Cooper Flagg A Big Deal For Duke, But Not For Award Betting Yet

College basketball’s 2024-25 season starts in less than two weeks. It’s a big day for fans across the country, but especially so in North Carolina, home to several big-name teams. That includes the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball team, expected to be led by incoming freshman Cooper Flagg.

Flagg has become a household name for many sports fans over the last couple of years. The 6-foot-9 swingman from Maine became a social media sensation as videos of his dominating play went viral. Not only did he throw down dunks, but Flagg could also nail 3-pointers and swat away opponents’ shots. Not surprisingly, the five-star phenom was the top-rated prospect in the Class of 2024.

On Oct. 21, Flagg added to his resume by becoming a first-team Associated Press Preseason All-American selection. He’s the first freshman to be selected to the team since Cade Cunningham made it in 2020. It’s likely not the last accolade he’ll receive this season, his first since he last played at Montverde Academy in Florida.

With his latest honor, it’s fitting that Flagg is among the preseason favorites for the Wooden Award, one of the major national player of the year awards available in men’s college hoops. Should he win it in the spring, he’d become just the fourth freshman to do so. Kevin Durant did it first at Texas in 2007, and Kentucky’s Anthony Davis joined the exclusive group five years later. Zion Williamson, another Duke superstar, received the Wooden Award in 2019, and many basketball pundits think Flagg has an excellent chance to do so, too.

“I think Cooper Flagg is going to be the best overall player in the country,” Field Of 68 co-founder Jeff Goodman, a noted college basketball analyst, said on the Field of 68 After Dark podcast Monday night.

While he is a favorite among some voters, it’s a different story at most North Carolina sportsbook apps … for now. That’s because Flagg is 17, and he won’t turn 18 until Dec. 21.

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Only One Carolina Sportsbook Offering Cooper Flagg Odds

BetCarolina.com reviewed each licensed sports betting operator in the state to see if Flagg was listed on that sportsbook’s futures board, if they offered one.

Only one – DraftKings North Carolina – made Flagg available. In a two-way market, Flagg’s odds of winning the award were +700, while his odds of not winning it were -1400.

A FanDuel spokesperson told BetCarolina last week that the sportsbook hasn’t listed Flagg in any state “due to regulations.“

There are also no Flagg odds on the bet365, BetMGM, Caesars or ESPN BET boards as of Oct. 23. After a bettor requested odds for Flagg at bet365, a customer service representative said it would not be offered “due to a trading decision.” Other books have told bettors they will reconsider including him after he turns 18.

The North Carolina sports betting law, passed by the legislature in June 2023, prohibits wagering on “youth sports,” which it defines as an event where most players are under 18 years of age or sponsored by one or more preschools, elementary schools, middle schools or high schools. It does include an exception for events “under the sponsorship or oversight of national or international athletic bodies that are not educational institutions” with contestants older and younger than 18.

Sportsbooks not offering odds on Flagg to win the Wooden are likely not to establish markets for the freshman standout when the season starts, even though North Carolina lets operators take wagers on college player props. The Blue Devils open the season on Nov. 4 when they host Maine.

Those same operators offer North Carolina sportsbook promos to customers.

2024-25 Wooden Award Contenders

While DraftKings offers odds on Flagg, other sportsbooks have three of Flagg’s preseason All-American teammates as their clear favorites for the prestigious annual award.

Hunter Dickerson of Kansas, RJ Davis of North Carolina and Mark Sears of Alabama are the only players with odds shorter than +1000 at any of the college basketball betting operators offering a Wooden futures market. Dickerson’s best odds are +750 at BetMGM. Caesars offers Davis at +800, and bet365 has Sears priced at +750.

Will Flagg become available on those North Carolina sports betting apps two months from now? BetCarolina will continue to monitor the situation and provide the latest news and odds on college basketball for the upcoming season,

Also at BetCarolina.com, we developed a Duke all-decade men’s basketball team page.

USA Today photo by Jaylynn Nash

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