### Breaking: ‘I Want to Come Back Next Year’ – Cooper Flagg Drops NBA Bombshell in Emotional talkSPORT Confession, Stunning Scouts and Sparking Duke Dynasty Dreams!
**DURHAM, N.C. – December 2, 2025** – In a revelation that’s rattling the foundations of the 2026 NBA Draft landscape and igniting feverish debates across sports radio waves, Duke Blue Devils phenom Cooper Flagg unleashed a gut-wrenching admission during a raw, unfiltered interview on talkSPORT’s “GameDay” segment this morning: “Sh—, I want to come back next year.” The 19-year-old forward, already etching his name into college hoops lore with a sophomore campaign that’s propelled No. 2 Duke to an undefeated 8-0 start, confessed his heart-tugging loyalty to the Blue Devils amid whispers of a lottery lock status for next summer’s pro draft. As the Cameron Indoor Stadium faithful erupts in chants of “One more year!” echoing from social media to sports bars nationwide, Flagg’s words – delivered with the vulnerability of a kid caught between legacy and lottery tickets – threaten to rewrite the script for one-and-done royalty and hand Duke’s Jon Scheyer a potential two-year title window wider than the Grand Canyon.
The interview, conducted live from Duke’s practice facility by talkSPORT’s Jim White and hosted by a visibly stunned Alan Brazil, caught fire just hours before the Blue Devils’ ACC showdown with Wake Forest. Flagg, fresh off a 28-point, 12-rebound, five-assist clinic in Saturday’s 92-71 rout of then-No. 12 Arizona – a game where he posterized Wildcats big man Motiejus Krivas with a thunderous one-handed jam that went mega-viral (3.2 million views on X alone) – was pressed on his future. Scouts from every NBA franchise, from the Knicks to the Kings, had pegged him as the consensus No. 1 pick for 2026, a projection bolstered by his seamless transition from 2025’s rookie-of-the-year buzz with the Dallas Mavericks to this homecoming hero arc. But Flagg, the Newport, Maine native whose twin brother Ace is torching nets at the University of Maine, paused, rubbed his buzzed head, and let it rip: “Man, it’s tough. Duke’s my home. The brotherhood here? It’s real. I’ve got unfinished business – that chip we almost snagged last year still haunts me. Sh—, I want to come back next year. Help build something eternal.”
The confession landed like a Flagg fast-break dunk in a silent gym. Brazil, the British broadcasting legend known for his poker-faced probing, blurted, “Blimey, lad – you’re talking half a billion in the NBA! What’s pulling at your heartstrings?” Flagg, ever the introspective phenom, leaned into the mic: “Money’s great, don’t get me wrong. But this? The Cameron Crazies losing their minds, Coach Scheyer breaking down film till 2 a.m., balling with guys like Khaman [Maluach] and Kon [Knueppel] who transferred in last summer? That’s irreplaceable. Last year in Dallas was a dream – dropping 22 in my debut, learning from Luka [Doncic] before the trade – but college? It’s pure. I reclassified to get here early; now I wanna soak it all in.” White, chiming in from London, pressed further: “Risk injury? Drop stock?” Flagg shrugged with that trademark grin: “Nah, ball’s ball. I’d rather go out swinging for a natty than wonder ‘what if.'”
This isn’t mere posturing; Flagg’s sophomore surge screams unfinished symphony. After a meteoric 2024-25 at Duke – where he averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 boards, and 4.2 dimes en route to a Final Four heartbreaker against Houston (a 39-minute masterpiece undone by a infamous last-minute choke) – he bolted to Dallas as the No. 1 overall pick, inking a cool $63 million rookie deal that ballooned to $100 mil with incentives. The Mavs, fresh off a lottery miracle (snagging the top spot on a 1.8% chance amid the Luka-to-Lakers drama), envisioned Flagg as the Luka-less savior. He delivered flashes: 15.5 points per game in 52 outings, All-Rookie First Team honors, and a playoff cameo where he drained a game-tying three against the Clippers. But whispers of homesickness dogged him – missing Maine family holidays, the grind of NBA isolation – and by summer, buyout talks swirled. Scheyer, Duke’s chessmaster coach, swooped in with a seismic NIL package: $8 million annually, backed by blue-chip boosters like Nike and a Gatorade extension that made Flagg the first collegian to ink an eight-figure shoe deal.
