Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Countdown to Craziness on October 3, 2025 at 7 p.m.
/
7 p.m.
Men's Basketball
vs Countdown to Craziness
.png&width=24&height=24&type=webp)
Cooper Flagg Named National Player and Freshman of the Year by CollegeInsider.com
4/2/2025 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN ANTONIO -Â Duke men's basketball freshman Cooper Flagg has been named the winner of the Lute Olson and Kyle Macy awards, given to the National Player and Freshman of the Year, respectively, by CollegeInsider.com, the organization announced on Wednesday, April 2. Flagg is the first player in the history of the two awards to win both in the same season.
A native of Newport, Maine, Flagg becomes the first Blue Devil to be named National Player of the Year and the sixth Blue Devil to earn National Freshman of the Year honors from CollegeInsider.com.
Flagg, who turned 18 years old in December 2024, is the top-rated player by EvanMiya with a combined offensive and defensive performance rating of 10.81, while also leading the KenPom Player of the Year standings with a 2.711 rating.
The 6-9, 205-pound freshman leads No. 1 Duke in points (682), rebounds (271), assists (151) and steals (50), and is second in blocks (47). He ranks among the ACC's top-10 in four of the five major statistical categories - scoring (3rd), rebounding (9th), assists (8th) and blocked shots (8th). He garnered both ACC player and rookie of the week honors in the same week five times this season, becoming the first player in ACC history to sweep the conference weekly awards more than twice. His 12 ACC Rookie of the Week citations are a new conference record.
Flagg became the youngest player in NCAA history to post a 40-point game when he broke the Duke and ACC freshman single-game scoring records with 42 points versus Notre Dame on Jan. 11 and registered the first NCAA Tournament performance with at least 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three blocks in Duke's Sweet 16 victory over Arizona on March 27 en route to being named East Region Most Outstanding Player.
With his CollegeInsider.com honors, Flagg has now been voted both the National Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards by three organizations, having already earning the accolades from the United State Basketball Writers Associated (USBWA) and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Flagg also swept the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year awards and is Duke's first consensus First Team All-American since Williamson and RJ Barrett in 2019.
The Lute Olson Award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997. The Kyle Macy Award is named for a guard who starred as a freshman for Purdue. The 1975 Indiana "Mr. Basketball" played his freshman season at Purdue University, averaging 13.8 points per game while leading the Boilermakers in free throws (85.9 percent for the season). He started in 25 of 27 games, helping them to a 16-11 season record.
Both awards are voted on by a panel made up of current Division I coaches, athletic administrators, and senior College Insider staff members.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
#GoDuke
Â
A native of Newport, Maine, Flagg becomes the first Blue Devil to be named National Player of the Year and the sixth Blue Devil to earn National Freshman of the Year honors from CollegeInsider.com.
Flagg, who turned 18 years old in December 2024, is the top-rated player by EvanMiya with a combined offensive and defensive performance rating of 10.81, while also leading the KenPom Player of the Year standings with a 2.711 rating.
The 6-9, 205-pound freshman leads No. 1 Duke in points (682), rebounds (271), assists (151) and steals (50), and is second in blocks (47). He ranks among the ACC's top-10 in four of the five major statistical categories - scoring (3rd), rebounding (9th), assists (8th) and blocked shots (8th). He garnered both ACC player and rookie of the week honors in the same week five times this season, becoming the first player in ACC history to sweep the conference weekly awards more than twice. His 12 ACC Rookie of the Week citations are a new conference record.
Flagg became the youngest player in NCAA history to post a 40-point game when he broke the Duke and ACC freshman single-game scoring records with 42 points versus Notre Dame on Jan. 11 and registered the first NCAA Tournament performance with at least 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three blocks in Duke's Sweet 16 victory over Arizona on March 27 en route to being named East Region Most Outstanding Player.
With his CollegeInsider.com honors, Flagg has now been voted both the National Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards by three organizations, having already earning the accolades from the United State Basketball Writers Associated (USBWA) and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Flagg also swept the ACC Player and Rookie of the Year awards and is Duke's first consensus First Team All-American since Williamson and RJ Barrett in 2019.
The Lute Olson Award is named in honor of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who won 776 games in 34 seasons, 24 of which were spent at the University of Arizona. During that stretch he led the Wildcats to 11 Pac-10 Conference titles, 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, four Final Four appearances and a National Championship in 1997. The Kyle Macy Award is named for a guard who starred as a freshman for Purdue. The 1975 Indiana "Mr. Basketball" played his freshman season at Purdue University, averaging 13.8 points per game while leading the Boilermakers in free throws (85.9 percent for the season). He started in 25 of 27 games, helping them to a 16-11 season record.
Both awards are voted on by a panel made up of current Division I coaches, athletic administrators, and senior College Insider staff members.
To stay up to date with Blue Devils men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching "DukeMBB".
#GoDuke
Â
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's BasketballJon Scheyer Press Conference: Summer 2025
Tuesday, July 08
Duke vs Houston: Press Conference
Sunday, April 06
Duke vs Alabama: East Region Champions Press Conference
Wednesday, April 02
Duke vs Arizona: Duke Press Conference
Friday, March 28
