Carmelo Anthony Hypes 'Special' Cooper Flagg, Says Duke Star Has 'Different' Energy

Former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony has been impressed with Cooper Flagg's freshman season at Duke.

“I enjoy watching him [Cooper Flagg] play, you know what I mean? Because he just impacts the game at a totally high level," Anthony said on 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony, a Wave Original (13:18 mark). "He don't have to score, but he can score if he want…He's impressive. He's very impressive to watch as a player but also a player at that age. You don't see that. You don't see–and when you watch him, you see the bounce, you see the pop that he have, you see the quick twitches…that takes a different type of motor and energy to do. He's special man.”

Flagg has served as the leading scorer on a Blue Devils team that won the ACC regular-season title as well as the ACC tournament. Duke sat at No. 1 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll and is currently set to face off against Houston in the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

The 18-year-old has showcased his all-around game throughout the year, averaging 18.9 points and 7.5 rebounds to go along with 4.2 assists per game on 48.3/37.4/83.4 shooting splits.

Flagg is also recording 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks on a nightly basis.

Anthony has some experience with stellar freshman seasons in college. Prior to his NBA career, in which he made 10 All-Star appearances, he won a national championship while averaging 22.2 points per game during his lone year at Syracuse.

Flagg's scoring average is the third-highest by a freshman on a Final Four team in March Madness history, only trailing Anthony as well as former NBA All-Star Kenny Anderson in 1990 (h/t CBS Sports' Zachary Pereles).

Flagg will attempt to help the Blue Devils punch their ticket to the national championship game on Saturday, with tip-off against Houston at 8:50 p.m. ET.