Duke’s Cooper Flagg Could Follow Zion Williamson’s Footsteps in March Madness

There are several parallels between forward Cooper Flagg and Zion Williamson.

Both were the No. 1 recruits in their class out of high school, touting top-of-the-line two-way skillsets. Both took their talents to the Duke Blue Devils, where they put up near-unprecedented box-plus minuses as freshmen — Williamson a 20.1 and Flagg so far a 16.9.

Williamson, along with his fellow five-star recruits and NBA Draft hopefuls Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett — a wild coincidence given Flagg himself is flanked by Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel — also led the Blue Devils to a deep tournament run. Something Flagg is looking to do in the coming weeks.

Not one scout would’ve shorted Williamson’s impending No. 1 stock for a quick out in the NCAA Tournament, nor will they if it happens to Flagg. It’s simply tough for freshman to lead their team deep into a tournament chock full of the best teams in the country, led by some of the best veteran players in the country.

But Williamson did the unthinkable, leading his Blue Devils all the way to the Elite Eight and falling there in a fiery one-point bout to the No. 2-ranked Michigan State Spartans.

It’s not often we see deep tournament runs led by true freshman, but Flagg could be primed to do the very same, if not more than Williamson.

So far, Flagg’s Blue Devils stand at 28-3 through the regular season, good for the No. 1 team in the entire nation. They’ve been nothing short of dominant this season, largely due to Flagg’s 19.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game with 49-38-83 splits.

If any freshmen in the country were equipped to lead the Blue Devils deep into March Madness, Flagg would be it.

Flagg won’t need a deep run in March, as he’s cruising towards being the No. 1 pick in June, regardless. But with his obvious competitiveness, he’d sure like his send off at Duke to include one.

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