Cooper Flagg and Kelly Flagg. Photo:
Kevin Mazur/Getty
Duke basketball star Cooper Flagg is “feeling great” ahead of the 2025 March Madness tournament, his mom Kelly Bowman Flagg tells PEOPLE.
The freshman phenom, 18, suffered a scary injury in the final minutes of the ACC tournament quarterfinal against Georgia Tech on March 13 and was sidelined for Duke’s final two games. Kelly, a former basketball player at the University of Maine, says Cooper is “excited to work his way back” so he can compete in March Madness.
For the Duke star’s mom, the moment he was injured was a scary experience. “I was like, ‘Oh no, how can this be happening now?,’ ” she tells PEOPLE, as part of her partnership with Dr. Scholl’s. “He got through the entire season fairly injury free, other than he got poked in the eye, he had some cramping, but nothing major that sidelined him.”
Kelly notes that Duke’s last two games were “the first time” Cooper has “ever had to sit out of a game in his entire career.”
Cooper Flagg during a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Jared C. Tilton/Getty
“I know it was really hard for him to feel helpless and not be out there with his team,” she continued. “But I think in the long run, this may end up working out well for our team because the other guys really stepped up and they played great without him and it gave them some confidence.”
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Kelly — a busy mother of three who relies on Dr. Scholl’s when she’s on the go — supports her sons on and off the court. “I try to support in whatever way I can, and I think he just needed some love and just that you’re going to be okay,” she says of helping him through sitting out the games and providing “those kinds of reassurances” for her son. “But he’s doing great.”
Moms of college basketball players are “kind of the unsung heroes” of March Madness, says Kelly, whose other son, Cooper’s twin Ace, plays for her alma mater, the University of Maine.
Cooper Flagg with his parents, Kelly and Ralph Flagg. New Balance
“You think about what Dr. Scholl’s can do for athletes and even for moms, like me, that are busy and running from game to game, or even running through airports trying to catch flights to get to different arenas, and sometimes more than one in a day — which we did have happen this year!”
Kelly says she had a day that started with flying to Atlanta one morning to watch Cooper play before jetting off to see Ace on the court. “Early morning, attended Cooper’s game at Georgia Tech, they played at noon, and immediately after the game, got on a flight back to Greensboro to attend Ace’s game that night. So having Dr. Scholl’s to support that is pretty key.”
