Charlotte – Duke Freshman Cooper Flagg could not end his first ACC tournament on Thursday, and it is up in the air if the Blue Devils will use the conference player for this year’s Friday in the semi -finals.
Flag injured his left ankle with 2:46 left during the first half of Duke’s 78-70 Tournament quarter final Win over Georgia Tech on Thursday and was assisted by the court by teammates. He underwent tests in place, and head coach Jon Scheyer said after the game that the -rays in the ankle were negative.
When it comes to flags can take the court again, it is a matter of endless variables. Friday’s semi -final matchup is “a long shot,” Scheyer said. Blue Devils plays the winner of the game Thursday between No. 4 Seed Wake Forest against No. 5 Frö North Carolina.
Kon Knueppel led a beginner’s attack with a career pile 28 points after receiving a directive from Scheyer to retrieve it during the second half. Knueppel responded with 22 points after interruption and Isaiah Evans added 14 for the game.
“It’s not about a person, it’s not about two people,” Evans said. “It’s about Duke.”
No. 1 in the nation with the NCAA tournament a whole week away did not speculate the Scheyer on the benefits of keeping flags out of the set for the rest of the weekend. A victory Friday would place the Blue Devils in the tournament game Saturday night.
Duke also lost Maliq Brown during the first half with a separated shaft, a repetition of the injury that caused him to play with a heavily wrapped left shoulder and upper arm on Friday. Brown, Scheyer said, was in “a lot of pain” and left the stadium on a stretcher.
Flag, this year’s Atlantic Coast Conference Player, returned to Blue Devils’ bench during the second half under its own power without crutches or a walk.
Knueppel logged 39 minutes, had eight assists, five assists and quickly shifted to another role comfortably when flag went out. He said the mentality of the team for the next two days must be “the next man up.”
“Cons incredible, man,” said Duke’s Zion James. “With Coop Out, more ball management responsibility fell on the cow, and consists one of the most ready, talented teammates I have ever played with.”
Flag left his feet to collect a defensive rebound and landed troublesome on his left leg, and immediately took his upper ankle and lower left rail area. He is excluded from the game, the highest ranked Blue Devils first in the conference tournament on Thursday morning.
At halftime, ESPN’s cameras showed flags that were shot in a wheelchair in the dressing room towards the -ray room. Later he was seen going without help.
Georgia Tech led by as many as 14 during the first half and was up 26-17 when flag went out, and the yellow jackets took a lead 31-26 in half over Duke. It was the season’s largest half -time deficit for Blue Devils.
Before the injury, flag had two points on 1-for-7 shooting but had four returns, two steal and one blocked shot.
Duke missed his first 11 3-point attempt and shot only 2-for-16 from 3-point interval during the first half but came out after half time on a 21-9 run to take a lead of 48-40 with 11:13 left in the second half.
Flag came up, but quickly lifted its left foot from the ground to balance one leg and celebrate with teammates when Blue Devils built an advantage of 54-43 at timeout for 8 years during the second half.
The prominent beginner, 18, is expected to be No. 1 choice in the 2025 NBA draft.
Flag is ranked among the conference’s top 10 this season in points (third, 19.4/game), rebounds (eighth, 7.6), assists (eighth, 4.2), steal (10, 1.5) and block (eighth, 1.3).
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