During a recent interview, the Blue Devils true freshman hinted at coming to Durham for a second season.
Cooper Flagg of the Duke Blue Devils has dominated college basketball this season.
The true freshman guard is on track to win the 2024-25 Wooden Award, leads the Blue Devils in points (19.8 ppg), rebounds (7.6 rpg), assists (4.0 apg), steals (1.6 spg), and blocks (1.2 bpg), leads Duke to a 21-3 record and first place in the ACC, and is the consensus favorite to be the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
But could he remain in Durham for another season? In a recent interview with The Athletic, he explored this possibility:
“Sh—, I want to come back next year,” Flagg stated. A statement that startled the social media community.
“I still feel like a kid,” he subsequently said when asked if he felt more like a college or professional athlete. “This is the only way I have ever experienced college. That is how I see it. I’m not sure how kids felt previously, or whether this feels different, like being a professional. I mean, high school students are also compensated well. I do not know. I feel fairly normal.”
Flagg made history as the first men’s collegiate basketball player to sign a NIL agreement with Gatorade in October, and he has worked to optimize his brand this season. His current NIL assessment from On3 Sports is $4.3 million, placing him second in the NCAA only to Texas quarterback Arch Manning.
“I always wanted to play in college at the highest level and compete for a national championship,” the 18-year-old stated in an otherwise subdued interview. “That sort of thing is what I dreamed about.”
He’ll very certainly get that chance this season, as ESPN’s Joe Lunardi predicts Duke to be one of four No. 1 seeds in the 2025 NCAA tournament.
While it is possible that Flagg will return for a second season, the chances are slim—especially given how promising his NBA career is. But what about now? The Blue Devils have a game to think about. They will host the Stanford Cardinal at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday, with the game beginning at 4:00 p.m. EST and broadcast on ESPN.
