Jon Scheyer compares Cooper Flagg to Jayson Tatum and Paolo Banchero after career-high night against Notre Dame

Duke coach Jon Scheyer was full of compliments for current freshman sensation Cooper Flagg. Scheyer feels Flaff is comparable to former Blue Devils one-and-dones Paolo Banchero and Jayson Tatum in terms of being a talented shot creator.

The third-year coach made the comparison in a post-game interview on Saturday night following Duke's 86-78 win over Notre Dame. The No. 1-ranked freshman in the Class of 2024 dropped a career-high of 42 points, setting an ACC freshman record.

Flagg made 11-of-14 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-pointers, and made 16-of-17 attempts from the free-throw line. The performance doesn't surprise Scheyer because he knows the uber-talented guard has worked his way to become mentally ready to shoot the ball anytime and anywhere.

"I think his he falls into the category of ... like Paulo dealt with this some and Tatum, where you're so talented and can create a shot almost any time you're not used to being mentally ready or mentally prepared to shoot. So for Coop, he's had to work to do that," Scheyer said (3:11).

The Duke coach noted that he's proud of Flagg's progress, as evidenced by his recent scoring streak where he has scored at least 19 points in four consecutive games.

"It's never been about, 'man we need to make him a good shooter.' He's been a good shooter, it's just the fact he's always been used to being able to create off the bounds and so he can do that plus you have to be ready to shoot to keep him honest," the Duke coach added (3:29).

Cooper Flagg has led the Blue Devils to the top of the ACC standings with a 6-0 record and 14-2 overall. This makes Duke the No. 4-ranked team in this week's AP poll and it could improve in the coming days due to the loss of Tennessee to Florida this week.

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Duke coach Jon Scheyer gives praise to Notre Dame counterpart Micah Shrewsberry

Duke coach Jon Scheyer praised his Notre Dame counterpart Micah Shrewsberry's management, despite the program's current standing. Scheyer felt Notre Dame's record of 7-9 (1-4 in ACC) is misleading and cites the games they had to play without top guard Markus Burton as the reason for their slide.

"I think he's a terrific coach I think what they're building is really good. It's built on having a really competitive team. They play modern basketball. They go after matchups. They spread you on offense," Scheyer said. (0:25).

The Duke coach felt it was great to have a 14-0 start but Notre Dame cut it down and made it a tight game for them which was also good for the Blue Devils. His team was able to make the plays and stressed that the close game in the crucial moments of the encounter helped the team value every possession.

"They've been right there in a lot of them so we had a ton of respect for these guys coming in," he said (0:48).

Duke held on to the victory despite Notre Dame's excellent shooting from the 3-point line. The Fighting Irish made 58.3% of their 3-pointers (14-of-24) but the Blue Devils made 30 free throws compared to 10 by the visitors. Duke ruled the rebounding battle 34-21 and had a 26-16 advantage in inside points.