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Mike Krzyzewski Sends Strong Cooper Flagg Message Before Final Four

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Borba | Last updated Apr 5, 2025 3:36 PM ET

The No. 1 seed Duke Blue Devils have flown through the NCAA Tournament, but Saturday's Final Four matchup against the other No. 1 seed Houston Cougars could be the team's toughest test thus far.

A large reason for the team's success in the tournament and the season in general is freshman superstar Cooper Flagg. The consensus first-team All-American and ACC Player of the Year has put together one of the best seasons that the sport has seen in years, and he has even earned the respect of legendary coach Mike Mike Krzyzewski.

On a recent episode of "Dusty and Danny in the Morning," the winningest men's coach in college basketball history provided his stance on where Flagg stands among other Duke legends.

"Grant (Hill) is the best player to ever play at Duke," Krzyzewski said. "(Christian) Laettner the most accomplished and we've had great, great players. Cooper (Flagg) in his freshman year, is definitely the best freshman that has ever played."

Krzyzewski, who is now a special adviser to NBA's basketball operations, also revealed that he expects Flagg to have a chance to be the next American superstar that many feel the league is missing.

"One of the talks I had with a couple of owners was, 'We need to have those American stars.' You know we have a lot of international stars...Cooper can be that," Krzyzewski said. "Cooper can be that. His future, hopefully, he stays hungry and healthy...His future will be incredible."

Before Flagg can worry about being the NBA's next superstar, he is tasked with bringing Duke its first title since the 2014-15 season. Flagg leads the Blue Devils in points (18.9), rebounds (7.5), assists (4.2) and steals (1.4) on the year.

If Duke wins Saturday evening, it will face the winner of Auburn and Florida in the championship on Monday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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