As the months continue to tick by, the emphasis on the 2025 NBA Draft steadily increases. This draft class has received plenty of hype as one of the best in recent memory. A large part of this is due to the tremendous talents of Duke’s standout freshman, Cooper Flagg. Highly respected NCAA basketball analyst, Jay Bilas, names Flagg as one of his final two candidates for the National Player of the Year award.
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Historically, the National Player of the Year award recipient is an older player with experience. There have only been three players in NCAA men’s basketball history to win the award following their freshman season. Those players are Kevin Durant (2007), Anthony Davis (2018), and Zion Williamson (2019). Flagg has positioned himself to potentially become the fourth.
Bilas made a guest appearance on ESPN’s Get Up to break down the current landscape of college basketball. The ESPN analyst has witnessed tremendous talent throughout college basketball this season. However, there are only two players that stand out to him. Those two are Duke’s Flagg and Auburn’s Johni Broome. He said,
“It’s a two-horse race for National Player of the Year and it’s Cooper Flagg of Duke and Johni Broome of Auburn. Johni Broome has been spectacular for Auburn all season long. Cooper Flagg, the freshman from Maine, is everything he was advertised to be as the number one player coming out of high school and more.”
"It's a two-horse race for National Player of the Year and it's Cooper Flagg of Duke and Johni Broome of Auburn."
—@JayBilas on the best two players in college basketball right now pic.twitter.com/klnVGer8fA
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) February 13, 2025
Flagg and Broome have been sensational this season, and it isn’t a surprise they are the two final candidates in Bilas’ opinion. Broome is in his fifth collegiate season and is by far having the best year of his career. He is averaging 18.1 points and 10.7 rebounds on 50.6% shooting from the field while spearheading the top-ranked team in the nation.
On the other hand, Cooper Flagg has been doing it all. He impressively leads Duke in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks per game. He is averaging 19.8 points per game, 7.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.2 rejections, on 48.3% from the field. His comfort level on the court is far from the typical freshman.
Brackets are shaping out for March Madness
College basketball fans are less than a month away from the most exciting time of the year. March Madness is nearly underway and brackets are beginning to shape up as a result. Aside from Flagg and Broome’s dominant play, they are big influences in their teams being the best in the nation.
Right behind Auburn as the top-ranked team in the nation is Duke ranked second nationally. Both teams have the tools to be in contention to win it all. However, Auburn has Duke beat in the experience category. Only three players on their roster are freshmen. The Blue Devils have six freshmen on their roster.
Although they are both very capable teams, experience plays a big part in the single-game elimination tournament. Chemistry outvalues talent in March. Out of these two teams, the Auburn Tigers have the necessary chemistry to win a National Championship.
