Cooper Flagg was one rebound short of a double-double in Saturday night’s Elite Eight victory for the Duke Blue Devils. Flagg scored 16 points and had nine rebounds in the victory over Alabama, helping to send Duke to the Final Four.
And somehow, that performance is being framed as a “dud” by the Wall Street Journal. Perhaps that’s just because Flagg has set the bar so high during March Madness and throughout the men’s college basketball season. The Journal does go on to call the game a “relative dud” for Flagg, but is the expectation that anything less than a historic performance is somehow disappointing?
By his otherworldly standards, Flagg did have a slower night shooting against the Alabama Crimson Tide. It was not a repeat of the 30-point masterclass he put on in the Sweet 16 against Arizona. After averaging more than 48 percent from the floor this season, his 6-for-16 shooting performance Saturday put him under 38 percent for the game. And there’s also little question that teammates like Kon Knueppel and Tyrese Proctor, who had 21 and 17 points, respectively, led the way for Duke offensively against Alabama.
But to call Flagg’s night a dud is to ignore the many different ways that he can influence a basketball game, like he did in Saturday night’s win.
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There’s no stat for momentum in the scorebook, but that’s exactly what Flagg provided at key inflection points in the game — especially with his hustle. He powered to the hoop with under 20 seconds in the first half for an important and-1 basket to put the Blue Devils back up by double digits. He got his team the ball back by taking a charge in the second half, at a time in the game when Alabama was doing what it could to cut into Duke’s lead. And he gave Duke a lead it never relinquished by knocking down a 3-pointer to start the game.
Asked in a postgame press conference about not having his best offensive showing and the way other teammates stepped up, Flagg talked about “not letting the shots affect anything else you do” and continuing to focus on other elements of the game — and knowing that his teammates have his back.
“We just have such a talented team. Each night could be somebody else’s night,” said Flagg, who credited Knueppel and Proctor. “I think it’s just having so many talented guys on the team. It’s not going to be your night every night, and just don’t hang your head, just keep playing hard.”
The way that Flagg found other ways to contribute Saturday night tracked with comments his player development coach Matt MacKenzie told the Bangor Daily News prior to March Madness.
“His competitiveness is what fuels him. And his will to win just makes him so much better,” MacKenzie said earlier in March. “So he can be having an off shooting night but he’s going to find areas where he can impact the game in other ways.”
Saturday’s game proved that an off shooting night for Cooper Flagg is still a good night for just about anybody else.
Did he shoot better in the Sweet 16 round against Arizona? Without a doubt. Did a few of his teammates outshine him on the offensive end Saturday night? Yes. Did he turn the ball over too much? He’d probably be the first to say so.
However, there’s a big difference between a dip and a dud. Flagg didn’t have the same kind of dominant statistical performance against Alabama that he put up against Arizona, but he still found ways to help the Blue Devils win. He’s shown throughout the season that he cares more about the final score of the game rather than how many points he scores — and that’s a big reason why Duke has made it this far.
