Duke basketball star Cooper Flagg's 'luxury' identified by Kenny Smith amid NCAA Tournament run

03/23/2025 08:52 PM

The Duke basketball program picked up a dominant 89-66 win over Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and although Cooper Flagg is the main star for the Blue Devils, Kenny Smith identified why playing for the program is a luxury for the young player.

“I’ve been saying this all tournament, Cooper Flagg has the luxury to develop even though he has a superstar potential,” Kenny Smith said on CBS. “But he has the luxury to develop because of all the players around him. At Duke he doesn’t have to play great to win, he just has to play well. And that’s a big thing for a freshman with so many things on him.”

"Cooper Flagg has the luxury to develop because of all the players around him."

— @TheJetOnTNT on @DukeMBB's star freshman pic.twitter.com/bvsQUorHUu

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2025

Flagg turned in a quality performance, scoring 18 with nine rebounds and six assists on 5-11 shooting, but Tyrese Proctor was the star of the day, scoring 25 on 9-10 from the field. This is a glaring example of what Smith is talking about. Flagg had a very good game against Baylor, but Proctor’s performance was the best of the day, and Duke was able to win by a wide margin. Flagg does not have to be Superman for Duke to win, despite being the likely No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

This fact is why many believe Duke is the favorite to win the national championship this year. Anything can happen in a single game, but the Blue Devils will not be an easy out, even if they do get upset at some point in the tournament.

Duke now awaits the winner of the game between Arizona and Oregon, as that will be the opponent in the Sweet 16. The competition will ramp up moving forward, but Duke has a recipe that should work against most, if not all teams, and that recipe does not require Flagg to completely carry the team.

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