Trailing Cooper Flagg by $900K, Marquette Star Defies NBA Draft Odds To Dominate NPOY Race

The 2025 NBA Draft is heating up with one prospect after another, and it’s only December. Duke standout Cooper Flagg, largely expected to be the No. 1 prospect next year, is facing competition from all around the country. Although transitioning to college was expected to be a learning curve and there have been challenges no doubt, the 17-year-old Blue Devils shooting guard is taking it all in stride. And amid this, a new name from Marquette is rising.

In the latest episode of The Field of 68: After Dark, the hosts discuss the best player in college. Randolph Childress’ choice is clear – Kam Jones. Although there are cheers for Auburn’s Johni Broome as well, the Marquette star was the number-one choice. Rob Dauster, who originally chose Broome as well, even goes on to say, “I would go with Kam Jones as my breakout star.”

“Because I think the step forward that he’s taking, going from being a guy where he was a scorer that people had questions about – like can he actually run a team? – to you know if we’re talking about the National Player of the Year right now?, it’s Johni Broome and Kam Jones. Those are the two dudes. He took a huge leap this season and I don’t think enough people appreciate it.”

Jones has helped the Golden Eagles stay undefeated so far this season and scored his second double-double of the season and was just shy of his second triple-double as well. A natural scorer with impressive offense, Sports Illustrated picked him as a second-round pick in their draft in July. On the NIL front, he’s listed at $2 million, just 900k behind Cooper Flagg’s $2.9 million.

But even if he’s competing with not just the first round but the projected No. 1 pick, Jones dominates. “He’s a natural scorer,” MU head coach Shaka Smart had said after Marquette’s win over Purdue. “But he’s also someone who has become a very willing passer.”

On the other hand, where Kameron Jones is rising to the top, so is 17-year-old Cooper Flagg. But where Jones is 22 and has reached this stage after gaining quite a bit of experience, the Duke freshman is learning the ropes of college hoops.

“We’re just going to keep learning…”: Cooper Flagg of Duke’s recent troubles

The Blue Devils are 5-2 this season after losing two tough games to No. 4 Kentucky and No. 1 Kansas. And while some would put the blame on Cooper Flagg, who’s a rookie still and not turning over at the rate he’s expected to, the young player himself is not overly concerned. For him, it’s all a learning curve.

“I think for us, it’s just about experience,” Flagg said. “We have some people, me included, that haven’t been in these types of situations before. So we’re just going to keep learning, keep doing our best. We trust each other, we trust the plays coach is calling. It just comes down to us executing and getting the shots that we want. And just comes with experience.”

Flagg’s teammates agree and know it will take everyone on the court, not just one person, for Duke to win consistently. Auburn will be their next challenge now and coach John Scheyer will make sure the team is not “soft” and goes on strong right from the beginning. The No.2 ranked team will certainly not be going easy on them!