Flagg (Duke), Davis (UNC), Sallis (Wake)
Among 2024-25 Wooden Award Favorites

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

Only three freshmen ever have won the Wooden Award, which is given annually to the top player in college basketball, but incoming Duke forward Cooper Flagg is considered by many the preseason favorite to take the honor during the upcoming 2024-25 men’s basketball season.

BetOnline recently became the latest oddsmaker to put Flagg (4/1 odds) atop the list of candidates for the Wooden Award, a national player of the year accolade launched in 1977 and named after legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.

2024-25 Wooden Award: Early Favorites
(BetOnline Odds)

4/1 — forward Cooper Flagg, freshman, Duke
5/1 — center Hunter Dickinson, fifth-year senior, Kansas
6/1 —  guard RJ Davis, fifth-year senior, North Carolina
8/1 — guard Mark Sears, fifth-year senior, Alabama

In men’s basketball, Texas forward Kevin Durant (2007), Kentucky center Anthony Davis (2012) and Duke forward Zion Williamson (2019) are the only freshmen ever to claim this particular prize.

Flagg, the #1 high school prospect in the Class of 2024, further boosted his stock this summer with his performance against members of Team USA as they prepared for the Summer Olympics in France.

“He’s tough to describe because he does everything well,” legendary former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said earlier this year. “He reminds me, defensively, of one of the great international defensive players, (former Russia/NBA star Andrei) Kirilenko. But offensively, he can really pass … there’s not an aspect of the game that he can’t do.

“But then you add spirit and competitiveness, at the highest level. Then, all those things that you do well … you know what? You do them really well. I’m anxious to have him here at Duke.”

It’s not just oddsmakers, Team USA members and retired legends who see Flagg as such an extraordinary talent.

When CBS Sports polled more than 100 college coaches this summer (allowing anonymity with their responses) and asked them who would be the best player in college basketball during the 2024-25 season, the #1 answer was Flagg.

CBS Sports Poll of College Coaches
(2024-25 Best Player In NCAA Basketball)

36% — forward Cooper Flagg, freshman, Duke
22% — guard Mark Sears, fifth-year senior, Alabama
16% — center Hunter Dickinson, fifth-year senior, Kansas
15% — guard RJ Davis, fifth-year senior, North Carolina
11% — (all other players combined)

Four Atlantic Coast Conference players were listed among the top 25 candidates for the 2025 Wooden Award: Flagg (4/1), Davis (6/1), Duke guard Tyrese Proctor (40/1) and Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis (50/1).

Davis, a unanimous first-team All-American and the ACC Player of the Year last season, is back for his fifth and final campaign with the Tar Heels. He is the only player in UNC’s illustrious history to surpass each of the following thresholds: 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists, 250 three-pointers and 100 steals.

Proctor, a junior, helped his native Australia to the gold medal of the FIBA Asia Cup in 2022, earned ACC All-Freshman honors at Duke during the 2022-23 season, and averaged 10.5 points per game and came very close to a 3:1 assist-to-turnover ratio last season, his second as the Blue Devils’ starting point guard.

Sallis, a senior, earned first-team All-ACC and ACC Newcomer of the Year honors at Wake Forest last season, his first with the Demon Deacons after two years at Gonzaga. After leading the Deacons in scoring (18 ppg) and shooting 48.7 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from behind the arc and 78.3 percent from the free throw line, he went through the NBA draft process (some considered him a possible first-round pick) but ultimately opted to stay in Winston-Salem.

All-time, ACC players have won 13 of the 48 Wooden Awards, marking the highest representation of any conference.

Six Duke players, four UNC players, one Virginia player (twice) and one Wake Forest player have claimed the Wooden Award. Current ACC member Louisville also has one winner (Darrell Griffith in 1980), although that came long before the Cardinals’ ACC entry.

ACC Wooden Award Winners
(Year — Player, School)

1978 — Phil Ford, UNC
1982 — Ralph Sampson, Virginia
1983 — Ralph Sampson, Virginia
1984 — Michael Jordan, UNC
1992 — Christian Laettner, Duke
1997 — Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
1998 — Antawn Jamison, UNC
1999 — Elton Brand, Duke
2001 — Shane Battier, Duke
2002 — Jason Williams, Duke
2006 — JJ Redick, Duke
2008 — Tyler Hansbrough, UNC
2019 — Zion Williamson, Duke

Until last year, Sampson was the only player ever to win the Wooden Award more than once. Purdue center Zach Edey (now in the NBA) captured the honor after both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

2024-25 Wooden Award: Top Contenders
(BetOnline Odds)

4/1 — Cooper Flagg, freshman, Duke
5/1 — Hunter Dickinson, fifth-year senior, Kansas
6/1 —  RJ Davis, fifth-year senior, North Carolina
8/1 — Mark Sears, fifth-year senior, Alabama
16/1 — AJ Storr, junior, Kansas
20/1 — LJ Cryer, fifth-year senior, Houston
28/1 — Johnell Davis, fifth-year senior, Arkansas
33/1 — Johni Broome, fifth-year senior, Auburn
33/1 — Khalif Battle, sixth-year senior, Gonzaga
33/1 — VJ Edgecombe, freshman, Baylor
40/1 — Ace Bailey, freshman, Rutgers
40/1 — Caleb Love, fifth-year senior, Arizona
40/1 — Dylan Harper, freshman, Rutgers
40/1 — Liam McNeeley, freshman, Connecticut
40/1 — Ryan Kalkbrenner, fifth-year senior, Creighton
40/1 — Ryan Nembhard, senior, Gonzaga
40/1 — Tyrese Proctor, junior, Duke
40/1 — Zeke Mayo, senior, Kansas
45/1 — Graham Ike, fifth-year senior, Gonzaga
45/1 — Grant Nelson, fifth-year senior, Alabama
45/1 — Tamin Lipsey, junior, lowa State
50/1 — Coleman Hawkins, fifth-year senior, Kansas State
50/1 — Hunter Sallis, senior, Wake Forest