Photo: Getty Images North America
Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 overall prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft, appeared to suffer an injury during the first half of his team's ACC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup against Georgia Tech on Thursday (March 13).
Flagg, 18, fell awkwardly during a defensive rebound and was grabbing his left ankle on the ground before being helped up by his teammates and hobbling off the court with 2:46 remaining in the first half. Duke, the top-ranked team in the ACC tournament, was trailing eight-seed Georgia Tech, 26-17, at the time, having already lost forward Maliq Brown after he re-injured his shoulder.
Flagg averaged 19.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists during his freshman season, shooting 49.4% from the field. The Maine native entered his collegiate career as the unanimous No. 1 overall prospect for the 2024 national recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite, which averages rankings from the industry's top recruiting websites.
Duke finished the 2024-25 season with a 28-3 (19-1 ACC) record, its best under former player turned head coach Jon Scheyer, who succeeded retired five-time NCAA champion Mike Krzyzewski in 2022, and currently rank No. 1 overall in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll before the NCAA March Madness Tournament seedings are announced on Sunday (March 16).