This year’s NCAA Tournament has largely been dominated by the top-ranked teams, and for only the second time in history, and the first since 2008, all four No. 1 seeds will compete in the Final Four on Saturday. In anticipation of the games, former Duke Blue Devils head coach and basketball legend Mike Krzyzewski offered his thoughts on the matchups and all four teams during the latest episode of his Sirius XM podcast,
“Basketball & Beyond with Coach K.” When asked about Duke, Krzyzewski discussed the unselfishness of freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel. He praised both players for their key qualities as teammates and their contributions to the Duke program. “They’re parents,” Krzyzewski explained.
“They want Cooper and Kon to be coached hard. That doesn’t mean yelling all the time, but they want them to be held accountable. Both of these kids get accountability and understand the importance of showing up every day to work.
That comes from their families. To me, in college basketball, these two are as hardworking as any young players out there. They give their best every play, and it’s never about them. They’re unselfish, and Cooper has been incredible with that. You aim to recruit great kids and great players, and we hit the jackpot with these two.
” Both Flagg and Knueppel are projected lottery picks for the NBA Draft in June, with Flagg considered the likely No. 1 overall pick. Despite this, their focus remains on winning a national championship.
The Blue Devils are now just two victories away from achieving that goal, which would mark their first title since 2015, when Krzyzewski was still coaching. This also represents head coach Jon Scheyer’s first Final Four appearance since taking over the program in 2022.
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