Cooper Flag (18, 206 centimeters) is at a crossroads in the NBA draft. Basketball fans are paying attention to Flag's decision to recover from injury, participate in college tournaments and declare the NBA draft.
Flagg, a freshman at Duke University, left the court in the first half after suffering a left ankle injury in a game against Georgia Tech on the 14th (Korea time). Duke University won 78-70 but the media focused more on Flagg's injury than the result of the game. Since then, Flag has missed the remaining two regular league games (North Carolina University and Louisville University).
The flag, which was injured at the end of the season, is at an important crossroads. Local media, fans, and university officials are divided over whether to participate in the U.S. college basketball tournament, which is called "March Madness." The time for judgment is approaching between the opinion that the team should focus on recovering from the injury and the public opinion that the team should participate in the tournament.
In response, Duke University coach John Scheier told local media ESPN on Tuesday that his goal is to return the flag in the first round match of the tournament. "I want to get Cooper (Flag) back as soon as possible. He will want it the same way. My goal will be to get him back in the first round." Duke will play the winner between Mount St. Mary's University and American University in the first round on Saturday.
Flag's performance this season was enough to spark a syndrome. Fitting the expectation that he is a "super-class prospect," he showed the best performance a freshman can perform. It is natural that basketball fans are paying attention to whether Flag will play or not. 메이저사이트
Flag played 32 games during the regular season and recorded 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.2 blocks. Duke University finished first in the U.S. rankings, and Flag was ranked first in all five statistics above. Thanks to this performance, Flag is considered the first freshman to win the "Naysmith College Player of the Year Award" since Kevin Durant (2007), Anthony Davis (2012), and Zion Williamson (2019).
With this performance, Duke University and other college basketball fans seemed to want the "Superstar" flag to play for another season on the college stage. On the 4th, the audience was seen shouting "One More Year" in a game against Wake Forest University.
The same goes for the NBA in search of superstars. They are focusing on finding new players to replace existing stars such as LeBron James and Stephen Curry. What is the fate of Flag who will be one of the candidates? College basketball and NBA fans are paying attention to his decision.