Duke Basketball: National Expert Names Preseason All-Americans

Multiple Duke basketball players have All-American potential, but only one is a surefire preseason selection.

Duke basketball forward Cooper Flagg / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

One could argue that Cooper Flagg, Tyrese Proctor, Caleb Foster, Khaman Maluach, and maybe even a few others might give the 2024-25 Duke basketball roster a long list of All-ACC performers, perhaps multiple All-American honorees as well.

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But entering the season, marking Jon Scheyer's third at the helm in Durham since succeeding Mike Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils appear to boast only one piece likely to become a consensus preseason All-American. That player, of course, is freshman forward Cooper Flagg, who arrived at Duke this summer at No. 1 overall on the 247Sports 2024 Composite despite being one of the youngest in the cycle.

On Monday, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein became the latest to forecast Flagg as the lone All-American on a Duke basketball team that figures to begin the season among the top 10 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.

Rothstein placed Flagg on his second team, along with Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner, Baylor's Norchad Omier, Purdue's Braden Smith, and St. John's newcomer Kadary Richmond, and provided the following confirmation of off-the-charts hype surrounding the 17-year-old Maine native:

"A generational talent, [Flagg] is the highest profile freshman to enter college basketball in several years. Universally viewed as the top player in the 2024 class, Flagg is projected to be the top overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft."

The only other ACC player who landed among Rothstein's preseason All-Americans, not counting honorable mentions, is UNC basketball graduate guard and defending ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis, a first team pick alongside Kansas' Hunter Dickinson, Auburn's Johni Broome, Arizona's Caleb Love, and Alabama' Mark Sears.

Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils, looking to improve on Scheyer's back-to-back 27-9 records in his first two campaigns, begin their regular season when they welcome Maine to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Nov. 4.

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