"Not a franchise player like Dylan Harper": Fans slam Cooper Flagg despite 18-year-old Duke star's special birthday game
The Duke Blue Devils gave Cooper Flagg the perfect present for his 18th birthday, securing an 82-56 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in their ACC showdown on Saturday at McCamish Pavilion. Four starters scored in double figures for the Blue Devils, who improved their overall record to 10-2.
Kon Knueppel led the scoring for Duke, dropping a game-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. Flagg wasn't as effective on the offensive end, scoring just 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting. He also went 1-for-3 from the 3-point line and missed two of his four free-throw attempts.
Cooper Flagg didn’t escape criticism from fans, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to blast his underwhelming performance. Some compared him to Rutgers Scarlet Knights star Dylan Harper.
"2nd or 3rd option in the league. Not a franchise player like Dylan Harper," one fan wrote.
"Harper has that dawg in him and looks more ready to handle the NBA IMO. It's a long season though, anything can happen," another fan claimed.
"DHarp is so much better," one fan replied.
Here are some other reactions to Flagg's showing against Georgia Tech.
"'Generational' players don’t shoot 42/24 splits in college. Zion was much closer to 'generational' than this. Even Paolo was," one fan argued.
"Duke offense is just not the best. They have so much talent and is under utilizing them," one fan pointed out.
"Much more likely to be a bust than a “generational talent” like many have said," another fan wrote.
"Good, but people are doing a disservice by calling him generational. That's too much hype to live up to for where his skillset lands. I see how people turned on Wemby during the summer league game," one user chimed in.
Comparing Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper's starts to 2024-25 NCAA season
Cooper Flagg may not be living up to some fans’ expectations, but he remains a key reason Duke is ranked fifth in the nation. He has been essential for the Blue Devils, averaging 16.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists through 12 games. Flagg has also been a force defensively, averaging 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks.
Dylan Harper has also boosted his NBA draft stock, averaging 23.3 ppg this season. The Rutgers guard is third in the nation in scoring, trailing only Villanova's Eric Dixon and Green Bay's Anthony Roy in that department. He scored 22 points in the Scarlet Knights' 83-82 loss to Princeton on Saturday.