It was a scary start to the ACC tournament for conference player of the year Cooper Flagg.
The Duke freshman and Newport, Maine, native suffered a left ankle injury during the first half of the Blue Devils’ first tournament game against Georgia Tech. He left the game and did not return to play in the second half.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said in a postgame press conference that Flagg sprained his ankle and X-rays were negative.
“He just came down, sprained his ankle,” Scheyer said, as seen in a video from FOX College Hoops. “X-rays were negative, which is great. We just have to understand there’s going to be swelling, and see how he recovers, and how he goes from there.”
Scheyer also said it would be a “real longshot” for Flagg to play in Duke’s semifinal game on Friday, according to the Associated Press.
Matt MacKenzie, Flagg’s longtime player development coach who owns Results Basketball and Eastern Maine Sports Academy in Veazie, was in Charlotte for the game.
“Obviously injuries are tough and can’t be predicted,” MacKenzie told the Bangor Daily News. “We’re just focused on his healing right now. Duke’s medical team will work with Cooper to determine a timeline for his return.”
Flagg has led the No. 1 Blue Devils in all five major statistical categories this year. He was injured with under three minutes left to play in the first half as he went up and secured a defensive rebound. His left foot appeared to at least partially land on the foot of a Georgia Tech defender.
Flagg’s teammates helped him off the floor, and he limped to the Duke bench, clearly in pain. He was later helped to the locker room.
Flagg returned to the bench early in the second half, without a boot on his foot as reported by the Associated Press, to support his teammates as Duke came back to beat Georgia Tech 78-70 and advance to the ACC semifinals on Friday.
He was not the only Blue Devil injured on Thursday, with teammate Maliq Brown also leaving the game with a shoulder injury.
