Duke entered the 2023-24 season with championship expectations after returning a great deal of talent from a year ago, but the player on everyone's mind isn't yet wearing a Blue Devils uniform.
High school phenom Cooper Flagg made the inevitable official in late October when he announced his commitment to Duke, giving Jon Scheyer a blue-chip recruit early in his tenure as Mike Krzyzewski's successor.
Flagg will be playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium soon enough, giving Blue Devils fans and arguably all college basketball fans a talent not seen since Zion Williamson in 2018-19.
For now, however, Scheyer will try to build momentum leading up to Flagg's arrival as he fields a balanced team led by Kyle Filipowski, Tyrese Proctor and Jeremy Roach.
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Here's what you need to know about Flagg's timeline to play for Duke and what his NBA outlook looks like at this point.
When will Cooper Flagg play for Duke?
Flagg is set to play for Duke in the 2024-25 season, after he graduates high school in 2024. That means he figures to be on the floor for the Blue Devils at this point next year.
The Maine-born star was originally set to graduate high school in 2025, but he reclassified to become part of the 2024 class. That meant Duke's dream of a star-studded freshman duo of Flagg and Cameron Boozer was dashed, but the Blue Devils could have back-to-back seasons with a standout freshman if Boozer follows in his father Carlos' footsteps in 2025.
For the Blue Devils, Flagg's arrival might come at the ideal time. Scheyer was able to lure Filipowski and Proctor back to school this season, but barring a highly disappointing year for one of the two, both are likely off to the NBA after this season.
Duke can use the transfer portal to fill some roster spots and has a strong recruiting class coming in even outside of Flagg, but it will likely be the No. 1 player in the country who will become the focal point of the team in his freshman season.
DeCOURCY: What makes Cooper Flagg top American prospect in a decade
Cooper Flagg high school
Flagg attends Monteverde Academy in Monteverde, Fla. He originally attended Nokomis Regional High School in Newport, Maine, but transferred after his freshman season.
At Nokomis, Flagg was simply dominant despite only being a freshman. He averaged 20.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.7 blocks and 3.7 steals per game, overwhelming the competition before making the move to Monteverde.
Monteverde Academy has produced numerous high-profile talents over the years, including Ben Simmons, D'Angelo Russell, Scottie Barnes and R.J. Barrett. If Flagg reaches his enormous ceiling, he has the potential to be Monteverde's most impressive basketball alum.
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Cooper Flagg NBA Draft projection
The 2025 NBA Draft is still more than 18 months away, but Flagg is set to enter Duke as the projected No. 1 pick in the draft.
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman pegged Flagg as the decisive top player in his 2025 draft rankings, reporting in October that "conversations around the league now pinpoint Flagg as one of the better No. 1 overall candidates of the decade."
"Generational" may be an adjective used too often in NBA scouting today, considering the label was applied to Zion Williamson and Victor Wembanyama four years apart. Even Andrew Wiggins was described in a similar way when he was a high school prospect. Whether Flagg can reach that level shouldn't be taken as a certainty.
What's clear at this point, however, is that it would be a surprise if anyone other than Flagg heard his name called first overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. A strong showing at Duke would only solidify that likelihood.