“People be saying Cooper Flagg cause of media”: Fans react as 5-star Darryn Peterson, Tyran Stokes and more pick Dylan Harper
Cooper Flagg took a back seat several 5-star high school prospects and recruits chose Dylan Harper as the best college hooper in the current landscape over the top player in the 2024 talent pool.
In the latest video interview montage posted on BR Hoops' Instagram handle on Tuesday, Kansas signee and No. 3 prospect in 2025 Darryn Peterson, top 2026 prospects Tyran Stokes and Tajh Ariza, (No. 1 and No. 3, respectively) and more picked the Rutgers guard. Only Chris Cenac Jr. considered Flagg as a contender but also mentioned Harper.
Fans rushed to the comment section to back up the young athletes' picks:
"EXACTLY WHAT IM SAYING DYL ALL THE WAYYYYYY🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥," a fan wrote.
"People be saying Coop cause of media," another fan commented.
"Your peers always know who’s the best player," another fan wrote.
Few fans advocated for Cooper Flagg as the best college player:
"These must’ve been asked after the Notre dame Alabama games early on lol," a fan commented.
"I like it, hope nobody says Coop and Coop keeps balling while everyone else sleep on him. All they see is points and that’s cool and all because I’m looking at the wins & the team value, and loving everything Coop is doing," another fan wrote.
"They all know it’s cooper 😂😂😂😂😂😂 🧢," another fan commented.
Comparing Dylan Harper and Cooper Flagg's numbers
Dylan Harper leads Cooper Flagg in overall season scoring. The Rutgers guard (15th in NCAA) is averaging 20.0 points, 5.2 boards and 4.4 assists on 50% shooting in 16 games.
On the other hand, Flagg (30th in NCAA) is averaging 19.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.9 dimes on 47.9% efficiency.
However, Flagg has a massive lead when it comes to overall team success and conference play. Duke (14-2, 6-0 in ACC) has won two of four ranked contests. Rutgers have lost all three of their ranked games for a 9-8 record (2-4 in Big Ten).
Cooper Flagg has improved his production during the ACC play, averaging 23.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists on 57.5% shooting across six conference games. Dylan Harper's numbers have declined to 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists on 41.2% shooting in five Big Ten games.