It’s another week and another record for Duke freshman Cooper Flagg.
The expected overall first pick in this year’s NBA draft and odds-on favorite to be crowned player of the year in men’s college basketball just keeps on collecting records in the storied Atlantic Coast Conference.
Flagg already broke the ACC single game scoring record in January when he put up 42 points against Notre Dame. And the 18-year-old who grew up in Newport etched his name yet again in the record books on Monday by being named the ACC Rookie of the Week for an 11th time this season.
According to Duke, that 11th honor is the most ever for an ACC rookie.
“With his 11th Rookie of the Week recognition of the season, Flagg surpassed Kenny Anderson (Georgia Tech, 1990), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina, 2006) and Jabari Parker (Duke, 2014) as ACC freshmen to win the award 10 times,” according to the university.
Flagg has also been named overall Player of the Week in the ACC five times this season, tying him with Elton Brand for the school record, according to Duke.
While on the Goodman and Hummel Basketball Podcast recently, Duke coach Jon Scheyer was asked what he finds most impressive about Flagg.
“He’s the same way every day,” Scheyer told hosts Jeff Goodman and Robbie Hummel. “His approach — he’s competitive, he has energy, he’s as loud as anybody in the gym. It just picks everything up.”
Scheyer also emphasized the impact Flagg has on his teammates.
“Not everybody has the skill of being able to make everybody around them better,” Scheyer said. “And that happens from his play, the fact he’s so unselfish and a great passer, and he’s not about stats.”
Flagg may not put an emphasis on stats, but he is still racking them up this season. As of Tuesday, the freshman phenom is still leading his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks — something that no ACC player has done for 25 years.
“He just has a unique feel for how to pick others up and rise to the occasion,” Scheyer added in the podcast interview.
