The Duke of Blue Devils Men’s basketball star Cooper Flagg struggled with an eye injury to run a team number 2 in the country on Saturday night to a 35 -point win over the state of Florida.
Flagg knocked in the first half in the middle of a hard offense. He sat down for about 11 minutes but returned to start the second half and finished with 16 points In the 100-65 victory.
Click here for more sports covering on foxnews.com
Duke’s Cooper Flagg responds to a bench after accidentally hitting his face during the first half of the NCAA College basketball game against Florida State in Durham, NC, on Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
“He’s beaten and scratched,” Flagg’s teammate Sion James said. “Cooper is one of the most difficult guys I have ever played with. I believed that if okay, he would come back. He returned and better than ever.”
Duke Jon Scheyer’s head coach described the injury as a bruise.
“As a basketball player, you’re not thinking about an eye injury,” Scheyer said. “It doesn’t occur to you. I never saw him look scared. I thought he was afraid at first, rightly, because you don’t know how serious or lasting I was … I was really nervous about him.”
Duke’s Cooper Flagg (2) and Bostyn Holt, right, Florida State, Battle of the Ball during the second half of the NCAA College Basketball match in Durham, NC, on Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
2025. NCAA Tournament projections: Purdue moves to no. 4 seeds after winning over Ucla
Scheyer added that Flagg has some “vision problems”, which extended his return to the floor. Flagg was not available to talk to reporters after the game.
The Duke star is widely considered a favorite as the best choice in 2025. NBA draft. There are 19.3 points on average, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game this season.
Duke’s Cooper Flagg (2) responds in front of the Christian thread (11) of Florida State (11) after blocking Nitu’s shot in the second half of the NCAA College basketball match in Durham, NC, on Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
Click here to get the Fox News app
Blue devils remain two games in their regular season. They will play Wake Forest on Monday, and on Saturday they will head to North Carolina.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital sports coverage on x, and subscribe to Bilten Fox News Sports Huddle.
