Kansas men’s basketball will enter Tuesday’s Vegas Showdown against Duke with a healthy dose of respect for freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, a 2024-25 AP preseason All-American regarded as a strong favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. “He is a great player.
He can pretty much do everything on the court and defend. He plays on both ends of the court. He competes every possession on the floor,” KU junior guard Rylan Griffen said of the 6-foot-9, 205-pound guard/forward from Newport, Maine, who chose Duke over UConn, Kansas and others in recruiting.
The former Montverde Academy standout and consensus No. 1-ranked player in the recruiting class of 2024 averages a team-leading 17.8 points and 9.0 rebounds a game for the No. 11-ranked Blue Devils (4-1) entering the 8 p.m. Central contest against the top-ranked Jayhawks (5-0) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“He’ll be a big challenge for us and a guy I know we’re going to have to slow him down because he is — if not the main guy — he’s one of the main guys on their team. They are a really talented team and he’s probably their most talented player. We’ll have to do what we can to slow him down and stop him,” Griffen added.
Griffen, a 6-6, 190-pound transfer from Alabama, made it a point to watch Duke’s last game, a 69-55 victory over Arizona on Friday in Tucson, Arizona. Arizona’s Jaden Bradley, a former teammate of Griffen at Alabama, scored a team-leading 18 points with five steals for the Wildcats, who couldn’t contain Flagg; he scored 24 points with seven rebounds, three blocks and three assists in 38 minutes.
“I talked to (Bradley) a little bit. He told me a little about him,” Griffen said of Flagg. Griffen’s buddy, Bradley, told ESPN the Wildcats had no answer for Flagg. “He’s just super athletic,” Bradley said of Flagg, who hit 10-of-22 shots, including 2-of-5 3s against the Wildcats. In a 77-72 loss to Kentucky at the Champions Classic, Flagg scored 26 points on 9-of-19 shooting (1-of-5 from 3) with 11 rebounds.
“I think we just went away from the game plan and then didn’t talk, didn’t communicate as a group, and he found openings in our defense,” Bradley told ESPN. “He provides mismatch problems. We get a smaller guard on him, he can take us inside and use his strength, his height advantage. We get a bigger guy on him, he can play quick, play fast and be able to shoot over the top or get by him.”
KU coach Bill Self said Flagg, who has converted 44.6% of his shots, just 26.1% of his 3s (6 of 23) in five games, “would present problems to anybody who plays them. He’s terrific.
We did recruit him (and) I guess made it to his final three. “Talent, athleticism, skill, but there’s another element to him that is what makes him different. He is so competitive and tough. That’s been evident from what he’s done to this point, especially in the summer playing with the Olympic team (in scrimmages). He’s probably as talented a youngster that we’ll have an opportunity to play against this year.”
Self recognizes the fact Flagg is one of the most prolific high school players he’s ever recruited. “He is probably going into it where you thought he has as big a chance to have as big an impact in his short time in college as anybody we ever recruited,” Self said of Flagg, who on Monday became the first ACC player to sweep the league’s player of the week and rookie of the week honors since former Blue Devil Vernon Carey on Feb. 3, 2020.
Duke has two other freshmen starters: Kon Knueppel, a 6-7 first-year player from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, averages 14.4 points a game on 41.7% shooting (13-of-32 from 3 for 40.6%). Khaman Maluach, a 7-2 South Sudan native, averages 9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. Tyrese Proctor, a 6-6 junior, has cashed 15 of 33 3s for 45.5% while averaging 11.8 points per game. “They are talented across the board,” Self said.
“They are starting three freshmen. Everybody will talk about the one, but the other two are potential lottery picks, too. They’ve got a really good roster. You throw in obviously Proctor and Foster (Caleb, sophomore guard, 9.4 ppg). that’s pretty good. That’s as much talent from a starting five you’ll see all year long.
They have a good group.” Third-year coach Jon Scheyer recently was asked about playing top 25 teams in Arizona and KU in back to back contests. “I don’t have to do anything to get them fired up. I want them prepared. I want ‘em confident,” Scheyer said, “We are going there (to Arizona and Vegas) for one purpose, that’s to win. Our thing is about a step by step process.
Let’s learn from today and come back Monday ready to go, but we’re excited. “A big point of emphasis for us is paint touches. You can pass it, but if you don’t make the defense help or commit, then what advantage do you get all the time? We also talk about potential assists.
Last game Cooper ended up with six (assists against Wofford). OK, six. He had 12 potential assists (in addition to the six). Literally he had the potential for 18 assists. “The ability for him — when he gets in the paint and spraying it (around) and also (having) the ability to score — puts a lot of pressure on the defense. To have somebody like him who is unselfish, just making the right play, it’s a domino effect for us.
They (Blue Devils players) are smart. It’s been contagious. When your best players play that way … speed in our decision making will be important,” Scheyer added. KU will return home to play Furman in its second and final game of the Vegas Showdown at 5 p.m. Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. The game time was announced Monday. Duke will play Seattle on Friday in Durham, North Carolina. Seattle will play Furman after the KU-Duke game is completed on Tuesday.
