Duke freshman Cooper Flagg is headed to the NBA as the favorite to be the No. 1 overall draft pick

Duke star Cooper Flagg is headed to the NBA as the favorite to be the No overall draft pick The project publicized Flagg s move in a social media post Monday following a lone college season that saw the -year-old become only the fourth freshman named as The Associated Press national member of the year while leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four Flagg had reclassified to get to Duke a year early and his decision was expected all year even as he generally declined to spell out plans about his professional future as the season pushed into March or mentioned how much fun he had playing in college I mean it s been an incredible year with a really great group of people Flagg informed the AP in March after winning national competitor of the year The -foot- -pound forward from Newport Maine averaged points rebounds assists blocks and steals to lead the Blue Devils in each category He s a versatile threat who revealed the ability to thrive as a scorer playmaker and defender His highlights his statistics the strategies he impacted the match on both ends of the floor really in every category was off the charts as good of a freshman season that a guy has had here Duke coach Jon Scheyer commented in a social media video from the operation about Flagg s NBA declaration But to me the separator and the ecstasy of coaching Cooper is the person he was every day the teammate that he was never about statistics or anything other than creating an circumstances and helping his crew to win The statistical highlight came when Flagg scored points to set an Atlantic Coast Conference freshman record against Notre Dame in January along with having points six rebounds and seven assists to help Duke hold off Arizona in the NCAA Tournament s Sweet There were plenty of impressive single plays too that demanded highlight-reel placement like his transition dunk through a defender against Pittsburgh in January Flagg closed with points and seven rebounds in a loss to Houston in the national semifinals The Blue Devils had led by with about minutes left but faltered late with Houston scoring the competition s last nine points in the final seconds and Flagg missing a late shot for the lead Still he was an elite and hypercompetitive force for one of college basketball s top teams all season with a challenge far more advanced than his age capable of making an impact from baseline to baseline and sideline to sideline He won t turn until December which would be roughly two months into his rookie season Flagg is the third Duke participant to announce an early exit for the NBA in the past week joining freshman wing Kon Knueppel and junior guard Tyrese Proctor