“Looking like Luka Doncic right now”: Hoops fans hail Duke star as Cooper Flagg gets ruled out after left ankle injury

No Cooper Flagg, no problem for the Duke Blue Devils. Kon Knueppel stepped up for Duke after the Player of the Year candidate went out with an ankle sprain in the first half of Jon Scheyer’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal 78-70 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Knueppel led the way for the top-ranked Blue Devils (29-3) with 28 points on Thursday. Khaman Maluach and Isaiah Evans added 14 each. The win sets up a “Tobacco Road” date with the winner of the Wake Forest vs. North Carolina matchup.

As expected after such a strong performance from the top-ranked team in the country, fans reacted to Duke’s win on social media. Some of them praised Knueppel for his offensive performance at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

"Kon Knueppel is looking like Luka Doncic right now," a fan said.

"Kon Knueppel could be the most underrated facilitator in the country," another fan wrote.

"Knueppel's stepped up big time as a creator with no Flagg in the 2nd half. That connection with Maluach is super consistent." another fan said.

"Kon Knueppel is a really good basketball player in case any of you weren’t aware," a fan added.

Knueppel was not the only player to get love from fans. Isaiah Evans also got attention after energizing a Duke squad that started the game slowly.

"Isiah Evans said, 'Duke is going to handle business all the time,' meaning the guys will step up and do what it takes to win. Coach (Jon) Scheyer said he broke it open for Duke. Evans scored 14 points in 17 minutes." a fan said.

"Isaiah Evans really came in the game and gave Duke new energy. He’s played his role well this year," another fan added.

Jon Scheyer gives update on injuries for Duke

After the game, Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer gave an update on a couple of injuries suffered during the game. While Cooper Flagg’s injury may have gotten the most attention, it wasn’t the only one for the Blue Devils, who also lost Maliq Brown to a shoulder ailment.

“Maliq was in a lot of pain," Scheyer said. "He re-dislocated his shoulder. That’s why – I’m sure some of you saw it – we got him a stretcher just to tolerate the pain. He was in a lot of pain, and he’s at the hospital now.

“And (with) Cooper, he sprained his ankle. X-rays were negative, which was great. We just have to understand there’s going to be swelling and see how he recovers and how he goes from there.”

Flagg will likely be shut down for the remainder of the ACC Tournament. The top-ranked Blue Devils are likely locked in as a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament and are a serious threat to win it all.

The freshman went down after rolling up his ankle capturing a defensive rebound towards the end of the first half of the quarterfinal game against Georgia Tech. Getting Flagg back as close to full strength as possible before the tourney begins seems to be the priority for Scheyer.