After Cooper Flagg injury, ESPN’s Cory Alexander claims parents ‘most concerned’ with Duke win

The Duke brotherhood runs deep, but maybe not as deep as ESPN game analyst Cory Alexander thinks.

Thursday’s ACC tournament quarterfinal game saw the Blue Devils come back to beat Georgia Tech while losing star freshman Cooper Flagg to a nasty ankle injury and seeing their championship hopes take a hit.

With Duke still mounting its comeback and Flagg being treated in the locker room for an injury that ultimately would require him to be rolled out of the Spectrum Center in a wheelchair, Alexander made an interesting claim about the mindset of Flagg’s parents.

“You can see, of course, tremendous concern on the faces of Ralph and Kelly Flagg, Cooper’s parents,” Alexander said. “But I can tell you one thing, they are most concerned about the Blue Devils winning this game. That is their number one priority. They are all-in on Duke blue.”

ESPN’s Cory Alexander: “You can see, of course, tremendous concern on the faces of Ralph and Kelly Flagg, Cooper’s parents … but I can tell you one thing, they are most concerned about the Blue Devils winning this game.” pic.twitter.com/hzgZnUe5GB

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 13, 2025

Given that Alexander is a top broadcaster at ESPN and has called numerous Duke and ACC games this season, it’s fair to assume he has spoken with the Flaggs and may have insight into their passion for Duke basketball. But that passion likely starts and ends with their son choosing to attend school there for his one-and-done season before entering the NBA Draft when he is projected to go first overall in June. The Flaggs hail from Maine, where both parents played college hoops.

Add in the fact that Duke’s dominant regular season all but assures them a top seed in the NCAA tournament, and a loss against Georgia Tech would be a relative blip in the big picture. Compare that with uncertainty about Flagg’s health headed toward the draft and his pro career, and the outcome of this particular game is small potatoes.

In fairness, Alexander was up against the halftime break as he made his point about Mr. and Mrs. Flagg. But standing alone, his comment was a strange one.