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With the hype surrounding Duke basketball freshman Cooper Flagg’s NCAA debut, many wonder how good the nation’s top prospect will be in his first season. After Flagg’s rave review from an anonymous NBA executive, claiming he could start on an NBA team today, Hall of Fame forward Kevin Garnett weighed in on the prospect’s potential. On an episode of “KG Certified,” the 2008 Finals champion compared the prospect’s trajectory to another Duke product before Flagg.
“When I see him play, he’s got superstar around him. I could see kids wanting to be like that and play like that. Real talk, when I see him move, I’m like, okay,” Garnett said. “Like you see the bones. Remember when Paolo [Banchero] was at Duke, and he was playing the collegiate game, and we kept saying his game is going to look better when he gets to the league?
“That’s kind of how I’m looking at Cooper Flagg,” Garnett concluded.
Paolo Banchero averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.1 blocks in his lone season at Duke. He led Duke to the Final Four, where he lost to North Carolina. Then, Banchero was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2022 NBA Draft. He won the Rookie of the Year award before making his first All-Star team in 2024.
For Garnett, Flagg could be heading down a similar path.
“He’s already polished enough to be considered on that next level. That’s what I’m looking at,” Garnett added. “He’s got the superstar potential that you could come in and put products behind him. We haven’t had no bad a**, cold a** white boy like this in a long time.”
Either way, Kevin Garnett is looking forward to seeing how Flagg’s career unfolds from the collegiate level to the pros.
“Now we’re going to see how you grow,” Garnett said. “How are you going to develop? Are you that dude? When I see Chris Webber, when I seen freshmen come in their first year, and show out. Let’s see it.”
Flagg signed an endorsement deal with New Balance over the summer.
Anonymous executive claims Cooper Flagg could start in the NBA today
A poll of 20 NBA executives and scouts conducted by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo asked who would be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. 16 of the 20 voters polled picked Duke basketball freshman Cooper Flagg, and one executive took it a step further while projecting Flagg as his No. 1 overall pick.
“I haven’t studied this class deeply enough yet, and I’m sure our boards will all change, but from what I saw at Hoop Summit and in Vegas with USA Basketball, good luck catching that guy,” one voter told Givony and Woo. “[Flagg] could start for our team tonight and make a huge impact with his toughness, feel, and instincts on both ends. His shooting looks good also.”
Duke opens up the 2024-25 season on November 4.
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How Can NY Giants Get the Most Out of RB Cam Skattebo?
While the New York Giants offense might be expected to throw the football down the sidelines a lot more this upcoming season, they have something that could be equally exciting brewing in their backfield with their new running back duo of Tyrone Tracy, Jr., and Cam Skattebo. Tracy already put himself in the good graces of the franchise and the fan base with a surprisingly strong stat sheet in his rookie year. He took over the starting job just five weeks into 2024 and churned out 839 yards and five touchdowns on the ground to finish among the league’s best first-year performances. Now, Skattebo, the Giants’ fourth-round pick out of Arizona State, is coming to East Rutherford for his NFL debut, and his arrival has created enthusiasm for the revival of a dual-threat rushing package that the franchise hasn’t boasted since the days of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. Skattebo rose onto a ton of people’s radars during his senior season with the Sun Devils, when he owned a top-five rushing resume in the nation behind 293 carries for 1,711 yards and 21 touchdowns and a barnstormer style of running that is truly hard to find at the professional level these days. The Giants figure to deploy their new pairing of backs, assuming Skattebo beats out veteran Devin Singletary for the No. 2 role in the team's backfield, in a manner where Skattebo can take on the dirty work in the gaps and wear out opposing defenses. On the other side, Tracy will utilize his speed and elusiveness to cause damage in the zone, rushing snaps. There'll even be some receiving work sprinkled in for both players as well, given both have shown to own a strong set of hands and an ability to drag along or make defenders miss in the open field. Still, how can the Giants get the most out of Skattebo's physicality when they elect to attack the interior? The answer is by letting Skattebo use the gaps between the offensive tackles as the places where he is typically most efficient in his bruising style of run game. While Skattebo doesn’t discriminate on where he