Cooper Flagg’s first marquee game ended in disaster.
The freshman phenom and potential No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft turned the ball over twice in the final 20 seconds, and those giveaways played a large role in No. 6 Duke’s 77-72 upset loss to No. 19 Kentucky on Tuesday in the Champions Classic.
Flagg first coughed up the ball with the teams tied at 72-all and Kentucky took the lead on the ensuing possession and he then turned it over again with his team down two with less than 10 seconds left.
“Coach (Jon Scheyer) has trust in me to go and make a play,” Flagg said after pacing all scorers with 26 points. “It didn’t work out. I’m glad he had that trust in me to put the ball in my hands. I’m looking for it in that moment. It didn’t work out. I’m still going to look for it, no matter what.”
Flagg, the No. 1 recruit in this year’s class, is poised to be the next great Duke Villain and there has been plenty of hype surrounding what is widely expected to be his lone season in Durham.
The 17-year-old is 6-foot-9 with a smooth stroke from outside and has the tangible skill set and size that has some fans hoping their teams tank well enough to land him next year.
Tuesday marked his first prime-time showdown against a fellow heavyweight program and Flagg showed why he’s so regarded with his 26-point, 12-rebound effort on 9 of 19 shooting.
Yet it’s the turnovers that will stand out from this game.
The first came when Flagg lost the ball while attempting to back his way to the hoop. Duke committed a foul during Kentucky’s transition and the Wildcats took a 74-72 lead with 10.3 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing possession, Flagg dribbled into the corner and slipped while trying to make his way to the basket. He lost possession of the ball momentarily and the referee ruled he has stepped out of bounds.
Another foul led to a 75-72 deficit before Kentucky tallied an offensive rebound on a missed free throw to all but seal the game.
Flagg said he may have slipped on the last play but said that did not matter.
“Whatever happened, that’s not an excuse, got to move forward,” Flagg said.
Scheyer said he could have done a better job to help his freshman phenom in those situations and marveled at Flagg’s performance, saying he could not be more proud of him.
“The ball in his hands. I think they knew that was happening too and I’m OK with that,” Scheyer said. “We’re going to be in these moments a lot together and I trust his instincts and I probably could have put him in a better position, to be honest. He’s got to touch it and trust that good things are going to happen and I wish you could say that every time it’s going to work out and that’s not reality.
“I’m just so proud of him, man. What he did in that game — he willed us in that game. … I want him to touch it down the stretch.”
Flagg is averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds through three games and will have a chance for redemption in Duke’s next blockbuster game on Nov. 22 against No. 9 Arizona.