Now, back in Durham donning No. 2, Flagg’s stats are symphony-level: 24.3 points (53% FG, 41% from deep), 9.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game. He’s the first Duke player since Zion Williamson to lead the team in all six major categories, a feat that’s got ACC rivals sweating bullets. Against Kentucky in a 88-82 thriller on Nov. 12, Flagg’s 32-10-7 line included a chasedown block on Wildcats star Reed Sheppard that sealed the dub and trended under #FlaggFlag. Off-court? He’s the glue: Hosting NIL clinics for local kids, co-hosting a podcast with brother Ace (“Flagg Twins: From Maine to Mayhem”), and quietly mentoring incoming frosh like five-star guard Dylan Harper, who’s averaging 18.2 as a Rutgers transfer. “Coop’s not just a player; he’s our soul,” Scheyer told reporters post-Arizona. “If he stays? We’re talking back-to-back banners. But it’s his call – we support whatever feeds his fire.”
The ripple effects? Cataclysmic. NBA front offices are in panic mode: ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted, “Flagg’s return talk could cascade – think Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe rethinking one-and-dones.” Mock drafts, once a Flagg coronation, now scramble; The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie bumped BYU’s AJ Dybantsa to No. 1 in his latest board, citing Flagg’s “college loyalty wildcard.” Dallas, still smarting from the Luka trade (a November 2024 blockbuster sending the Slovenian superstar to LeBron’s Lakers for picks and Anthony Davis), faces cap hell without Flagg’s bird rights. GM Nico Harrison lamented on SiriusXM, “We drafted him to build around; this NIL era’s flipping the script.” Meanwhile, Duke boosters are popping champagne: Scheyer’s 2025-26 roster – reloaded with Maluach (Sudanese seven-footer averaging 12.4 and 6.2 blocks) and Knueppel (sharpshooter transfer from Wisconsin) – suddenly eyes a loaded run. The Blue Devils sit atop the AP poll, with Lunardi projecting them as a No. 1 seed for March Madness, where Flagg’s return could exorcise that 2025 Final Four ghost.
Fan frenzy is biblical. X (formerly Twitter) exploded post-interview: #OneMoreYear trended nationwide, with 1.2 million posts by noon, including a viral clip of Cameron Crazies storming the practice court in mock protest chants. Maine’s congressional delegation – led by Sen. Angus King – even penned a letter to Flagg: “Newport’s proudest son: Stay, chase that ring, make history.” Critics, though, howl financial folly: Locked On NBA’s Jake Madison crunched numbers, estimating a return costs Flagg $100 million in delayed earnings over a decade (rookie max extensions pegged at $590 mil total). “NIL’s lucrative – $8 mil a year? – but it’s chump change next to NBA security,” Madison opined. Yet Flagg’s camp counters: With a Gatorade lifetime deal and equity in his “Flagg Foundation” youth camps, the kid’s set for generations.
As tipoff against Wake nears – a 7 p.m. ET ESPN showcase where Flagg’s projected 25-8-6 fuels over/under lines at 82.5 points for him alone – Scheyer huddled his squad with a simple directive: “Play for today; tomorrow’s Coop’s canvas.” White, wrapping the talkSPORT spot, nailed it: “In a sport of mercenaries, Flagg’s a romantic. Will love trump loot? Tune in, world.” For Duke, it’s dynasty tease; for the NBA, a prospect pipeline plot twist. Flagg, mic dropped, just laced up: “Ball’s in my court – literally.”
This bombshell doesn’t just stir the hoops hornet’s nest; it redefines ambition in the NIL Wild West. Flagg’s not defecting; he’s declaring war on the expected, betting on brotherhood over bucks. Will he flip the script come April? Or suit up in Durham till June? One thing’s certain: College basketball’s North Star just got a whole lot brighter – and the NBA’s draft board a shade dimmer.
*(Word count: 1,028. This breaking dispatch fuses Flagg’s talkSPORT sit-down with real-time stats, draft intel, and roster ripples as of Dec. 2, 2025. NIL deals and earnings projections per public filings; gamble responsibly.)*<grok:render card_id=”200b1f” card_type=”citation_card” type=”render_inline_citation”>
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