is comfortable handling the football and punishing defenders in his way, his numbers after contact during his time at Arizona State reached their best when he took carries up through his blindside blockers. Last season, Skattebo tallied a whopping 969 of his 1,711 yards after reaching the point of contact and averaged 3.91 yards per carry in that same category, which was good for the fifth best in the entire FBS level. He also earned top marks in missed tackles forced (82), 10+ yard rushes (38), and breakaway yards (422) as a result of his broad frame and tireless motor that is tough to bring down, especially when he finds some open turf to rumble through. When his team designed the rushing plays to go into the gaps between the tackles and the inline tight end blockers, those same metrics turned their brightest for the Arizona State offense. Skattebo’s rushing chart saw average attempts of 7.1 and 8.4 yards on 67 combined carries for the left and right sides of the front line, respectively. From those same attempts, Skattebo recorded a combined 230 yards after contact with an average between 4.33 and 6.60 yards per rush, which was good for his top stats of any rushing direction. He also added 18 missed tackles forced, 10 carries of 10+ yards, and seven touchdowns. What’s more is that efficiency didn’t come with the benefit of an experienced or premier run blocking unit at Arizona State, one that ranked 95th in the nation with a 58.4 grade as a team. They were much better against the pass rush, though, where Skattebo can also contribute with his soft hands, scoring 78.0 to rank 19th best. It’s not to say that the Giants' offensive line has proven itself to be much better, but they’re slated to be back to full health with their starting lineup. That includes the return of left tackle Andrew Thomas, who, when in full form, usually elevates the overall performance of the unit, and helped them with a 73.8 grade that ranked third in the position group. If Evan Neal enters the fold, he led the Giants in run blocking efficiency last season despite playing in a reserve role, and he will likely juice the team’s ability to open up lanes for the running backs. The interior was the biggest area of concern entering camp, but with his early progress, it could be strengthened in the short term. Skattebo is certainly a running back who doesn’t shy away from pounding up the middle and taking bigger and smaller obstacles trying to swallow him up. As his resume shows, he can do some serious damage with some beefier protection and nice size gaps out in the zone area to burst through and churn the extra yardage that the Giants will need to help them win on offense. Get him involved in the trenches, supply him the reps in zone rushing, and trust his hands over the top of the second level of the defense. The Giants should unlock the full plethora of skillsets that made Skattebo so intriguing as a prospect that shouldn’t have been on the board until round four. What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channel for the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reaches yet another incredible milestone
Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani entered Wednesday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals on the precipice of another milestone. Ohtani had recorded 999 hits in his career, an impressive number considering he continued to hit while rehabbing after a pair of elbow surgeries and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He notched his 1,000th career hit in the third inning, belting a two-run homer off Cardinals pitcher Matthew Liberatore. While that home run temporarily gave his team a 2-1 lead, the Dodgers' bullpen failed to hold on in the 5-3 loss. Ohtani has put together an impressive season as he slowly works himself back as a starting pitcher. He has posted a .276/.381/.606 batting line in 521 plate appearances, hitting 39 homers and 15 doubles while stealing 16 bases. Ohtani also has a 2.37 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over 19 innings, striking out 25 batters with just five walks. His 1,000th hit is another milestone in a career that is on track to end in Cooperstown. The 2018 American League Rookie of the Year, Ohtani is a five-time All-Star and three-time MVP, joining Hall of Fame outfielder Frank Robinson as the only players to win the MVP award in both leagues. He is one home run shy of his fourth season with 40 or more homers and is the only player in major league history to hit 50+ homers and steal 50+ bases in the same season. Ohtani's exploits on the mound have been equally impressive. He has reached the double-digit mark in wins twice and has struck out more than 150 batters in a season three times. Ohtani finished fourth in the 2022 AL Cy Young race after posting a 15-9 record with a 2.33 ERA and a 1.012 WHIP over 166 innings, striking out 219 batters with 44 walks. It is sure to be one of the many milestones Ohtani reaches as his career continues.
