Cooper Flagg was the most talked-about player in all of college basketball last season. He lived up to the hype by leading Duke in every major statistical category.
Jon Scheyer’s team looked poised to win the whole thing and reclaim the national championship for the first time since 2022. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and some blamed Flagg for it.
With the clock expiring and an opportunity to advance to the championship game, Flagg missed the biggest shot of his collegiate career. Even so, he’s not going to cry over the spilled milk.
Cooper Flagg won’t beat himself up over final botched possession in college
“I’m not going to beat myself up over whether I could have taken one more dribble or whether I could have done something different,” Flagg told Sports Illustrated. “It was a tough shot, but I don’t think you’re going to get an easy shot in that opportunity. If you look at any game-winner at any level, I don’t think there’s a lot of wide-open [ones]. You get to a spot, you raise up, and you trust the work that you put in over time. I’m just going to live with what I trusted.”
Notably, that wasn’t the only time Flagg had a chance to lead his team with the ball in his hands down the stretch and failed, but that’s all a part of growing and learning.
Now, he’s about to turn pro, and he can’t allow himself to dwell on the past or focus on what could’ve been. You have to have a short memory if you want to succeed in this business.