Cooper Flagg of Duke is compared to two NBA and NCAA greats who performed miracles during March Madness as freshmen.
For a freshman to lead his team to a national title, he must be an exceptionally amazing basketball player.
Cooper Flagg has the opportunity to become the newest member of an elite family of NCAA Tournament greats.
Bill Bender of The Sporting News believes that Flagg also succeeds. In his official bracket, he has projected Duke to win the national championship.
Flagg, the almost definite No. 1 choice in the 2025 NBA Draft and one of two candidates for National Player of the Year (together with Auburn’s Johni Broome), should recover from his ACC tournament ankle injury in time to make a huge impact on college basketball’s greatest stage.
According to Bender, “Flagg – like Carmelo Anthony and Anthony Davis – delivers with a national championship as a freshman.”
MORE: According to two Duke legends, the Blue Devils will lose in the Final Four.
In 2003, Anthony handed Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim his lone national championship. Melo went crazy for the whole of the NCAA Tournament, and in the national championship versus Kansas, he had a spectacular shooting performance with the assistance of fellow rookie Gerry McNamara. In New Orleans, Anthony and the Orange celebrated beside Hakim Warrick’s well-known block.
With an incredible 18 points and 14 rebounds in the national semifinal, Davis forced the Wildcats and John Calipari to the championship game. In New Orleans, Kentucky faced Kansas for the title, looking eerily like SU. Despite only scoring six points, Davis led Kentucky by eight points with 16 rebounds, five assists, six blocks, and three steals.
Flagg is already well-known in the national basketball awareness, but a memorable run in the NCAA Tournament could turn the multifaceted, high-flying Maine wonder into a legend.
It’s reasonable to assume that the superstar, who leads Duke in points (18.9 per game), rebounds (7.5), assists (4.1), steals (1.5), and blocks (1.3) going into the NCAA Tournament, will have an influence on every aspect of the game as he attempts to make all of the national title predictions come true.
Leave a Reply