Boston Celtics and former Duke star Jayson Tatum had excessive reward for present Duke star Cooper Flagg.
“The first impression I had of Coop was just how hard he played, how he competed,” Tatum, 27, stated throughout a current look on “New Heights.”
“In high school, it’s rare to see a guy that wants to guard the other best player, trying to block every shot, rebounding. And he just plays the right way,”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Duke Blue Devils ahead Cooper Flagg (2) dunks the ball in the course of the first half in opposition to the Baylor Bears within the second spherical of an NCAA Event sport at Lenovo Heart March 23, 2025. (Zachary Taft/Imagn Photographs)
The Celtics star stated he first noticed Flagg play throughout his summer season camp two years in the past.
“He has a great feel for the game. He knows how to set a screen. He knows when to cut. He likes to get his teammates involved, and it’s been on full display all season and a big reason why they have a chance to win a championship,” Tatum stated.
Flagg has been the catalyst of a Duke group that’s 33-3 and within the Candy 16.
The star freshman was a consensus All-American in the course of the 2024-25 marketing campaign and is the favourite to win Participant of the Yr after averaging 18.9 factors, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per sport.
Duke Blue Devils ahead Cooper Flagg (2) controls the ball as Baylor Bears ahead Norchad Omier (15) defends in the course of the second half within the second spherical of the NCAA Event at Lenovo Heart March 23, 2025. (Zachary Taft/Imagn Photographs)
Nonetheless, Flagg sustained an ankle harm in Duke’s win over Georgia Tech within the ACC match quarterfinals and missed the remainder of the ACC match. Duke nonetheless prevailed to win it.
Flagg returned from the harm in Duke’s dominant 93-49 win over No. 16-seeded Mount St. Mary’s and performed 22 minutes, scoring 14 factors and registering seven rebounds, 5 assists and a block.
Within the spherical of 32, Flagg performed 29 minutes in Duke’s 89-66 win over Baylor. Flagg had 18 factors, 9 rebounds, six assists and one block within the win.
Duke will depend on Flagg within the Candy 16, the place the Blue Devils face No. 4-seeded Arizona Thursday at 9:40 p.m. ET.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Boston Celtics ahead Jayson Tatum (0) spins previous Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis (23) within the second quarter on the Golden 1 Heart March 24, 2025. (Edmondson/Imagn Photographs)
Tatum, who performed at Duke for one season in 2016-2017, was unable to win a title in his lone yr of school basketball.
The St. Louis native averaged 16.8 factors, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per sport in 29 video games. Tatum was the No. 3 total decide by the Celtics within the 2017 NBA Draft.
Tatum has spent all eight seasons of his NBA profession with the Celtics, has been named to the All-Star group six occasions and was a key cog within the Celtics’ title run final season.
Comply with Fox Information Digital’s sports activities protection on X, and subscribe to the Fox Information Sports activities Huddle publication.
