The Cooper Flagg era has begun in Durham.

Flagg and No. 7 Dukes set out A dominant 96-62 win Monday night marked the official start of the 2024-25 men’s college basketball season in Maine. This was a chance for fans to get their first look at the 17-year-old star, who is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in next summer’s NBA Draft. The most anticipated college player in recent memory..

Flagg began his college career at Cameron Indoor Stadium in front of several notable Duke alumni and family, including his twin brother who is still in high school. The Blue Devils’ season opener was also against a university located less than an hour away in their home state of Maine. Flagg is undoubtedly one of the best basketball players to come out of the state. for a long time The AAU coach even likened his rise to the iconic Jamaican bobsled team From the 1988 Olympics.

Flagg finished the game with 18 points and scored the first points of the night from the free throw line in the first minutes.

Despite shooting just 6-of-15 from the field and missing all four of his 3-point attempts, Flagg had a blowout win over the Black Bears. He even threw down a massive one-handed dunk near the end of the first half.

The Blue Devils closed the first half ahead by 11 points. They took the lead smoothly in the second half and took the 34-point victory. Flagg briefly fell to the ground late in the game after going up for a layup, but he apparently told the Duke coach that he had a calf cramp. He was helped off the ground, but was immediately seen smiling and laughing on the bench. The Blue Devils were ahead by 29 points at the time.

Flagg added seven rebounds and five assists. Paving the way for the Blue Devils was Duke freshman Kon Knueppel. Knueppel, one five stars Rivals.com The player from Wisconsin scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half and managed to shoot 5/8 in the first 20 minutes. He also finished the game with 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

As a team, Duke shot better than 55% from the field and six different players scored in double figures in the victory. Sophomore guard Caleb Foster added 11 points and Sion James, a transfer from Tulane, came off the bench to score 11 points.

Monday night wasn’t particularly challenging for either Flagg or the Blue Devils, but it was a great start to head coach Jon Scheyer’s third season with the program. This weekend, they’ll take on Army before key matchups against No. 23 Kentucky, No. 10 Arizona and No. 1 Kansas before Thanksgiving.

But as far as debuts go, Flagg’s was very solid. The Blue Devils should be a major threat in the ACC this season as all the pieces around him appear to be working perfectly right off the bat.