The Duke Blue Devils are the team to beat in all of college basketball right now. Jon Scheyerâs team will enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 team in the entire nation.
Of course, a lot of that has to do with Cooper Flagg, whoâs had a stellar freshman season at Durham, averaging 19.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, four assists, and 1.2 blocks per game.
With that in mind, Illinois coach Brad Underwood made a case for Flagg to return to college next season, citing that he could do for the menâs game what Caitlin Clark did for womenâs college hoops.
Cooper Flagg can be the Caitlin Clark of male college basketball
âIf he stays in college, Flagg is destined to become the face of college basketball and elevate the game, much like Caitlin Clark did on the womenâs side,â coach Underwood said.
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark.
Needless to say, itâs not like Caitlin Clark chose to stay in Iowa. The WNBA has different eligibility rules, and she wasnât eligible to enter the WNBA Draft before last season.
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Thatâs not the case with Flagg, whoâs projected to be the first-overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, so his chances of waiving that off to return to college seem slim at best right now.
