DURHAM, N.C. — Cooper Flagg said he hadn’t seen enough angles yet to give his monster second-half dunk against Pitt an official grade, but the Duke freshman guessed it was about an 8.5 out of 10.
His teammate Tyrese Proctor went a little further.
“That’s the best in-game dunk I’ve ever seen,” Proctor said. “It might be one of the best dunks, period.”
As soon as No. 4 Duke returned to the locker room after an emphatic 76-47 win over Pitt, Proctor had the dunk pulled up on his phone with the entire team gathered around to watch it again.
Flagg had been frustrated after a low-key first half in which he picked up an early two fouls, sat for an extended period and finished with just five points. He added foul No. 3 with 17:43 to go and was visibly frustrated.
A moment later, he stole a pass near the baseline, drove the length of the court, took off near the top of the key and slammed home the dunk, which electrified the crowd in what Duke coach Jon Scheyer called “a Zion kind of play,” recalling the excitement of former star Zion Williamson’s highlights at Cameron Indoor.
“We’ve had a few guys through the years to make a couple plays that just spark everybody in the building,” Scheyer said. “That was one of those moments tonight.”
Flagg admitted he was “angry” after getting flagged for his third foul, saying he might have taken some frustration out on the rim on the ensuing dunk.
He said he knew by midcourt he was going to score, but it wasn’t until he read the defender in the paint that he decided to dunk. From there, he said, it was a blur.
“I almost blanked out as soon as I jumped, and everything from that was just a flash,” said Flagg, who finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. “I jumped, my mind went blank, and it all happened really fast.”
Flagg peered up at the crowd, which was raucously celebrating the moment, then was engulfed by teammates. Pitt’s Guillermo Diaz Graham was called for a foul on the play, and Flagg made the ensuing free throw. After Pitt missed a layup on the other end, Flagg drilled another dunk to put Duke up by 14 — though the second one wasn’t nearly as acrobatic as the first, which he said was “top three” for him.
“He gets angry, but he’s loose at the same time,” Scheyer said. “He loves being in the arena, but he’s got an edge to him now, and it can go quick. We saw that tonight. He picked up his third [foul] and it just got him going.”
Duke dominated after Flagg’s heroics, outscoring the Panthers 37-21 following the dunk. Flagg’s second half included 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He was plus-16 in the half.
After the game, which Duke finished on an 18-0 run, Scheyer emphasized that there should be no debate over who the best player in the country is at this point.
“He’s proven it with who he’s played and how he’s done it in such a mature way,” Scheyer said. “He’s just so competitive, and he just brings out a lot of good stuff from his teammates.”
