There are not many holes in Cooper Flagg’s game but one area of concern over the first five weeks of the season had been his 3-point shooting, but it appears the Duke basketball freshman has turned a corner.
Flagg had made just 8-of-36 attempts (22.2-percent) from 3-point range to begin his college career, and many wondered whether that would hurt his case to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft when prospects like Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey were threats from all over the court.
Duke head coach Jon Scheyer mentioned that Flagg is looking to get better every day when he comes into the facility and was confident that his 3-point numbers would rise, and he’s correct.
Since December 17, Flagg is connecting on 50-percent of his triples (8-of-16). He’s made as many 3-pointers in the last five games as he did in his first ten and things are only opening more for a potent Duke offense.
The Blue Devils snapped a streak of three consecutive games scoring at least 82 points in ACC games after finishing with 76 points in its 29-point victory over Pittsburgh. The team is averaging 80.0 points per game and making 36.8-percent of its shots from 3-point range while Flagg leads in every statistical category.
If Cooper Flagg remains a threat from the outside, it changes how teams are going to defend him and create more space for Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel on the permitter as well as Khaman Maluach inside the paint.
It is one of the final developments Scheyer has been waiting for in this offense.
As Duke will be an overwhelming favorite in most of its ACC games going forward, Cooper Flagg’s 3-point percentage will be one of the most important stats to monitor throughout the rest of the season.
The No. 4 Blue Devils (13-2, 5-0 ACC) will be back on the court Saturday afternoon (12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN) against Notre Dame (7-8, 1-3 ACC).