Cooper Flagg joins Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson for special NCAA honor

Duke superstar Cooper Flagg won this year's John R. Wooden Award on Saturday to become the fourth freshman to win the accolade. The 6-foot-9 guard/forward joins current NBA stars Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson, who had won the Wooden Award in their first year in college.

Flagg, who garnered 1,979 votes, beat Auburn's Johni Broome (1,801), Florida's Walter Clayton Jr. (1,124), Alabama's Mark Sears (1,115) and Purdue's Braden Smith (849) for the annual honor given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players.

The Newport, Maine native led the Blue Devils to the ACC regular season and tournament titles and the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They are now competing in the Final Four and will face Houston in tonight's second Final Four encounter.

Flagg, who averages 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists heading into the national semifinal showdown against Houston, dropped 42 points in a regular-season clash against Notre Dame on January 11 to set the ACC freshman record for points in one game.

Cooper Flagg becomes the second Duke player to win the prestigious award in his freshman year, joining Williamson, who won the accolade in 2019. Durant and Davis won the Wooden Award in 2007 and 2012, respectively.

Last year, Purdue's Zach Edey secured his second consecutive Wooden Award to become the second men's player to win the plum back-to-back since Ralph Sampson won it in 1982 and 1983. The first recipient of the award was Marques Johnson in 1977.

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Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony akins Cooper Flagg's run to his NCAA winning surge in 2003

Syracuse Orange legend and NBA star Carmelo Anthony has something to say about Cooper Flagg's 2025 March Madness run. He sees a similar path with Flagg's national title quest.

Anthony, who guided the Orange to its first and only national title in 2003 while he was a freshman, talked about this during the awarding ceremony of the 2025 National Basketball Hall of Fame, and pointed out the journey he had with Syracuse and how it is similar to that of the Montverde Academy standout.

"I think what we are seeing with (Flagg) has some similarities to the run that I had," Anthony said during the Basketball Hall of Fame news conference at the Alamodome.

"I would also like to point out that you've got to take your hat off to (Duke coach Jon Scheyer) too because the way that he was able to orchestrate that team and put the pieces around (Flagg) so he can be able to go out there and flourish and do what he does and become the national player of the year," the former NBA star and Olympic gold medalist added.

Anthony was inducted alongside former Florida Gators and current Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan, prep-to-pro center Dwight Howard, women's basketball greats Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles, Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison and NBA referee Danny Crawford.

Cooper Flagg and his Blue Devils look to win their Final Four clash against Houston and arrange a national championship showdown with Florida, which beat Auburn in the Final Four earlier.