By now, you have probably heard of Duke freshman Cooper Flagg if you have watched a second of college basketball this season. The 17-year-old forward entered college as one of the most highly anticipated recruits recently and has lived up to that tremendous hype thus far.
Flagg has been far from perfect during the first month of his college career. The lows include two key turnovers in the final minute during a loss to Kentucky last month, while the highs include leading the charge in a 76-65 comeback win over Louisville last weekend. Flagg recorded his fourth double-double of the season, posting 20 points and 12 rebounds in that win.
Flagg also played a key role in Duke’s win over No. 2 Auburn at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Flagg was active on both ends of the floor in the win over the Tigers, recording three steals and two blocks. Flagg made some timely shots down the stretch against one of the best defenses in the country to cap off one of the best performances of his young career.
It’s safe to say that the best is yet to come for the Duke star forward.
Let’s jump into our rankings and get to the latest CBS Sports/USBWA Freshman of the Week for the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Freshman of the Week: Cooper Flagg, Duke
Welcome back to the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the ten most impressive freshmen in college basketball. CBS Sports has once again teamed up with the United States Basketball Writers Association and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to present this every-Tuesday feature. Each week we’ll start by announcing the national Freshman of the Week honoree. The cycle for FOTW runs Tuesday-Monday.
In the win over No. 2 Auburn, Flagg matched his career-high by pulling down 11 rebounds, marking the third time he has grabbed at least 11 rebounds in a game after accomplishing the feat in back-to-back games earlier this season against Army and Kentucky. Flagg followed up that performance by recording 12 rebounds against Louisville to set a new career-high in that department.
Flagg has already shown he’s capable of being a game-wrecker on defense. The next step of his development will be improving his self-creation and isolation scoring. If Flagg can improve in that aspect of his game, no one will catch him in the race for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Previous Freshman of the Week winners
Frosh Watch: Ranking top 10 freshman
1. Cooper Flagg | G/F | Duke
Stats: 17.0 PPG | 9.0 RPG | 3.8 APG
Flagg played a huge role in Duke’s wins over Louisville and Auburn last week. He’s been the best first-year player in the country through the first month of the season and it’s hard to imagine (at this point) someone will dethrone him for that title. Even when he’s not scoring, he can impact the game defensively. Last week: 1
2. Dylan Harper | G | Rutgers
Stats: 23.1 PPG | 4.6 APG | 4.3 RPG
Harper scored 18 points and added four assists, three rebounds and two steals in Rutgers’ loss to Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights have lost four of their last five games after starting the season 4-0. Rutgers faces Penn State next. Last week: 2
3. Tre Johnson | G/F | Texas
Stats: 21.1 PPG | 2.7 RPG | 2.0 APG
Johnson remains one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball. Johnson finished with 24 points and four assists in Sunday’s loss to UConn. Johnson has scored at least 20 points in four games this season and hasn’t finished with less than 16 in any of the first nine games of his college career. Last week: 4
4. Egor Demin | G/F | BYU
Stats: 13.3 PPG | 5.8 APG | 4.6 RPG
Simply put: Demin struggled in his last outing. Demin scored a season-low six points and missed all 10 of his shots from the floor. Demin also recorded a season-low two assists in a blowout loss to Providence on the road. Last week: 3
5. Derik Queen | C | Maryland
Stats: 17.5 PPG | 8.7 RPG | 2.8 APG
Queen makes the biggest jump this week after impressive showings against Ohio State and Purdue. Queen recorded double-doubles in both games, including 26 points and 12 rebounds against the Boilermakers. Queen has been one of the most impressive players in his class and is playing like a Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate. Last week: 9
6. Ace Bailey | G/F | Rutgers
Stats: 17.9 PPG | 6.0 RPG | 1.3 SPG
Bailey recorded 12 points and seven rebounds in the Scarlet Knights’ loss to Ohio State last week. Bailey shot 6 of 16 from the floor and missed his lone shot attempt from beyond the arc. It marked only the second time this season Bailey failed to score at least 15 points. Last week: 5
7. Kasparas Jakučionis | G/F | Illinois
Stats: 14.4 PPG | 6.5 RPG | 6.1 APG
Jakučionis recorded a near triple-double (20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists) in an overtime loss to Northwestern last week. Jakučionis has now scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games. He also has three games with at least seven assists. Last week: 7
8. VJ Edgecombe | G | Baylor
Stats: 11.0 PPG | 5.4 RPG | 3.0 APG
Edgecombe logged a season-low 11 minutes in a blowout win over New Orleans last month due to a hamstring injury. Edgecombe missed Baylor’s game against UConn due to the injury. Last week: 6
9. Boogie Fland | G | Arkansas
Stats: 15.0 PPG | 5.2 APG | 3.8 RPG
Fland scored 18 points and added six assists and four rebounds in a comeback win against Miami. Fland knocked down a clutch jumper with 52 seconds remaining to seal the win. Fland followed it up by recording six points, seven assists and six rebounds in a win over UTSA. Last week: 8
10. Jeremiah Fears | G | Oklahoma
Stats: 16.7 PPG | 4.7 APG | 3.6 RPG
Fears is part of why Oklahoma is off to a 9-0 start. Fears recorded 14 points, seven assists and three steals in his most recent outing against Alcorn State. The former No. 64-ranked player in the 2024 recruiting class by 247Sports has emerged as a breakout star. Last week: NR
