This will be the third time Duke has gone through this level of hysteria
We’re as excited as anyone about seeing Cooper Flagg in a Duke uniform but like a lot of people we’ve been leery about the hype machine. But seeing the (admittedly limited) video out of his star turn with the Select team in Las Vegas and more importantly, the reactions from the players and coaches present, make it clear that something unusual happened.
Over at Saturdayroad.com, Brett Friedlander suggests that the hype could be Zion-level hype, or something close to it anyway.
Williamson was and remains an athletic freak. A 6-6, 285 lb. forward who can overpower bigger guys and go around smaller ones, Williamson created such hysteria that even long-time Duke haters had to turn that off and just watch in amazement.
It may not be exactly like that with Flagg, but it’s going to be something extraordinary. Now the question is not will the hype machine be crazy. Clearly it will. The question is how Flagg and Duke deal with it.
Under Mike Krzyżewski, Duke had two periods that were essentially Beatlemania: first in 1992, with the Laettner/Hurley/Hill team trying to repeat and second with Williamson. At one point in ‘92, Duke was forced to transport Bobby Hurley in an equipment bag to avoid a delirious mob scene. They won’t be able to do that with Flagg obviously.
We’d expect that Jon Scheyer will spend some time with Coach K before the season starts to ask about this situation, about how to deal with overflowing adulation, the relentless media and the insanity that is social media today.
It’s going to be a major challenge and for a kid from rural Maine, the Duke spotlight is going to burn bright. So far he seems up to it, but he hasn’t faced any adversity as a Blue Devil yet. He will, and how he and his team deal with it will go a long way towards defining what will likely be his only season at Duke.
