Duke Star Freshman Sets Another Record

Duke freshman guard/forward Cooper Flagg set an ACC record, winning his 11th Rookie of the Week honor of the season, the conference announced on Monday, Feb. 24. The freshman was also named Co-Player of the Week, sweeping the weekly awards for the fifth time this season.

With his 11th Rookie of the Week recognition of the season, Flagg surpassed Kenny Anderson (Georgia Tech, 1990), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina, 2006) and Jabari Parker (Duke, 2014) as ACC freshmen to win the award 10 times. Flagg expanded his lead for most Player of the Week awards by any ACC freshman and is now tied for second-most Player of the Week recognitions for a Duke player in a single season, joining Elton Brand (1999).

During Duke’s 2-0 week against Virginia and Illinois, Flagg averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.0 blocked shot per game, while shooting 13-of-26 (.500) from the field and 6-of-7 (.857) from the free-throw line.

The freshman registered his seventh double-double of the season during an 80-62 victory at Virginia (Feb. 17) by amassing 17 points and a season-best 14 rebounds, along with two assists, two steals and two blocks. In his debut at Madison Square Garden (Feb. 22), Flagg tallied 16 points, seven boards and five assists, as the Blue Devils beat Illinois, 110-67, the Fighting Illini’s largest margin of defeat in program history.

Over the last 11 seasons (since the start of 2013-14), Duke has had an ACC Rookie of the Week in 97 of a possible 202 weeks (48.0%). Twenty-six different Blue Devils have won the award at least once in that time. The Blue Devils have now had an ACC Player of the Week 152 total times, second most in the league, trailing only North Carolina (157).

A native of Newport, Maine, Flagg shared this week’s ACC Player of the Week recognition with Donald Hand Jr., of Boston College.

No. 2 Duke (24-3, 15-1 ACC) concludes a three-game stretch away from home, playing at Miami (6-21, 2-14 ACC) on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Tip off at the Watsco Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.