Duke's Cooper Flagg set to play in first round of NCAA Tournament

Cooper Flagg has no injury designation and will be active for Duke against No. 16 Mount St. Mary's at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday. 

"I had an MRI, X-Ray, both of those looked really good. So, from then it was just moving on, pain-tolerance type of things, just getting the recovery and treatment that I needed."

Flagg added that he was building up his ankle again by "jumping back into practice," as well as individual workouts on the side. He had a full practice on Wednesday, which ultimately confirmed he's ready to go. 

This is where the injury was trending for Flagg, but when it initially happened, Blue Devils fans were holding their collective breath, as their national title hopes would've taken a major impact if he couldn't play in the tournament. 

Head coach Jon Scheyer also noted that Flagg wanted to play in the ACC title game, but Duke decided to hold him out. Now that he's seen his star pupil in practice, Scheyer explained that his return to play was "about him being able to move properly."

"We built him up slowly and really progressed him the right way, but he's ready to go."

Flagg was a consensus All-American during the 2024-25 campaign, as well as the current favorite to win Player of the Year after averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. 

Flagg is the team leader in every one of those categories.