Cooper Flagg Describes 'Incredibly Special' Duke Debut: Something I've Dreamed About

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg said his Saturday debut in preseason action against Lincoln was a moment he had "dreamed about" since he was a child.

"It was incredibly special," Flagg said after Duke's 107-56 exhibition win, per the program's official transcript. "It's something I've dreamed about since I was young, playing college basketball, and I dreamed about playing at Duke as well.

"So just getting that experience, the first time playing against a real opponent, it was kind of surreal."

Flagg opened scoring against Lincoln on a turnaround jumper and didn't slow down from there.

He finished his exhibition debut with a team-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, going 2-of-5 from behind the arc and 4-of-7 from the foul line. He added six assists, two rebounds and four blocks in 24 minutes on the court.

"It felt great, an incredible atmosphere," Flagg said. "It was amazing to be out there and play and have fun. It was a great opportunity to come out and play somebody else. We've been practicing for a long time now, so [it was] a great opportunity to go out and compete against a team that has pretty much everybody back from last year.

"So, it was a really good team, really skilled, quick, so it was a good test to just come out and play against somebody that knew what they were doing, and was really well-setup and well-coached. I thought we did well. Obviously, there's a lot to work on– this was the first game. We'll be able to look back on it and take a lot from it."

Flagg's preseason debut came almost exactly one year after he announced his commitment to Duke over the two-time defending champions in UConn.

Given the early buzz surrounding Flagg as the potential No. 1 pick of the 2025 NBA draft, the 2024-25 season is expected to be the 17-year-old's lone college campaign. The Blue Devils will hope to take advantage of that by competing for the top spot in the ACC beginning with a regular-season opener against Maine on Nov. 4.