Cooper Flagg’s NCAA Tournament Debut: Maine’s Star Ready for Duke’s Big Moment

March Madness is officially here, and this year, our beloved state of Maine is enjoying a bit of the spotlight.

Of course, that's all thanks to one of the best basketball players to come through the college ranks in years: Cooper Flagg, who just happens to be a kid from Maine.

Cooper Flagg and Duke Ready for the NCAA Tournament

The freshman sensation seems to be enjoying his time at Duke University. The Blue Devils are currently one of the best teams in the nation and have a strong shot at winning the NCAA Tournament, which kicks off this week.

Duke was announced as one of the four No. 1 seeds for the tournament, with its first game coming on Friday, March 21, against the winner of Wednesday's Mount St. Mary's vs. American University game.

This has been an exceptional year so far for the Blue Devils, who enter the tournament with a 31-3 record, which includes an ACC Tournament championship.

Cooper Flagg's Incredible Freshman Year at Duke

A lot of that has to do with Flagg, who has been quite the leader on the floor for Duke. At the time of publishing this article, the Newport native leads the team in points (19.4 per game), rebounds (7.6), assists (4.2), blocks (1.3), and steals (1.5). That is simply unheard of. It's one thing to lead in a few of the major categories, but in all of them? That's some serious baller status.

On top of that, Flagg's incredible play was recently recognized by the ACC with a plethora of awards and accolades. Let's take a closer look.

ACC Player of the Year
ACC Rookie of the Year
ACC All First Team 
ACC All Defensive Team

However, it has been Flagg's teammates who have truly shined lately, especially after Cooper went down in the first game of the ACC Tournament with an ankle injury. He missed the rest of the tournament but watched his squad roll on to win the title.

After the tournament win, all the focus shifted to what Flagg's availability would be in the NCAA Tournament. Thankfully, there was some good news regarding this on Sunday.

Cooper Flagg Expected to be Healthy for the NCAA Tournament

According to CBS Sports, Duke is expecting Flagg to be ready to go (in some capacity) for its First Round game on Friday. Duke's coach Jon Scheyer even used the phrase "full steam ahead" for Flagg, so I would say that is a great sign.

Assuming Duke wins its first game, its Second Round opponent will be the winner of Mississippi State and Baylor. That game will be played this coming Sunday, March 23.

You can check out the entire bracket here.

READ MORE: The Truth About Boston's Fenway Park: Why It’s Overrated

Here's wishing Cooper and his Blue Devils best of luck in the NCAA Tournament. Here's hoping he's healthy and ready to dominate once again.