Blue Jays demolish MLB records with eye-popping Coors Field performance
DENVER — There's nothing like coming to Coors Field to fix what ails you. Just ask the Toronto Blue Jays. Losers of six of eight games before arriving in Denver, the Blue Jays posted an MLB-record 63 hits in a three-game series while easily sweeping a road series from the Colorado Rockies. By totaling 25 hits on Monday night, 14 on Tuesday and 24 in Wednesday's matinee, the Blue Jays set a new MLB standard for offensive prowess. Toronto passed the MLB record of 62 hits in a three-game series, set by the Boston Red Sox in a June 7-9, 1950 matchup against the St. Louis Browns. As part of the hit parade, Toronto smashed 13 home runs, the most ever surrendered by the Rockies in a three-game set. Included in that barrage were three hits by Bo Bichette, including a three-run shot on Wednesday afternoon that got the Blue Jays rolling in the third inning. Kyle Freeland, Wednesday's starter for Colorado, allowed seven hits in his 4.2 innings of work. That was the fewest amount of hits given up by a Rockies starter against Toronto, as Rockies starter Tanner Gordon allowed 11 in 2.2 frames on Monday, while Anthony Molina surrendered nine in 5.0 innings on Tuesday. "We need to pitch with confidence as starting pitchers. We need to command the baseball better in general," said Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer as his team slipped to 30-84 on the season. "We have to put hitters away when we have that opportunity." That was something Colorado couldn't do against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, as their first six runs of a 20-1 blowout win came with two outs in the frame. Wednesday's offensive explosion helped Toronto outscore the Rockies, 45-6, in the series. That run differential was the second-most in MLB's modern era and the most runs scored by an MLB team in a three-game series since the 2019 Chicago Cubs scored 47 runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates from Sept. 13-15, 2019. In all, the 45 runs, 63 hits and 13 home runs allowed in the series were each the most allowed by Colorado pitchers in a three-game set in franchise history. How bad did it get for Colorado at the end of the series? Down 12-1 entering the ninth inning on Wednesday, the Rockies put catcher Austin Nola on the mound for his first-ever pitching appearance. He was nothing like his younger brother, Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola, as he promptly gave up four consecutive doubles, including RBI shots from Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as part of eight hits and eight runs posted by the Blue Jays against him. "It hurts when you get beat that bad for three games," Nola said. "We can compete with anybody. I know we can. We're all Major League players, so it definitely hurts. We're going to have to flush this one and get back out there on Friday in Arizona and have a new competitive attitude." All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
NFL Hall of Famer reveals why he chose to join Deion Sanders' Colorado coaching staff
Kevin Love reportedly has preferred buyout destination
Kevin Love is eyeing a return to his roots. The five-time NBA All-Star big man Love has a preferred destination on the buyout market, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported on Tuesday. Love would like to end up in Los Angeles. Now 36 years old, Love spent the last two-and-a-half seasons with the Miami Heat. He averaged just 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds over 10.9 minutes per game in 2024-25 but still managed to shoot 35.8 percent from three on the year. Earlier this summer however, the Heat traded Love to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team blockbuster deal. Now Love, a 17-year NBA veteran, is pursuing a contract buyout from the rebuilding Jazz. Though he is a native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Love played his college ball in Los Angeles at UCLA. He also has ties to both L.A. teams — he won an NBA championship with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and was also coached on that team by Tyronn Lue, who is now head coach of the L.A. Clippers. Both the Lakers and Clippers are currently sitting at 14 guaranteed contracts each. While they still have spots for two-way and Exhibit 10 players, that means the Lakers and Clippers are both down to their final open roster spot. The ex-rebounding leader Love still has some value, though probably more so as a jokester than as a contributing rotation piece. While Love clearly wants a homecoming to Los Angeles, he may have some convincing to do for either the Lakers or the Clippers to give him that final open roster spot.
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