The world of college basketball stopped spinning when Cooper Flag went down with a left ankle injury in the first half of Duke’s ACC tournament quarterfinal win on Georgia Tech on Thursday.
Freshman Finome was helped in the locker room, then was later seen in the wheelchair, and eventually did not return to the second half. Blue Devils also lost Malik Brown, who was rushed to the hospital after a shoulder injury.
Duke’s coach John Share told the media that the X-rays of the flag were negative, showing that it is a sprain, but it is a “real-long shot” that he returns to Friday’s semi-finals. With uncertainty around the position of both players, Jeff Borzelo, who is the weight of Lunardi and Myron Medalf, is that these developments may be selected for Sunday and beyond Blue Devils.
How can Duke’s seeding be affected when the condition of Cooper Flag on Sunday night is uncertain?
Joe Lunardi: The selection committee will wait as long as possible for the information and adjust the bracket position of the Duke accordingly. If he does not return to the ACC tournament, as the stock has indicated, but with a forecast to play early in the NCAA tournament, I estimate that Blue Devils will maintain their potential number 1 seed-it will take close absence to change the absence of the services of the flag.
Jeff Borzelo: If the Duke wins the ACC tournament without a flag, there will be not much question here. But if Blue Devils lost in Friday’s semi-finals-and Houston, Florida and Michigan State each won their conference tournament-can it potentially leave them in a 2-seed line? It seems that there is no possibility, but the committee hopes that there are more answers than questions till Sunday night.
Myron medcalf: Earlier this week, Bubba Cunningham – Athletic Director of North Carolina and Chairman of the Selection Committee said that it is important to note that each member has a separate set of criteria that they prefer on Sunday. He said, if we get information that the ankle injury of the flag can rotate, then it can affect the conversation about the overall number 1 seed. Except for any update that will indicate the flag, it may be for a longer stretch, it is suspected that this news will erase the entire body of Duke’s work from the season and take away the blue devils of that top seed.
The stock said it is a “real -long shot” that plays in the semi -finals of the flag Friday. If you are a Scheyer, will you also consider a sitting flag for a Saturday final?
Borzello: I can go one step further and sit him until the second round of the NCAA tournament, depending on how things look in the coming days and next week. As mentioned above, it is unlikely that Blue Devils will lose their location on the 1-Cid line-and they probably do not need a flag to send 16-seeds in the first round of the tournament. But it will all depend on what the ankle of the flag looks like on Friday morning and how he can manage swelling and pain.
Medcalf: Absolutely. Scheyer is also thinking about the future of the flag at the next level – there is no reason to play another game until the second round of the NCAA tournament. He will give her more than a week to relax. And Duke will be fine till then. Nevertheless, it is worth repeating that we do not know enough to understand the severity of the injury and what it can mean for flags and dukes.
How will the possible absence of flag and brown affect Duke’s game plan?
Borzello: This will actually reduce Duke’s frontcourt. With full force, Blue Devils have a correct rotation-a balanced initial five, a quick effect on the veterans and the bench, scorer, plus size and foul down. The absence of the flag clearly hurt Duke to court, with his playmaking ability and his off-ball awareness on the defensive side at the aggressive end. Mason Gillis will see a big role with flag out, as the freshman scorer Yashaya Evans, can just be from a shotmaking perspective. But brown missing time will again force the shareer to use freshman Big Man Patrick Nangongba, who played well against Georgia Tech on Thursday, but is relatively unproven this season.
Medcalf: Stretch without brown before this season demonstrated some defensive issues of this team. Go back to win over Obern on 4 December: Sheer said that Brown played an important role in that game as he could protect Johnny Broom, which meant that Duke did not have to make a odd plan or switch to defense, or foul plants to a weak place for trouble. Brown covered it. How much does he matter to this team. Postsen is important players like him, but flags are the best players in America – Duke is a separate team without him. Yes, Blue Devils will still have lottery pics on their roster, but they are not the last four good without a flag. More than anything, they will need players like Gillis and Nongba to log in to more minutes. And con Knueppel should be aggressive catalysts for this crew, with tyresse proctor, until the return of the flag.
Can a flag injury impact reward run?
Borzello: The speed of the broom towards a fugitive wooden award campaign was stopped when he suffered an ankle injury in the middle of January, opening the door to the flag to take an edge in the race (although the historically good month of the January flag would have created a deep debate). Will the injury affect the polling – which, for the Wooden Award, closes after the first weekend of the NCAA tournament – actually depends on the severity of the injury and how much time the flag takes. Broom was expected to miss several weeks, but was sidelined for only two matches. So far, I personally still flag the flag.
Medcalf: Voters are truly taking their final decisions about wooden awards as we speak, but most have made their possibility of their choice so far. We have seen Broomes and Flag competing for the last four-flag months for the “Best Player in America” title. The broom has been very good, but the flag has been the most influential player in the country. If he is out for an extended period, it can affect the vote for those who have decided that the results of the shampoo week and their decisions in the first and second round of the NCAA tournament will be affected. But remember: During the quarter -final game of Cincinnati in its conference tournament 25 years ago, Kenian Martin had to face a broken leg, and he still won the Wooden Award, although the race for that season was not as close as the broom and flag.
