"Cooper Flagg is the truth" - Patrick Beverley hypes up Duke star after stellar performance vs Alabama

Duke is heading to the Final Four for the first time since 2022 after Cooper Flagg led them to an 85-65 win over Alabama on Saturday. Flagg didn't have the best offensive performance, but his defense has made former NBA player Patrick Beverley a believer.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Beverley hyped up Flagg after his solid performance the Blue Devils' win at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

"Cooper Flagg is the truth and he got clamps," Beverley tweeted.

As a three-time All-NBA Defensive Team member, Patrick Beverley knows a thing or two about defense, and it's hard to impress him on that end of the floor. But Cooper Flagg successfully did that in the win against Alabama and earned some high praise from PatBev.

Flagg only had 16 points on 16 shots, struggling to get things going on the offense. However, instead of sulking and taking more field goal attempts, the consensus number one pick in this year's NBA draft turned it up on defense to help the Blue Devils qualify for the Final Four.

Flagg only had one block, but that didn't tell the whole story of his defense. He was making stops and making the right reads on that end of the ball. His work on the perimeter gave Duke the perfect game plan to stop Alabama star Mark Sears, who shot 2-for-12 and only had six points.

Duke is set to face the winner between Houston and Tennessee, while Florida is awaiting the result of the Auburn-Michigan State showdown. This year's Final Four will be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

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Cooper Flagg reacts to Patrick Beverley's revelation about Duke coach Jon Scheyer

Patrick Beverley has known Duke coach Jon Scheyer since they battled it out in high school in Illinois. Beverley was a star in Chicago, while Scheyer played in nearby Northbrook.

The former NBA player recently went viral for revealing that Scheyer's nickname back in his day was "White Mike." Cooper Flagg, who was born in the same year as Scheyer's freshman season at Glenbrook North, wants to do more research before believing the nickname is legitimate.

"I mean, I don't know if I'd call that a nickname," Flagg said. "I don't think anyone's ever actually called him that, I think it was a made-up instance. Unless I see some proof of somebody calling him that, I'm going to say that's not his nickname."

Speaking of nicknames, one that has been floated for Flagg is "The Maine Event," given that he is a native of the state. It remains to be seen whether that will actually catch on.