormed through the first four rounds of the NCAA tournament and are onto the Final Four for the first time since 2015.
Flagg, who leads Duke in points (18.9 ppg), rebounds (7.5 rpg), assists (4.2 apg), and steals (1.4 spg) this season, is the consensus top prospect in this upcoming NBA draft class and is highly anticipated to be the No. 1 overall pick. In a recent appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, Scheyer was asked if he'd tried to convince Flagg to stay with the Blue Devils for another season:
"No," Scheyer said bluntly. "Although I can dream about that. But that's all it is in this case. I think it's a dream. I think he's got to take the next dream in his life and be the top pick in the NBA draft and start his professional career."
"I think he's got to take the next dream in his life, and be the top pick in the NBA Draft and start his professional career."
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) March 31, 2025
– Duke HC Jon Scheyer on not having a conversation with Cooper Flagg about returning for his sophomore year. pic.twitter.com/mz3pV5977p
While becoming the No. 1 pick seems like a fairly obvious decision for Flagg, the 18-year-old did float the idea of returning to Duke for another season last month, telling The Athletic that he still feels, "like a kid."
“I always wanted to play in college at the highest level and compete for a national championship," he later continued. "That sort of thing is what I dreamed about.”
Lucky for him, he has that opportunity right in front of him. Duke will take on the Houston Cougars in the Final Four this coming Saturday at 8:40 p.m. EST from San Antonio.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jon Scheyer Gives Very Honest Answer About Cooper Flagg Potentially Returning to Duke.
