Duke fans did their best to insist on Cooper Flag returning to another season.
After appearing to signal to “run it” while on the bench, the freshman genius was as diplomatic as possible when dealing with his future after the Blue Devils' final home game on Monday night's season.
Cameron Crazy serenaded the flag with the chant “One Year!” Just three minutes remained in Duke's 93-60 victory over Wake Forest as he left court for his final time at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Flag is projected to be the top pick in this year's NBA Draft after a great season.
The Blue Devils Guard covered his teammates as he reached the bench – chants echoing through the background – and Flag jokingly said, “Let it run” as his parents showed they were enjoying the moment from the stands.
However, after the game, his embarrassing response to questions about his future with Duke appeared to speak more about his next move after the season ended.
“I live in the present now,” Flag told reporters after scoring 28 points in the victory. According to the Fayetteville Observer. “I live in that moment. I take it every day, practice it every single time, play it every game. I don't know what the future will be like.”
Flag admitted that he allowed himself to think about the fact that he could make his final play in Cameron Indoor, but was a bit biased.
And he even admitted that Duke had “a lot of feelings” about celebrating the 2025 senior class on Monday night.
Demon Deacon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils scored 93-60. Imaging images via Reuters Connect
“We're just living in that moment. For now, it's our last game at Cameron,” he said.
The importance of Monday's game was not lost to manager John Shayer, who knew that he wasn't the seniors who played the final game with the team, but “he wasn't going to guess who it was.”
He incited the flames of his quoted return when he was quoted in an article published by Athletic last month saying he wanted to go back next year, but Flag would change professionals at Duke this year seemed like a natural conclusion that FALGG would turn professionals.
Flag certainly held a show if Monday was actually the last home game of his college career, producing 10 of 16 shooting performances along with eight rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steels.
