Jayson Tatum Offers Advice to Duke Basketball Star Cooper Flagg
After an impressive week averaging 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks, Duke basketball freshman Cooper Flagg helped extend the Blue Devils’ winning streak to 12 games — their longest since the 2014-15 championship season. On Monday, Flagg was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the seventh time this season, marking four wins in the last five weeks and seven out of 11 overall. Notably, many of these accolades came before the Maine native celebrated his 18th birthday last month.
With such a bright future ahead, including a likely NBA career, Boston Celtics star and former Duke one-and-done Jayson Tatum had some words of wisdom for Flagg during a conversation on The Brotherhood Podcast with Celtics assistant and Duke alum Amile Jefferson.
“You’re so close to achieving your ultimate dream of playing in the NBA,” Tatum said. “You can feel it — it’s only about 10 months away. But the NBA isn’t going anywhere. He’s going to get drafted and do amazing things.
“Once you leave college, you leave. Those moments at Duke — playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium, going to Chapel Hill, traveling with your teammates — are priceless. Once they’re gone, you can’t get them back. I really missed it after I left.”
Tatum emphasized the importance of savoring the present: “Enjoy the moment and stay grounded because time flies, and you’ll never get those experiences again.”
With only 13 regular season games remaining, Flagg and the No. 2-ranked Blue Devils (16-2, 8-0 ACC) are gearing up for a challenging road game against Wake Forest (15-4, 7-1 ACC) this Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Leave a Reply