David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
DURHAM, N.C. — Cooper Flagg said he hasn’t seen enough angles yet to give an official rating to his monster second-half dunk against Pitt, but the Duke freshman rates it around an 8.5 out of 10. I guessed.
Teammate Tyrese Proctor went a little further.
“That was the best in-game dunk I’ve ever seen,” Proctor said. “This might be one of the best dunks ever.”
As soon as he returned to the locker room after No. 4 Duke’s 76-47 blowout win over Pitt, Proctor put up a dunk on his cell phone and instructed the entire team to gather around and watch it again.
Flagg was frustrated after a sluggish first half in which he picked up two fouls early and sat for long periods, scoring just five points. He added his third foul with 17:43 left, clearly frustrated.
The next thing he knew, he intercepted a pass near the baseline, drove up and down the court, took a shot near the top of the key, and dunked home. The crowd was thrilled with what Duke coach John Scheyer called a “Zion-like play.” ” recalled the excitement of former star Zion Williamson’s highlight at Cameron Indoors.
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“We’ve had some guys over the years who make some plays that inspire everyone in the building,” Scheier said. “That was one of those moments tonight.”
Flagg admitted he was “angry” after being flagged for his third foul and said he may have taken his frustration out on the rim on the ensuing dunk.
He said he knew he was going to score by midcourt, but it was his first dunk when he read the defenders in the paint. From there, it was a blur, he says.
Flagg, who had 19 points and 10 rebounds, said, “I almost blacked out the moment I jumped, but everything from that point on was instantaneous.” “When I jumped off, my mind went blank and everything happened so fast.”
Flagg looked up at the crowd noisily celebrating the moment, but was then swallowed up by his teammates. Pitt’s Guillermo Diaz-Graham was called for a foul on the play, and Flagg made the free throw. After Pitt missed a layup on the other side, Flagg made another dunk to give Duke a 14-point lead. However, although the second run was not as acrobatic as the first, it was still in the top three for him.
“He’s angry, but he’s also relaxed,” Scheyer said. “He loves being in the arena, but he has an edge right now and can go fast. You saw that tonight. He picked up his third (foul), but that’s what he It cheered me up.”
After Flagg’s heroics, Duke took the lead, outscoring the Panthers 37-21 after the dunk. Flagg had 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds and five assists in the second half. He was plus-16 in the first half.
After Duke’s 18-0 victory, Scheyer emphasized that there should be no debate about who the best player in the country is right now.
“He’s proven that with his previous opponents and how he’s done it in such a mature manner,” Scheier said. “He’s very competitive and brings out a lot of good from his teammates.”
