Houston ruined a fairytale ending, rained on Duke’s parade, and all that jazz. To be honest, we still can’t believe what happened during Saturday’s Final Four matchup. No one expected Cooper Flagg and Jon Scheyer to choke a fourteen-point lead with only eight minutes left, but there’s a reason they call it March Madness! The fans of Flagg, however, would rather it not. Yes, he is poised for a long NBA career, but going out of the storied program without a ring? The jabs are being directed to the time when the Montverde Academy alum chose Duke over UConn.

If you remember back in 2023, Flagg had mentioned that Duke was his dream program. However, after visiting Gampel Pavillion in September 2023 and staying with his family friend and Husky, Donovan Clingan, the projected first pick of the 2025 NBA Draft brought in UConn to his mix of choices. However, after a visit to Durham in October, his choice became clear, and he chose Jon Scheyer over the back-to-back National Champions. But despite his efforts on the floor, the Blue Devils now pack their bags to return after a Final Four visit and Flagg’s fans are not having it, demanding him to stay back in college for another year but fight for a different storied program.

Cooper Flagg and his Blue Devils fell prey twice to the kill-stop tactics of Houston. But even in the dying minutes of the game, they had a shot at victory. As Scheyer stated in his postgame presser, “Houston is a team that doesn’t quit. I mean, they’re never going to stop. So my messaging throughout the whole way with the team was, understand this team doesn’t go away. So no lead is safe with them.” Yet, they fell.

After Cooper’s shot from beyond the arc at 3:03, the Blue Devils did not land any shot from the field. In fact, they only got four free throw attempts after that, of which, they made 3, ending their run at 67. At the same time, Houston went on a 15-3 run. But as the winning guard and the night’s best performer LJ Cryer stated, “It ain’t over because they still got time on the clock.” That’s exactly the mentality they brought in against Duke as well.

In the night’s final 33 seconds, the Cougars went on a 9-0 run, shocking the entire Alamodome crowd and the Blue Devils bench. With eight seconds left, and a one-point deficit, Flagg had the ball in his hands. Up until this point, the six-foot-nine phenom from Maine has dominated this entire season averaging 19.2 ppg and 19.5 ppg in the last four postseason games, but this one attempt broke all hopes for the Blue Blood fans.

As he went for a layup to cover 1-point deficit and take back the lead, the shot hit the front rim, and before we knew it, Duke was out of championship contention.

The NCAA community, however, was unforgiving of this upset. People called out Jon Scheyer for losing out on such a lead and Cooper Flagg for not being able to guide his team to the championship game. He had a shot; he just couldn’t make it. With that went Scheyer’s shot at scripting history– Winningest coach in the first three coaching years in the history of college basketball.

His 89-21 record was already tied for the most wins record, and just a win more would even propel him where Coach K hadn’t reached. That’s the caliber the HC has presented in the past three seasons. He has gone on to sign back-to-back No.1 recruiting classes, make a tournament appearance in all three, and had people believe Duke was the best team through March Madness 2025. But the Blue Devils fumble one game, and fans are looking for a better-suited coach for the freshman talent.

This one narrative stems from Flagg’s high-school days, now sparked by Duke’s 70-67 loss to Houston. A team that had looked unbeatable for 3 quarters could manage only one field goal in the last 10:30 minutes. The Blue Devils had the height advantage to go with their top defense and absolute beast in their freshman class. But not everyone showed up. A mere 4 points came from the bench, and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson knew Flagg wasn’t going to win them the game alone, and he seemed prepared for it.

Top Comment by Johnnie Talker

Flagg sure is a let down. He should be the star who wins the games for the network and their...more

Share your take

Debate

“I felt like if we could just hang in there, even when we were down 14, these guys will tell you what I was talking about in the huddle: Just hang in there, hang in there,” the Cougars HC had asked of his team, and they did not let him down. Duke fell short, Scheyer fell short, and history was being dug up of the freshman sensation.

Following the results, fans now opine, he would have been much more successful with the reigning champs!

Fans call out Cooper Flagg for ditching Storrs

Even with Duke’s Final Four loss, there’s no doubt that Cooper Flagg lived up to every individual expectation that was set for him. The Maine star came into Division I basketball, and he dominated! Flagg led Duke in every major statistical category the entire season, putting up monstrous scores on a weekly basis: 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks. However, the fans feel like he was wrong for choosing Duke.

After the loss, there was one portion of the college basketball community that was advocating for a change– For Cooper Flagg to don the Huskies jersey.

UConn supporters rubbed salt into Flagg’s fresh wounds online. “If Cooper Flagg chose UConn over Duke he’d be in the championship game,” a user said on X, and it was definitely a common sentiment! However, it is important to note that the Huskies did not even make it to the Sweet 16 this year, taking a 75-77 defeat at the hands of this year’s finalists Florida in the West region.

“Cooper Flagg definitely should’ve went to UConn,” another fan tweeted, but there’s some backstory behind his choice. Cooper Flagg heading to Storrs wasn’t as big of a pipedream. As stated before, the six-foot-nine point-forward was quite close to becoming a Husky! He went on an official visit to Storrs in September 2024, a month before committing to Duke. Montverde associate head coach Kevin Boyle Jr. had also stated after his Storrs visit, “He said it was positive.” 

And fans now believe he would have been much better off playing under Dan Hurley, who would’ve benefited from a player like Flagg’s caliber as well. “If Cooper Flagg would have slid to UConn they would have won 3 strait nattys, but it is what it is.” With 6 new faces on the roster and lack of physicality that Hurley so often liked to point out, it isn’t all too far-fetched a sight to imagine it a win-win situation.

Interestingly, Hurley was also asked about his thoughts on missing out on the Florida native, something that reminded him of losing Kyrie Irving during his St. Benedict days who also eventually became a Blue Devil, after his first tourney win over Oklahoma. He said, “That’s just kind of human nature and part of it, when you see other players got to other places do well, you imagine what that would’ve been like to coach. And at different times, obsess over it.” But it is what it is, right? Who tells that to the fans though?

“Cooper Flagg wins the natty with UConn btw,” opined another. Other fans, however, phrased it as more of a ‘you snooze, you lose’ kind of a situation for the Duke star. One supporter in particular mentioned the NPOY in his tweet. “@Cooper_Flagg you know, if you had chosen UConn, you might have had more success. Just sayin’.” 

A championship would have been the perfect end to a one-and-done collegiate career for Cooper Flagg. It would put him a tier above the previous #1 overall picks from Duke–Zion, Paolo–and show that he has what it takes to win at the highest level. That’s not to say that he isn’t a winner, but missing a game-winning jumper has some fans disappointed beyond belief. There’s still no confirmation as to whether Cooper Flagg will stay at Duke for another season, but it’ll certainly be interesting if he did.