Coach K shares thoughts on Cooper Flagg, Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils

DURHAM — Even during a Duke vs. UNC football game for the Victory Bell, it’s hard to ignore the basketball rivalry.

Especially when former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is at Wallace Wade Stadium. Just after halftime of the Blue Devils’ latest meeting with the Tar Heels on the gridiron, ESPN2 interviewed Krzyzewski on the Duke sideline.

“It’s the best. It brings out the best in both,” Krzyzewski said of the rivalry.

Cooper Flagg and the hype train

During the interview, reporter Dawn Davenport asked the five-time national champion about Duke basketball freshman Cooper Flagg, the top-ranked freshman in the nation and projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. 

“He still has to do. I think he will. He has the potential to be one of the best. I don’t want to put that pressure on him,” Krzyzewski said.

“We shouldn’t be talking about Cooper, we should be talking about our team. If this was Cooper talking, Cooper would say that, because he’s a very humble young man.”

Flagg is a part of a six-player recruiting class that includes Khaman Maluach, Kon Knueppel, Isaiah Evans, Darren Harris and Patrick Ngongba. The Blue Devils also added four players via the transfer portal — Syracuse’s Maliq Brown, Purdue’s Mason Gillis, Tulane’s Sion James and Rice’s Cameron Sheffield — to surround returning guards Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor.

“We have a chance to be really good,” Krzyzewski said. “Jon Scheyer’s done a great, great job. I was at practice today. Very excited. I’m very excited for him and his guys.”

The Blue Devils host Countdown to Craziness on Oct. 4 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

WATCH: Cooper Flagg interview

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Coach K shares thoughts on Cooper Flagg, Jon Scheyer’s Blue Devils