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Duke should use caution after Cooper Flagg's injury
Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg/ Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Duke should use caution after Cooper Flagg's injury in ACC tourney quarterfinals

Duke has bigger problems than trailing Georgia Tech at halftime in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.

Late in the first half, star freshman forward Cooper Flagg suffered a lower left leg injury and required assistance getting off the court.

After grabbing a defensive rebound with the Blue Devils down 26-17, Flagg landed awkwardly and immediately grabbed for his left ankle.

At halftime, ESPN showed footage of Flagg in a wheelchair, seemingly on his way to get X-rays. He was ruled out in the second half but returned to the bench under his own power.

Flagg was only 1-of-7 shooting before suffering his injury — part of an overall poor offensive performance from Duke, which began 0-of-13 from beyond the arc and entered the second half shooting 36.7 percent. However, Duke would go on to win, 78-70.

But the sensational freshman, a 2024-25 Wooden Award contender, impacted the game in other ways, nabbing four rebounds and adding two steals and one block.

This season, Flagg leads the Blue Devils in points (19.4), rebounds (7.6), assists (4.2), steals (1.5) and blocks (1.3) per game.

After the win, head coach Jon Scheyer provided an update on both Flagg and Maliq Brown:

Winning the ACC Tournament is secondary to Flagg's health. The Blue Devils are a projected No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they need Flagg if they want to go on an extended March Madness run.

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans

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