Is the national player of the year race between Cooper

Jeff Borzello Close Jeff Borzello ESPN Staff Author Basketball recruiting expert. Signed up with ESPN in 2014. Graduate of University of Delaware.Myron Medcalf Close Myron Medcalf ESPN Personnel Writer Covers college basketball Signed up with ESPN.com in 2011 Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato Mar 7, 2025, 08:30

• AM ET At the midway point of the
• 2024-25 men’s college basketball
• season, the player of the year race seemed just about over. Auburn’s Johni Broome was the best player on the best group in the nation, averaging career highs in points, rebounds and helps while blocking nearly three shots per game.Then whatever altered on Jan. 11. Broome suffered an ankle injury versus South Carolina, while Duke’s Cooper Flagg had among the biggest breakout games of any freshman in college basketball history: 42 points, 6 rebounds and 7 helps in a win over Notre Dame. While Broome ultimately missed out on only 2 complete games with his injury, what seemed a crowning for the huge guy suddenly became an actual race.For the majority of the previous number of months, neither player provided an inch. Flagg produced a historic January, and Broome regularly installed huge numbers against the No. 1 schedule and the No. 1 league in the nation. In the previous week, however, Flagg has pulled

  away while Broome has produced back-to-back single-digit scoring efforts.Is the race over? ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf make the case for– and versus– both Flagg and Broome. Who do they select for nationwide player of the year, after all is stated and done?

  The case for Flagg

  Flagg has lived up to the hype. Blessed as the No. 1 player in his high school class and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft from the minute he reclassified in August of 2023, Flagg has not disappointed. We captured some flak at first for selecting Flagg as the No. 1 player in college basketball going into the season over 2024 ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis, however the dispute ended rapidly when the season started.Editor’s Picks 2 Related Flagg has actually

  created among the very best freshman seasons of all time, winning ACC Rookie of the Weekhonors 11 times and sweeping Rookie of the Week and Gamer of the Week honors 5 times. He set an ACC freshman record with 42 points against Notre Dame in January, and he has scored a minimum of 20 points on 13 celebrations. He had 26 points and 11 rebounds in his third profession game, against Kentucky, and 24 points on the roadway at Arizona a week later. He likewise had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists in a win against Broome and Auburn.And, regardless of those substantial games in the opening weeks of the project, Flagg has been even much better in ACC play. He’s 2nd in the ACC in scoring (21.5 PPG), 10th in rebounding (7.0 RPG) and seventh in helps (4.3 APG), while likewise ranking fourth in field goal percentage and shooting 45.1% from 3-point variety. His total numbers in the month of January ran out this world: 25.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.9 helps, 57.9% from the field and 42.9% from 3. Flagg’s enhancement from 3-point variety has actually taken his game to a different level. He went from shooting 25.9% from beyond the arc in November and 27.3% in December to 42.9% in January and 50% in February.

  play 2:42 How does Flagg compare to previous freshman Wood Award winners?Seth Greenberg and Sean Farnham break down what makes Duke star freshman Cooper Flagg a strong candidate for the Wooden Award

Then there’s the defensive numbers. Flagg entered college with a track record as an elite off-ball defender who covers ground incredibly rapidly. Which has actually stayed the case. He ranks in the leading 25 in the ACC in both block percentage and take portion, and his defensive impulses are one of the main factors Duke has one of the top 5 defenses in college basketball. He’s second in protective win shares according to Basketball Reference, 3rd in protective box plus/minus and second in defensive ranking. Broome edges Flagg on the offensive end but is nowhere to be found in the protective categories.From a statistical point of view, Flagg is the clear winner. His KenPom Player of the Year score is 2.911– the highest rating in the site’s database dating back to 2012-13. The last point in Flagg’s favor

? How both players are ending up the season. Flagg just opted for 28 points, 8 rebounds, 7 helps, 3 blocks and 2 takes in a win over Wake Forest as Duke is playing its most dominant basketball of the campaign. Broome, on the other hand, is struggling. He balanced just 8.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in Auburn’s previous two games.Men’s Tournament Challenge Register now to play the # 1 Guy’s bracket game for FREE!$135,000 in rewards.