
Duke’s Flagg 4th freshman to win Wooden Award
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Jeff BorzelloApr 5, 2025, 05:03 PM ET Close Basketball recruiting expert.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Graduate of University of Delaware.Duke’s Cooper Flagg on Saturday ended up being
simply the 4th freshman to win the Wood Award as the most exceptional guys’s college basketball player.Flagg edged Auburn’s Johni Broome, while Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr.
, Alabama’s Mark Sears and Purdue’s Braden Smith were the other finalists.Editor’s Picks 2 Related Flagg had been thought about the preferred for the award during the second half
of the season, when he became the most regularly dominant player in the sport in leading Duke to the ACC regular-season and conference competition championships and the program’s first Final 4 look since Mike Krzyzewski retired. He won both ACC Gamer of the Year and Novice of the Year and is the specific leader to be selected No. 1 in June’s NBA draft.He’s averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 helps heading into Saturday’s nationwide semifinal face-off
versus Houston.Flagg’s statement performance came versus Notre Dame in January, when he set the ACC freshman record for points in a game after going
for 42 points, 6 rebounds and 7 helps in a win over the Battling Irish. That getaway highlighted one of the best analytical months recently, as Flagg balanced 25.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.9 helps in the month of January, while shooting 57.9% from the field and 42.9 %from 3-point range.@DukeMBB freshman Cooper Flagg has actually been named the 2025 John R. Wooden Award ® winner, presented by @Principal The live “John R. Wooden Awards
Show presented by Principal “will stream on ESPN+ on Friday, April 11 at 8 p.m. EDT/ 5 p.m. PDT.@Cooper_Flagg pic.twitter.com/XjRFY0EEgZ!.?.!— John R. Wooden
Award(@WoodenAward )April 5, 2025 After suffering an ankle injury in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament, Flagg missed the semifinal and championship games however has actually regained his top form
in the NCAA competition. He had an excellent efficiency against Arizona in the Sugary food 16, finishing with 30 points, 6 rebounds and 7 helps in a win over the Wildcats.Flagg is the very first freshman to win the Wooden Award given that Duke’s Zion Williamson in 2019. The other freshmen to win it are Kentucky’s Anthony Davis in 2012 and Texas ‘Kevin Durant in 2007. The men’s John R. Wooden Award has been offered every
year since 1977, starting with UCLA star Marques Johnson. Purdue’s Zach Edey won it in each of the past 2 years, ending up being just the second guys’s player to win the award two times, signing up with Ralph Sampson(
1982, 1983 ).