Cooper Flagg and Duke are a game away from competing for their first NCAA title under coach Jon Scheyer and will face their next test in a tough Final Four clash against fellow No. 1 seed Houston Saturday night.
Flagg’s relationship with Scheyer dates back years ago when the Duke coach was trying to recruit Flagg, the nation’s top prospect, and had to fend off high-profile competition including Bill Self and John Calipari.
Scheyer reportedly cried the day Flagg told him he wanted to play for the Blue Devils, according to The Athletic’s Brendan Marks. How did Flagg arrive at that decision? Marks details two main reasons, one of which was a phone conversation the two had on the first night coaches were allowed to reach out to prospective players.
Marks wrote:
There were two differences between Scheyer and some of those other coaches. The first was that, according to Flagg, Scheyer didn’t flatly praise his game.
“Something that stuck out to me the whole time was his honesty,” Flagg said. “Coach was always really honest with me with his vision, what he saw — I mean, he’d even critique some of my games that he came and watched. That’s the sort of thing I looked for.”
Scheyer’s history as a Duke alum helped, too, as Flagg reportedly admired the fact that Scheyer had helped lead the Blue Devils to a national championship back in the 2009-10 season.
Fast forward a handful of years later, and the two have teamed up at one of the top college basketball programs in the country looking to win it all in Flagg’s first and likely final collegiate campaign.
Duke will face off against Houston on Saturday at 8:49 p.m. ET in the Alamodome.
