Duke Blue Devils star, projected no. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg exits with injury against FSU

The young superstar exits early against the Seminoles.

Feb 15, 2025; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) celebrating after scoring against the Stanford Cardinal during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

Florida State and Duke are playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday, and the Blue Devils entered the game as heavy favorites. Duke starting guard Tyrese Proctor and FSU star center Malique Ewin were out for the game, but the biggest star in the game exited the game early with injury.

Duke forward Cooper Flagg was poked in the eye by FSU guard Bostyn Holt, and he'd go to the ground before going to the bench. The incident occurred with around 11:27 remaining in the first half. When he went down, Flagg had 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. He'd stay on the bench before going back to the locker room briefly, then returning to the bench again.

He would return in the second half.

Cooper Flagg was slow to get up after a hard foul and seemed to loose his balance a little when he stood up. He just went back to the locker room pic.twitter.com/pJCh7IOFMA

— Carolina Blitz (@KeepBlitzin) March 2, 2025

READ MORE: Duke Blue Devils honor FSU Basketball's Leonard Hamilton before Saturday's game

Flagg is the favorite to go first overall in the 2025 NBA Draft and is likely to win ACC Player of the Year too, as he's averaging 19.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 4.1 APG. Duke built a big lead once he left the game, so they may not need him to win, but he only has one game in Cameron Indoor after this contest.

This is also Leonard Hamilton's final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, who announced he'd be resigning after the season. The first half hasn't gone the way he wanted, but he'd love to pick up another quality win before stepping down.

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READ MORE: Game Preview: FSU Basketball at No. 2 Duke Blue Devils

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