NEW YORK (AP) — Cooper Flagg has certainly lived up to the hype. So it seems a foregone conclusion the freshman phenom from Duke will become the top pick in this year’s NBA draft.
Illinois coach Brad Underwood has a different idea.
“I hope he stays in school. I mean, if I’m the NCAA or the ACC, I’m figuring out an NIL deal to keep that dude in school, because he’s everything that’s right about our game,” Underwood said Saturday night after his team got blown out by Flagg and the third-ranked Blue Devils.
“Somebody threw out some story about it. I hope he stays. Man, he’d be great. He could probably make more here than he could in the NBA. He’s also got really good people around him, and that helps.”
With about 50 professional scouts on hand for a game featuring multiple elite prospects, Flagg had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists in his Madison Square Garden…
