College basketball hits full throttle with March Madness. With a 5-0 reign in the ACC and an overall winning streak of 9, the Duke Blue Devils are ruling the NCAA Basketball this season. And if there is one individual who has been the key to the Devils’ remarkable run this season, it is Cooper Flagg. Already projected to be a top-5 pick in the NBA draft, the Duke shooting guard was just electric against Pittsburgh. One might wonder, what inspired Flagg for this remarkable performance, but in his own words, this performance was because of his anger.

During the game against Pitts, Flagg landed a dunk so electrifying that we might be looking at a potential dunk of the year. In a recent episode of ESPN’s 99.9 The Fan podcast, Dennis Cox said, “[the dunk] reminded me of, like a Zion kind of play because how it sparked Cameron. It was one of those moments tonight,” comparing Flagg’s performance to the iconic Zion Williamson.

The ex-Delaware Tim Donnelly quickly dismissed his stance. “Yeah, let’s not compare it to a Zion dunk,” he said.

In the second half with 17:35 remaining, Flagg flaunted his two-way abilities. He got a pass from Pitt guard Jaland Lowe and took the ball coast-to-coast past Lowe toward the basket, where only Guillermo Diaz Graham was standing in his way.

Flagg took off viciously and threw down a vicious poster dunk over Graham. The crowd electrified in celebration but let’s be honest, fans can never forget the late-game show-stopping 360 windmill dunk that Williamson landed against the Phoenix Suns in 2022.

Tim Donnelly also opened up about his thoughts on the Blue Devil’s performance. “Duke has won its first five ACC games by double digits. That’s the first time they’ve done that since the 1998-99 season. Their average margin of victory in those five games their first five conference games is 23.2 first time,” said Donnelly. The Blue Devils lead their conference, at least so far, raising fans’ expectations for the rest of the season.

Their only two losses- against Kentucky and Kansas have been extremely narrow. The close losses show that the current Blue Devils roster certainly possesses the talent to win neck-to-neck matchups. And if masterclasses like these continue, the Blue Devils can go all the way this year. But for now, let’s talk about the dunk that stole the show and what Flagg has to say about it.

Cooper Flagg’s early candidate for Dunk of the Year

The crowd erupted into an uproar after Flagged made a lightning dunk that is now one of the highlights of the season. As the crowd roared, Khaman Maluach among others proceeded to chest bump Flagg to celebrate but what made him deliver the jaw-dropping move? In one word – anger.

“It was definitely a little anger, and I took it out on the rim. To be honest, I kind of felt like as soon as I jumped, my mind kind of went blank and it just all happened really fast,” said Flagg after the game.

The amazing dunk was apparently a result of his anger at the foul he had earlier in the game. “I was kind of mad at myself for a stupid foul,” Flagg added. His resilience after the foul and the frustration that brought him to an energetic dunk speaks dozens about his rich acumen.

“He gets angry, but he’s loose at the same time,” head coach Jon Scheyer said later. Cooper Flagg has been a great addition to the Duke Blue Devils. It looks like the 18-point-averaging guard has learned to perform amazingly under pressure and hit back after multiple fouls.

The Devils are currently looking at a challenging January schedule, including a game against North Carolina, but for now, they might be looking at a slightly easier game against Notre Dame on Saturday. Let’s hope for more such iconic dunks by our diaper dandy.