Charlotte, nc — Duke Freshman Cooper Flagg suffered an injury to his left ankle In the first half of the quarter -final match of the Thursday ACC tournament against Georgia Tech. Flagg rolled up his left ankle while going down a rebound and immediately caught the injury area while twisted in pain on the ground.
Flagg left the court following the injury and was brought back to the Duke’s locker room by two Blue Devil walks. The first national player of the year was later seen in a wheelchair coming out of a X -ray room inside the depths of the Charlotte Spectrum center.
The radiographs were negative, according to Duke Jon Scheyer coach.
Flagg would go back to Duke’s bench later but will not enter the match. The Blue Devils beat the Yellow Jackets 78-70 and will play the winner of UNC Wake Forest Friday evening.
“I already know how it is wired,” said Scheyer about the Flagg status for Friday’s match and the rest of the tournament. “And look, to be honest with you, I should be, like, convinced by everyone in the locker room when I come back there that he should play. It is not worth it. It is not.
“Again, it was already swollen. It is not a question of being ready to leave tomorrow. It is not the most important thing for us. We must see if we can do it well for this race that we can do in the tournament.
“But I should be really convinced that we should even consider seeing if he can go tomorrow. He may not be able to go there anyway. He will probably not be able to go there anyway. But I think it’s a very long time.”
Cooper Flagg Buthury Update: X-Rays negative after Duke Star leaves the game of the ACC tournament with the ankle step
Kyle Boone
After the match, the Duke players reacted in the locker room and on the podium at the Flagg’s injury and what should happen if the first year cannot go.
Junior Duke Guard Tyrese Proctor:
What is the state of mind with flagg potentially tomorrow?
“The same thing we have done all year round, our defense trips, we were able to eliminate the points of the painting and see who we play after this match. The main thing is the defense. The attack will come.”
What do you say in the group after Brown And Flagg done?
“Just look for them. We had guys all year round, here and there. This is not what you want, but we play for them now, in their own way.”
What was your initial reaction when you saw Flagg drop?
“It’s the same thing when I saw Maliq go down – you pray for them and hope that bad is (really) bad with them … He is our teammate, he is our brother.”
First -year student Duke Wing Kon Knuel
On flagg -free adjustments:
“It will be more difficult … We must be tighter defensively. We may have to change our way of offending, of course. But we will worry this evening … It’s a big adjustment. He is the best player in the country.”
What was your reaction when you saw Flagg drop? What was your head?
“I haven’t seen him go down right away. I saw him on the ground. I was turned upside down, but there is not really time to react during the match.”
Duke Guard Sion James graduate
How do you manage the emotional roller coaster mountains in Flagg and Brown wounds?
“We managed it in the same way as we managed everything this year. Together and we are connected. We knew that there was going to be adversity throughout the tournament and that things were not going to go as planned, but we stayed together, and I am proud of the guys for that.”
What was your reaction when you saw Flagg drop?
“Cooper is one of the most difficult guys I know. We know that he will rebound as soon as possible.”
First -year student Duke Wing Isaiah Evans
What has crossed your mind when you saw Cooper get off? What did you think? What was your reaction?
“Oh, guy, it hurt to see one of my brothers going down. We just want to be played in the ball. This is what we like to do, so when someone goes down, it’s difficult. Same thing with Maliq. We just told each other, we have, we are going to get you and we have.
What does that said about this team that you could – I think that when Cooper fell, you were nine years old, but that you were able to rally and win this match?
“I think it just shows that we are a real team. It is not really a person or two people. It is Duke. Duke will manage business all the time. This is what we came here to do, we came here to play ball. No matter the circumstances, whatever happens throughout the game, we will continue to play.”
