Cooper Flagg's Alley-Oop Sparks Duke Basketball Run vs. Army

As always, the Duke basketball rookie phenom was all over the court early against the Black Knights.

Duke basketball forward Cooper Flagg / Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Duke basketball started 1-for-8 beyond the arc in Friday night's home game against the Army Black Knights (1-0, 0-0 Patriot League). And at the under-16 timeout in the first half, the No. 7-ranked Blue Devils (1-0, 0-0 ACC) enjoyed only a 9-8 advantage.

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But one Blue Devil highlight a few plays prior to the contest's first timeout pointed to a well-oiled machine to come as soon as the threes began to drop.

With Duke boasting a 7-6 lead, junior forward Maliq Brown employed pestering perimeter defense, translating into an Army turnover and a transition opportunity. Junior guard Tyrese Proctor responded with a perfectly placed alley-oop dime to freshman forward/guard and projected one-and-done No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg for the flush:

Rese up top to Coop (ACCN) pic.twitter.com/aHHujE3srK

— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) November 8, 2024

At the time of this article's publish, the Blue Devils led, 15-8, at the under-12 timeout in the first half. Flagg had a game-high four points, along with four rebounds, across the first eight minutes of action versus the Black Knights.

And the Blue Devils had improved to 3-for-15 from deep, albeit with a few missed chances at easier buckets.

Following the bout against Army, Jon Scheyer's third Duke basketball squad will gear up for a Champions Classic showdown against No. 23 Kentucky in Atlanta's State Farm Arena at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday (ESPN).

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