Duke basketball forward [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] began his freshman season as a presumed shoo-in for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, and The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie thinks he’s done nothing to lose that spot as of Tuesday.
Vecenie released an updated ranking of his top prospects in the class, and Flagg maintained his grip atop the list thanks to his 26-point night against the Kentucky Wildcats and 24-point performance against the Arizona Wildcats. He turned the ball over twice in the closing seconds against Kentucky, but he’s averaging 15.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks through seven games.
Rutgers star Dylan Harper, who scored 36 points against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and 37 points against the Alabama Crimson Tide last week, earned the praise of ESPN analyst Jonathan Givony, but Vecenie thinks a different first-year star poses the biggest threat to Flagg.
Vecenie listed BYU star Egor Demin, a 6-foot-9 ball-handler, as his second overall player in the class. Demin has averaged just 14.3 points per game so far this season, but he’s dished 6.3 assists and made 44.1% of his 3-point looks through seven games.
Fellow Blue Devils Kon Knueppel (No. 9), Khaman Maluach (No. 11), and Tyrese Proctor (No. 33) made Vecenie’s top 50.