'Pain-free' Flagg ready for Duke's tourney run

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Cooper Flagg says he is "pain-free" after suffering an ankle injury that kept him out of the majority of Duke's ACC tournament championship run, and he expects to be fully healthy for the Blue Devils' NCAA tournament opener against Mount St. Mary's on Friday.

The Duke star rolled his ankle in the first half against Georgia Tech on March 13, but Flagg said he went through a full practice Wednesday and expects no issues when he takes the court for his first NCAA tournament game.

"We've been working through the steps of just getting back to 100 percent, and I feel very good," Flagg said Thursday. "I'm very confident moving forward."

Coach Jon Scheyer said Flagg wanted to play in the ACC tournament, but Duke's staff wanted to proceed cautiously. Flagg did not go through warmups before any of the Blue Devils' game last weekend, but he moved without issue on the sideline and didn't require any protective footwear.

"He's been itching to get out there," Scheyer said. "I think that says a lot about who he is because a lot of guys would be more patient or not as anxious to get out there. That's just not the way he's wired, his family, everybody with them."

Flagg said he has dealt with minor ankle injuries frequently, but he knew immediately that this one was a bit more severe. He exited the game, Duke's ACC tournament opener, and had an MRI and X-rays that both showed no significant damage. Flagg said he spent the next week working with Duke's training staff on a rehabilitation program aimed at having him fully healthy for the NCAA tournament.

"From the start of the week, it was kind of like a buildup of jumping back into practice, getting back to 100 percent, doing some individual things with some of the coaches on the side," Flagg said. "Then I was back at full practice [Wednesday]."

Flagg said he went through that practice without issues and had "100 percent full mobility."

Scheyer wasn't quite so cheerful in his diagnosis but agreed that Flagg was moving without any limitations.

"This is about him being able to move properly," Scheyer said. "He wasn't going to play if he was compensating. No matter what, an ankle sprain, to say he's 100 percent [for Friday], he has to work through that a little bit still. But he's not compensating."

Even without Flagg -- and forward Maliq Brown, who is out with a separated shoulder -- Duke rolled through the ACC tournament, knocking off Louisville by 11 in the final. Duke used its length on defense, though center Khaman Maluach said that was simply a greater focus on something the Blue Devils had already been doing all season.

"It didn't matter that the lineup changed. We were just us and still played our normal basketball," Maluach said. "[But] I was happy that [Flagg] was out there practicing, getting back one step at a time. I'm excited to see him play."

Flagg is averaging 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists and was a consensus All-American.

Scheyer was cautious in his evaluation of Brown's possible return. The junior will not likely see action in the opening weekend, but Scheyer said Brown is eager to contribute. Should the Blue Devils make a deeper run, there's a chance he could return for later games.

"I don't know if that's going to happen," Scheyer said, "but that's his mindset, that's our mindset to do everything we can to just give it a chance if we can continue to progress in this tournament."