“I don’t care if the doctor says he’s fine”: NCAA analyst dismisses Cooper Flagg’s availability vs RJ Davis’ UNC in ACC semifinal

Jon Scheyer's Duke Blue Devils have been left sweating over the fitness of star freshman Cooper Flagg after he appeared to roll his left ankle against Georgia Tech on Thursday. After the incident, college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg gave his candid opinion on Flagg’s unfortunate incident on Friday morning.

In the first half of the ACC Tournament quarterfinals matchup, Flagg appeared to win a defensive rebound before going down in pain holding his left leg. Scheyer gave his postgame assessment of the injury, calling his possible appearance in the semifinal a "real longshot."

Greenberg, speaking on ESPN's "Get Up," dismissed Cooper Flagg’s availability against RJ Davis-led North Carolina on Friday night.

“There's no chance he's playing,” Greenberg said. “It's not even something I'm thinking about. I don't care if the doctors say he's fine, I don't care if his agent says he's fine, I don't care if his parents say he's fine.”

Discussing Flagg’s availability, Greenberg explained why he believed Flagg would not be fit enough to make the ACC Tournament semifinals.

“It's a risk-reward,” Greenberg said. “You worked all season long. You won the ACC regular season, and you dominated the league. Your next goal is to win a national championship.”

Seth Greenberg went on to call for load management in college basketball so that programs and their best players are healthy for the NCAA Tournament. Entering the matchup, Cooper Flagg had averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 48.8%. Flagg has been impressive for Duke and led the Blue Devils in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.

Jon Scheyer speaks on Cooper Flagg's injury as Maliq Brown also goes down

Duke coach Jon Scheyer confirmed on Thursday that freshman star Cooper Flagg is unlikely to play in the ACC Tournament semifinals after suffering an ankle sprain in Thursday's 78-70 quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech.

Flagg looked distraught as he went off the court to the locker room. He later returned to the bench in the second half but was unable to get back in the game. His injury occurred moments after Blue Devils junior forward Maliq Brown also left the game with a dislocated left shoulder after just returning from a similar injury.

Scheyer mentioned that X-rays showed no fractures to Flagg's ankle, who was already experiencing swelling.

"It's not about being ready to go tomorrow," Scheyer said. "We've got to see if we can get him right for this run that we can make in the [NCAA] tournament. But I think it's a real long shot."

Meanwhile, Brown’s injury update remained uncertain as the 6-foot-9 forward was taken to the hospital for further evaluation. The Blue Devils had been projected as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and had won eight straight games before this setback.