No. 1 Kansas will face another high-profile opponent on Tuesday when the Jayhawks take on #11 Duke in Las Vegas. Bill Self talked about what he’s seen from highly-touted freshman Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils and the pros and cons of MTEs during Thanksgiving.
Cooper Flagg is a unique talent
Duke’s star is a 6’9” 17-year old who can do anything on the basketball floor. Cooper Flagg is averaging 17.8 points per game and has taken the college basketball world by storm. Bill Self said he has the chance to make as big of an impact as guys like Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Mike Beasley.
“[He’s got] talent, athleticism, skill, but there's another element to him that's, that's what makes him different, is that, you know, he is so competitive and tough,” Self said. “I mean, and that's been obviously evident with what he what he's done to this point, especially in the summer, playing with the Olympic team.”
Self said Flagg has developed skills that 17 and 18-year-olds don’t traditionally have. His athleticism and size are things that you see from NBA players.
“He can probably do as many things at his size, from an athlete standpoint, from a slide standpoint, from a vision, from a scoring, from explosiveness – off one, off two [feet],” Self said. “He can probably do things well rounded and from a competitive standpoint, as what you see guys that are playing 82 games consistently do.”
Duke has a loaded roster with lots of length and athleticism
The Blue Devils have a lot more than just Flagg. Duke also has talented freshmen Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. A talented transfer class and returnees Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster make for a team that will compete for a National Championship.
Duke’s roster contains a lot of athleticism and length. The Blue Devils have players that will pose problems for Kansas.
“You got to rebound the ball without question. You know that they've got four guys that are obviously shooting [the] three really well and do shoot a lot of them,” Self said. “So you know, you got to guard the arc. We switch a lot. So you got to not allow them to play to mismatches and guards have to rebound the ball, which we haven't done consistently well, with the exception of Zeke, so they present challenges.”
Self said he enjoys matching up with Duke, and he would love to do a home-and-home like Kansas has done with North Carolina. He called the chance to coach in Cameron Indoor Stadium a “bucket-list” opportunity as he’s never coached there before.
Multi-team events give teams chances to become a team
In the past, Kansas has competed in multi-team events such as the Maui Invitational or Battle for Atlantis in the Bahamas. This year, they’ll play one game in Las Vegas on Tuesday then a return game in the Vegas Showdown against Furman on Saturday.
Self said there are some advantages to the multi-team events. He said it gives teams chances to grow, like St. John’s who lost a three-overtime heartbreaker in the Bahamas.
“I actually think, on those long events, is when you can actually have a chance to become a team,” Self said. “I would say watching that game last night, which you guys probably watched also, that would have been a heartbreaker one to lose, but those are the type of games that actually give you momentum for the next month, and that was a great win.”
Self said it will be somewhat different not coaching the three games in three days. However, he and Jon Scheyer will both coach the game to win regardless of their bench situation.
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