Coach K coached the Duke Blue Devils from 1980 to 2022 and in between, he witnessed several big names like Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williams coming in as freshman.
Despite that, he chose to name Cooper Flagg, who played under Jon Scheyer and not him, when asked about the best freshman to ever play in program's history.
"Cooper, in his freshman year, is definitely the best freshman that has ever played," Coach K said in his appearance on Sirius XM Radio College Sports. "I think he's going to win some — or all — of the Player of the Year awards."
Flagg, who joined Duke as a freshman last season, averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. He shot 48.1% from the field, including 38.5% from the 3-point line. He has declared for the 2025 NBA draft, where he'll be picked by the Dallas Mavericks.
Among the notable exclusions for the best freshman who played at Duke is Flagg's future teammate Kyrie Irving. He joined Duke in the 2010-11 season, averaging 17.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Irving was a relatively better 3-point shooter, making 46% of his shots count. Out of Duke, Irving was picked first overall in the 2011 NBA draft.
Zion Williamson is another name that comes to mind. He was the 2019 consensus National Player of the Year. In his freshman season, he averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He shot 68% from the field, including 33.8% from beyond the arc. He also had 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game.
While Irving's freshman resume pales in comparison to Flagg's, one can argue that Williamson had a better resume.