Cooper Flagg has already asserted himself as the best freshman in the country and some consider the Duke basketball forward as the best player in the country, but a Hall of Fame coach is comparing him to one of the best players in college basketball history.
As Flagg was in the midst of a 27-point performance in the No. 3 Blue Devils 78-57 victory over California on Wednesday night, former Syracuse head coach began to draw comparisons between the Duke superstar and his former sensational freshman Carmelo Anthony.
“He was just a man back then,” Boeheim said during the ACC Network broadcast of Anthony but did not squash the idea that Flagg could enter his company if Duke were to win the National Championship.
“He does more things. Melo was more of a rebounder and scorer.”
Cooper Flagg is currently averaging 19.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game on 48.3-percent shooting from the field and 37.0-percent from 3-point range.
“Cooper does some things defensively that very few guys really can do and helps be better.”
In his lone season with the Orange, Anthony posted 22.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.6 steals per contest but sent his message to the country with 33 points against Kansas in the Final Four and 20 points against Kansas in the title game.
“He’s really a point-forward type player…they don’t come along very often,” Boeheim continued.
“He’s different, everybody said that all year long, and he’s held up to that. He’s actually, I think, gone beyond that a little bit. He gets better every time I see him.”
The numbers don’t lie, either, as Flagg is posting 22.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game on 53.4-percent shooting from the floor and 46.3-percent from distance.
“The biggest thing is that he has a toughness to him.”
Duke (21-3, 13-1 ACC) is trying to close in on the top seed in the ACC Tournament as well as the NCAA Tournament and Cooper Flagg will try and lead the Blue Devils to another victory on Saturday afternoon (4:00 p.m. ET, ABC) against Stanford (16-9, 8-6 ACC).