"Definitely was a little angry and took it out on the rim": Cooper Flagg gets candid on Pittsburgh poster dunk

Cooper Flagg sent Duke fans inside Cameron Indoor Stadium into a frenzy on Tuesday night after he delivered a poster dunk in the Blue Devils' 76-47 victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers. Flagg's moment of brilliance happened in the opening stages of the second half, with the highlight play showing the Duke star's incredible talent on both ends of the floor.

Flagg started the sequence with a steal on the defensive end, swiping the entry pass intended for Pittsburgh's Cameron Corhen. He took off immediately after the change of possession, running past Jaland Lowe as he crossed the half-court line. Flagg saw an opportunity to do some damage, with only Guillermo Diaz Graham standing in his way. He took off from the left edge of the shaded area before throwing down a powerful right-handed jam over the Pittsburgh forward.

The "Cameron Crazies" went nuts after Flagg gave Duke a 39-26 lead, all stunned by the play they had just witnessed. The Blue Devils star talked about his incredible dunk in a postgame chat with reporters, admitting he was motivated to execute the thunderous finish.

"I was kind of down on myself for a stupid foul early in the second half," Flagg said. "Definitely was a little angry and took it out on the rim."

Cooper Flagg was later asked to grade his dunk. He refused to give it a perfect score of 10, saying that he hasn't seen the replay of his jam from different angles.

"I haven't seen it quite enough. Only saw the one angle so far. Right now, I'm putting it at 8.5 but that might change a little bit when I see a different angle," Flagg said.

Cooper Flagg leads Duke Blue Devils past Pittsburgh Panthers in ACC showdown

Cooper Flagg starred for No. 4 Duke in the one-sided win, leading all scorers with 19 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds to record his sixth double-double of the season. He shot 7-for-11 from the field and knocked down four of his six attempts at the charity stripe.

Cooper Flagg (#2) of the Duke Blue Devils dunks the ball against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second half of their NCAA game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 7, 2025 in Durham, North Carolina. Photo: Getty

It wasn't just Flagg who punished the Pittsburgh defense as Duke's four other starters also scored in double figures. Kon Knueppel scored 17 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep. Tyrese Proctor added 13 points and four rebounds. Khaman Maluach and Sion James also contributed, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.