Durham, NC — Cooper Flag He said he hadn’t yet seen enough angles to put his monster in the second half. Pit An official grade, but Duke Freshman estimated it to be about 8.5 out of 10.
His companion Tyrese Proctor went a little further.
“That’s the best in-game dunk I’ve ever seen,” Proctor said. “This might be one of the best dunks, period.”
As No. 4 Duke stormed back into the locker room 76-47 Win at the pit, Proctor pulls up the sting on his phone and the whole team gathers to watch it again.
Flagg was frustrated after a low-key first half in which he picked up two early fouls, sat for an extended period and finished with just five points. He added foul No. 3 with 17:43 to go and was visibly frustrated.
A moment later, he stole a pass from near the baseline, drove the length of the court, took off near the top of the key and slapped home a dunk, electrifying the crowd as Duke’s coaches cheered him on. Jon Scheer called it a “Zion kind of game”. “Recalling the excitement of former star Zion Williamson’s highlights at Cameron Indoor.
“We’ve had a couple of guys over the years make plays that wake up everyone in the building,” Scheer said. “It was one of those moments tonight.”
Flagg admitted he was “angry” after being flagged on his third foul, saying he must have taken some frustration out on the rim on the ensuing dunk.
He said he knew from midcourt he was going to score, but it wasn’t until he read a defender in the paint that he decided to dunk. From there, he said, it was a blur.
“I almost went blank as I jumped, and everything from that was just a flash,” said Flagg, who finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. “I jumped, my mind went blank, and it all happened really fast.”
Flagg looked out at the crowd, which was celebrating the moment wildly, then was engulfed by teammates. Pitt’s Guillermo Diaz Graham A foul was called on the play, and Flagg made the ensuing free throw. After Pitt missed a layup on the other end, Flagg drilled another dunk to put Duke up 14 — though the second wasn’t as acrobatic as the first, which he said was for ” “Top Three”.
“He gets angry, but he’s loose at the same time,” Scheer said. “He likes to be on the field, but now he’s got an edge to it, and it can go fast. We saw that tonight. He picked up his third. [foul] And he just drove it.”
Duke dominated after Flagg’s heroics, outscoring the Panthers 37-21 after the dunk. Flagg had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists on 5-for-7 shooting in the second half. He was a plus-16 at the half.
After the game, which Duke ended on an 18-0 run, Scheer emphasized that there should be no debate over who is the best player in the country right now.
“He’s proven who he’s played with and how he’s done it in such a mature way,” Scheer said. “He’s just so competitive, and he just brings out so many good things from his teammates.”