– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEW YORK — What comes with wearing the Duke men’s basketball jersey for a temporary living is a burden the size and weight of the Empire State Building, from being worshipped like gods in Durham to being jeered and berated as the actual sons of the Antichrist during many travels and every other emotion in between. Throw in teenage children and the double-edged sword of social media, and basketball at Duke is a recipe for a mental health wellness check in the making. Now then add the No. 1 talent in the sport, Cooper Flagg, hyped to be the “next one” since before he was old enough to attend junior prom, and a trip to the City that Never Sleeps for their annual showcase on one of the biggest stages, and it makes many wonder how kids who are barely adults can handle this pressure cooker on a daily basis.
That’s part of the reason who Duke basketball calls itself the Brotherhood, and this year’s version has exemplified that sense of collegiality through all the noise, and, after tonight, may have positioned itself as the team best positioned to come away with the national championship in less than two months’ time.
Flagg’s debut at the World’s Most Famous Arena was a rousing success straight from a Tony-winning Broadway play, as his 16-point, seven-rebound, five-assist performance was the showpiece during the Blue Devils’ 110-67 demolition of Illinois on Saturday night in the SentinelOne Classic, Duke’s annual pilgrimage to the Big Apple. Another freshman, Kon Knueppel, had 15 points as each Duke starter scored in double figures while Isaiah Evans came off the bench to lead the team with 17 points.
Inside the most iconic professional basketball arena in use in the country, Flagg left almost no doubt about his standing as the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft in four month’s time, with a couple of show-shopping dunks second-half dunks and a couple of flexes to the crowd after other baskets was reminiscent of another tour de force in the blue and white who stormed into New York in his freshman year and showed out, Zion Williamson, back in 2019.
Like Zion, who also grew up in the era of social media and was dubbed “can’t miss” and a basketball freak of nature given all of the mix tapes out there to digest, Flagg also stepped into the cauldron that is playing “Duke” across the chest. It was something last year’s hot-shot Duke freshman, Jared McCain, spoke out on inside Madison Square Garden one year ago, when he mentioned that some of the Duke fans on social media harangued him constantly when the Blue Devils got out to a slow start, highlighting the expectations and mania that surrounds those in and around Krzyzewskiville. But this latest freshman class and young crop of Blue Devils are clearly well-adjusted to the hype, as well as too-self-motivated to let the weight of the brand of Duke basketball do anything but lift them to greater heights as the season progresses into the stages where pressure around the Blue Devils is at its highest: March Madness.
“I think these guys have been incredible, and just staying in the moment. Obviously part of why you come here is to reach your goals beyond Duke, whether that’s a professional player or something else,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said. “They’ve been incredible.
“I don’t know how active these guys are in social media. I don’t think they’re really into it, you know,” Scheyer continued. “Jared is probably the only guy I’ve ever coached that could be on it all the time and still block all that noise out. These guys are not externally esteemed, you know. They’re esteemed from within, and they’re playing for themselves, playing for Duke, of course, but most important most importantly, they’re playing for each other. I think that’s what you need to have for a great team.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday evening’s game, with photos taken by New York-area photographer Matthew Last. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 18 pictures in total.
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