BY ALEJANDRO LOPEZ
There has been no shortage of new hardware for Duke’s superstar freshman Cooper Flagg and Friday is just the latest example of that.
Flagg was serenaded with the sound of his teammates barking in unison as he was named the AP Player of the Year during a press conference in San Antonio.
“For me it’s an honor, obviously just, you know, to get this, it’s a really prestigious award so just an honor,” Cooper told the media after receiving the award. “All the credit to my teammates, coaches, my family that’s in here, family and friends, I wouldn’t be here without them so I got to give all the credit to them.”
He is the first freshman to win the award since Duke’s own Zion Williamson won it in 2019 and only the fourth freshman to ever win it. Flagg doesn’t turn 19 till December of this year.
“I have to remind myself it’s a year early, I mean he should be graduating high school now,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said during Friday’s press conference. “So to have the season that he’s had, I think the stats speak for itself, I think how hard he plays, the highlights, I think all those things speak for itself, but it’s the person he is every day. It’s the person he is every day his energy is contagious for our team, he is an amazing leader, the job he’s done in the classroom at Duke, just everything he does has taken our program to a new light this year.
Now, Flagg and the Blue Devils look towards the biggest piece of hardware of all, a national championship.
“It’s a surreal feeling, I think this whole tournament process has been kind of a surreal feeling for me,” Cooper said. “I mean, these are the moments you dream about as a little kid, this is the biggest stage of college basketball, so I’m just trying to cherish these moments with my teammates we have left, I mean, the road ends here.”
With or without a national championship, Cooper Flagg is one of the most decorated college basketball players ever. In one season, he has won the ACC regular-season title, the ACC tournament title, he was a consensus first team All-American, he won the Oscar Robertson player of the year award, made a Final Four and has now been crowned the AP Player of the Year.
There is plenty of talent coming up these days, but there may not be another Cooper Flagg for a very long time.
MOST NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONORS (AP, Naismith, NABC, Sporting News, USBWA, Wooden)
Duke, 44
UCLA, 29
North Carolina, 23
Purdue, 18
Virginia, 14
Ohio State, 13
Cincinnati, 11
Indiana, 11
Kansas, 11
Kentucky, 11
Oklahoma, 11
MOST WINNERS OF THE AP NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Duke, 8
UCLA, 5
Ohio State, 4
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