Feline Quickness: Cooper Flagg Is America's New White Hooper

Duke University has another white hooper that will invite possible vitriol. Or, will he?

At Duke University, whiteness, at several points throughout the tenure of Mike Krzyzewski, was synonymous, or a contentious feature, of the relentless winning that made it the program that Black America — thus, America as a whole — viscerally hate Duke. And, what an image it was, even though the “one and done” era rendered Coach K as the mercenary that his depiction once sought to contradict. It can seem like a different epoch ago; Duke University, a place for white success on the basketball court. Who in 2024 remembers when University of Maryland fans would scream “fuck you, J.J” to J.J. Redick, now the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and a darling of the white liberal media? Those chants were cheered; perhaps not on College Gameday, but on streets all the way from Chapel Hill to Winston Salem, to New York. His sister’s phone number was found; on top of that, given out with glee. If Redick wasn’t unlikable, Christian ministers would have told the congregations to send a prayer to his family. Maybe they still should have. The whiteness of Duke was once a chokehold: Christian Lattener stomped on opposing players, literally, and excelled while doing so. (He’s one of the few college players to be invited to play in the U.S. Men’s Basketball Team since they started inviting professional athletes). Older Gods, do you still wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares of Steve “Wojo” Wojciechowski, the white boy from Baltimore that could have been an extra on The Wire? In an infamous clip, disgraced and departed announcer Billy Packer — he once called Allen Iverson a “tough monkey” — reacted to Kentucky’s Jamal Magloire tentatively wrestling with Wojo with accusations of bullying to Wojo. “What’s he doing to Wojo?” said Packer, practically crying, on the broadcast. Wojo was barely good, a player who annoyingly portrayed toughness as a brand like rap fans portray authenticity as a brand. It worked, too, despite his minimal talent. Wojo was everyone’s least favorite white boy. Even Duke fans have to admit the hype around Wojo was slightly ridiculous. (At least Redick, Laettner, and even Grayson Allen were killers on the hardwood).