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Despite mesmerizing NBA<\/a> stars, Duke teammates and basketball fans with his dunks and 3s, Duke freshman forward Cooper Flagg<\/a> appeared humbled for his latest accolade.<\/p>\n Flagg appeared at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Friday to accept the John Wooden award<\/a>, which is given to the most outstanding college basketball player. As only the fourth freshman to ever win the award, Cooper is strongly expected to become the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.<\/strong><\/p>\n Cooper didn\u2019t talk about that likely path and hasn\u2019t officially declared just yet. But Cooper spoke to Sportskeeda about other topics, including the Wooden Award, his favorite highlight reel with Duke and competing against the U.S. Men\u2019s Olympics team last summer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/template><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 <\/p>\n <\/template><\/p>\n Editor\u2019s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.<\/em><\/p>\n Flagg: <\/strong>\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m able to put it in perspective.<\/strong> It\u2019s just a surreal feeling and it\u2019s such an honor to be here and get this recognition. It\u2019s just such a cool feeling for me to get this recognition. To be in that company and follow that legacy as those three players as a freshman to win the award, it\u2019s just a cool feeling. It\u2019s definitely cool to join such elite company. It just gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Flagg: <\/strong>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say mold my game after them. But the way they play and how hard they play, I try to be my own player on the court and make as many winning plays as possible. But those guys definitely have something special to their game.<\/p>\n Flagg: <\/strong>\u201cJust the IQ and the effort they all play with and the defensive versatility. That\u2019s something that I can compare myself to.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Flagg: <\/strong>\u201cIt was an incredible year and an incredible journey with a lot of great, great people. I made a lot of really good relationships that I\u2019ll have for the rest of my life. Obviously, it didn\u2019t end the way that we wanted to [with a loss to Houston], but it was an incredible journey. It was an incredible ride with that team. <\/strong>I have no regrets about anything. I wish we could\u2019ve gotten it done. But it was an incredible year. There are lessons in everything both with successes and shortcomings, the losses and the wins. I just have to move forward and take the things that I learned and moved forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Flagg: <\/strong>\u201cComing back from the injury, I was getting with the medical team and getting with the trainers. I was doing the rehab and doing everything that I had to do. We have an incredible staff at Duke with Jose Fonseca (head athletic trainer) and Nick Potter (director of high performance & sports science), two guys that are really key and central to me and the rest of the team of guys that helped me get and helped me get ready to be 100% to go.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"march](\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/march-madness-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n<\/div>\nYou are following the footsteps of <\/strong>Kevin Durant<\/a><\/strong>, <\/strong>Zion Williamson<\/a><\/strong> and <\/strong>Anthony Davis<\/a><\/strong> as the only freshman to win the Wooden award. How do you put that accomplishment in perspective?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Which player would you like to mold your game after the most?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What do you admire about their games?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What do you take away from your NCAA run both as a team getting to the Final Four and your own play?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What were the keys to play at a high level after your ankle injury?<\/strong><\/h3>\n