Duke's Cooper Flagg makes lasting memory in NBA showcase at Madison Square Garden

NEW YORK — The moment so many of these fans came to see — the ones proudly wearing blue and white, anyway — unfolded barely a minute into the second half of an already lopsided affair. A turnover by Illinoispoint guard Kasparas Jakucionis, the highly talented B-side of Saturday's primetime showcase, gave way to Duke star Cooper Flagg loping across midcourt with nary a body between him and the hoop. Flagg gathered the ball in his mitt-sized right hand and then vaulted into the air for a vicious slam that set Madison Square Garden ablaze, extending the Blue Devils' lead to 19 before scores of spectators had even returned from their halftime concession runs.

That bucket, which Flagg bolstered with another soaring, two-handed jam moments later, followed by a muscled layup through contact that gave him the chance to flex both biceps in front of Duke's thickest section of supporters, was exactly what everyone around the program envisioned when this game was announced six months ago: the most hyped high school prospect in years making a lasting memory in The World's Most Famous Arena, dunking his way through a record-breaking season as he leads an ultra-talented blue blood toward what could be the program's first national championship since 2015 — all while cementing his case as the presumptive No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

What was billed by both coaches as a matchup befitting an NCAA Tournament game quickly devolved into a one-sided hiding that revealed significant talent discrepancies between the two teams, with Flagg and his blue-chip-laden supporting cast rolling to a 110-67 victory that was hardly competitive beyond the opening few minutes. Flagg, who finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists, was one of