The Duke Blue Devils, under head coach Jon Scheyer, put together an exceptional 2024–25 campaign—cruising through ACC play and making a deep run to the Final Four. While their season ended in disappointment with a late-game collapse against Houston, the team’s overall performance was a testament to their talent and cohesion.
Even without a national title, Duke’s season was filled with major accomplishments—none bigger than the emergence of freshman phenom Cooper Flagg, widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Flagg etched his name into the history books during his lone season in Durham. He became just the fourth player ever to earn both ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season. In addition, he collected several National Player of the Year awards and earned one more unique distinction on Thursday: the ACC announced that Flagg is the first player in Duke history to lead the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks for a single season.
He finished his freshman campaign averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field, 38.5% from three, and 84% at the free-throw line.
Flagg poured in 27 points to lead all scorers in the semifinal against Houston but missed a potential game-winner in the closing seconds. Despite the heartbreaking ending, he reflected positively on the season.
“It was an incredible season,” Flagg said after the loss. “Incredible people, incredible relationships that I’m going to have for the rest of my life. Didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but still an incredible year.”