Duke Blue Devils News: No Flagg return, Big expectations for women's basketball, Football eyeing rising safety

Duke Blue Devils fans have had an emotional rollercoaster of a week, seeing the Duke men's basketball team advance to the Final Four, viewed as the favorite to win the national championship, but also seeing Duke women's basketball fall in heartbreak fashion to 1-seed South Carolina in the Elite Eight 54-50.

Here's your weekly scoop of Duke Blue Devils news ahead of Final Four weekend in San Antonio.

Cooper Flagg will not return to Duke

There was lots of speculation over the back half of the college basketball season that freshman phenom Cooper Flagg could potentially return to Duke for a sophomore season, reason being if a certain NBA franchise lands the first overall pick and Flagg could be drafted into a not-so-ideal situation, as Flagg is practically a shoo-in to be selected first overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. Many around college basketball were saying Flagg should at least use the NBA Draft lottery to his advantage, as the lottery happens before the deadline to declare for the draft. So, Flagg could theoretically leverage the idea of him returning to Duke if a team he doesn't like lands the top pick. However, all of that speculation has now been shut down by Duke head coach, Jon Scheyer. While he was on the Dan Patrick Show, Scheyer confirmed that he hadn't had a conversation with Flagg about a potential return and will not have one in the future.

"No. Although, I can dream about that," Scheyer said. "But I think that's all it is in this case. I think it's a dream, and I think he's got to take the next dream in his life and be the top pick in the NBA Draft and start his professional career."

Even though there was little hope to begin with, rightfully so, Duke fans can now put the idea to sleep that Duke's freshman superstar could potentially return to Durham for the 2025-26 season. It is now confirmed he will be off to the NBA.

Toby Fournier says a Final Four for women's basketball is "definitely within our reach."

Duke women's basketball suffered a crushing 54-50 defeat to 1-seed South Carolina in the Elite Eight on Sunday. The Blue Devils led by four points at the start of the fourth quarter, but were limited to just eight points in the final ten minutes, letting the contest slip away in favor of the Gamecocks. Despite the season ending earlier than the program had hoped for, ACC Rookie of the Year Toby Fournier thinks the Blue Devils' future is bright.

"We have a lot of really talented players, and even this game was super close," Fournier said after the loss to the Gamecocks. "We know that we can compete with the highest level competition if we're fully ourselves and we live up to our potential. I think, yes, within the next few years a Final Four is definitely within our reach."

Fournier averaged 13.2 points per game through her freshman campaign to lead a Duke squad in scoring that won the ACC Tournament Championship. The Blue Devils dealt with little roster turnover last season, and the only player the program will definitely lose is Reigan Richardson, who is out of eligibility. With much of the rotation likely coming back, along with incoming freshman Emilee Skinner, the #6 overall player and #1 shooting guard in the class of 2025 247sports Composite Rankings, the Blue Devils are poised for another March run next season.

Duke football makes cut for rising three-star safety

The Duke football program has made the cut for three-star in-state safety Lyrik Pettis out of Crest High School (NC). Pettis recently cut his list to six schools: Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Rice, and Sam Houston. The Blue Devils will now be competing with four in-state and in-conference rivals for the safety, but Duke was his first power four offer back in April 2024, so the program is hoping its continued interest in Pettis can draw him toward Durham.

The six-foot-one, 175-pound safety is ranked as the 2026 #54 overall safety and #28 player in the state of North Carolina per 247sports. Duke currently sits with the 42nd-ranked 2026 recruiting class per 247sports, highlighted by four-star IOL Sean Stover.