Cooper Flagg has already shown that he’s built for the hype.

TUCSON — “I don’t believe you can completely realise it unless you’re there and realise how much people adore or dislike Duke. Nobody is divided on the issue. It ended up having a lot of enthusiastic individuals playing the game, which made it a lot of fun.”

That is the mindset required to perform at your best when playing for the Duke Blue Devils, as expressed by 2010 national champion and Phoenix Suns centre Mason Plumlee.

For the first time, we saw how 17-year-old rookie sensation Cooper Flagg handled it on the road. Before the game against the Arizona Wildcats on Friday at McKale Centre, he received hundreds of insults. The visitors access the floor directly next to the student section, and Flagg heard the worst of it the few times his team entered and vacated the court before tip-off.

Flagg responded by scoring 24 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal in Duke’s 69-55 victory.

As they say, he let his game speak for itself. Flagg’s comments had previously gone viral.

Despite scoring eight consecutive Duke points in the mid-second half to secure the victory, he did not acknowledge the crowd.

“I’ve only watched him play a couple of times, but he plays with that edge and spirit, so I doubt that stuff gets to him,” Suns guard Grayson Allen told Arizona Sports in the week leading up to the Duke-Arizona game.”Because it seems like when he gets in the game, he turns on that fire to go compete.”

Allen, a four-year Duke player and 2015 national champion who attended Flagg’s game on Friday, would be familiar with it.

Despite not receiving as much NBA attention in college as Flagg, he is one of the most despised collegiate basketball players in recent memory. Flagg has adopted Christian Laettner’s, JJ Redick’s, and Allen’s rhetoric as the public enemy number one.

And Flagg’s game does not include any shenanigans. He’s simply so darn awesome.

Flagg is very certainly going to be the sixth Blue Devil picked first overall in the NBA Draft. That will give Duke an advantage over every other university and at least quadruple the amount of every school save Kentucky.

Duke has 56 players taken in the first round, trailing only Kentucky (60). North Carolina (54) is next, with a significant lead over UCLA (43) and Kansas (36).

These five programs are usually regarded as the “blue blood” institutions in collegiate basketball.

Speaking with former Blue Devils on the Suns, as well as Phoenix star Devin Booker, who played for Kentucky, it’s evident why the two schools have such a huge disparity.

Yes, there is something to a big-time prospect playing at a lower-level institution, maybe one near to or at home. Helping to create a program has its own attraction. But for young guys, the pressure of playing at a program like Duke is excellent preparation for what the NBA has in store.

“The brightest of lights, the biggest stage (are at Duke),” Suns guard and 2015 Duke national champion Tyus Jones remarked to Arizona Sports.”And when I was there, Coach K psychologically prepared me in every way for this level. Most absolutely.”

“They have a lot of expectations,” Allen explained.”When you come to Duke, there have been years and years of teams that have established a particular standard or degree of performance that is expected of you as a Duke team. So he already has all of that going on. Aside from that, he has a lot of individual expectations, with everyone anticipating him to be the first choice.

Allen said that past teams’ records and streaks are handed on to the following group. He recalls Duke’s incredible home winning run against non-conference opponents, which spanned 36 years and 150 games. He felt responsible for keeping it.

“You don’t want to be the first,” Allen explained.

Nights like Friday in Tucson must have contributed to Flagg’s decision to attend Duke.

The two institutions, each with a rich history, had not played at McKale Centre in almost three decades. Even without that disparity, the atmosphere surrounding a storied basketball team like Arizona playing Duke is enough to put Flagg to the test in a setting that will help him improve.

“You get a little bit because every game ends up being a big game,” Allen said of the stress of playing for Duke. “When you’re at home, Cameron Indoor Stadium sells out. When you’re on the road, most teams sell out to attend the game.”

College basketball fans generally despise those colleges. It’s instilled in them, much like football fans hate the Dallas Cowboys and baseball fans hate the New York Yankees. Arizona students camped out the day before Duke’s arrival to get seats.

Booker agreed that there is something special about playing for those disliked institutions. Booker sees someone who is ready for Flagg and the attention he carries.

“He’s built for it,” Booker told Arizona Sports last week. “He has everything he needs, and I am sure he wants it. He possesses all of the intangibles required to be really successful.”

Devin Booker and Kevin Durant got a firsthand view of Cooper Flagg at Team USA training.

Flagg became the first collegiate player in over a decade to be called up to Team USA’s select team this summer. He competed against the Olympic roster at training camp in Las Vegas, which preceded an exhibition tour before the Americans headed for Paris.

“He seemed to fit in well. Booker, two-time Olympic gold medallist, expressed admiration for him and his demeanour in an interview with Arizona Sports.

The gym was only available to the media for a few minutes on a single day of public scrimmage watching. Throughout his career, Flagg achieved a few notable accomplishments. While the task at hand takes precedence, those soldiers notice when the media is there — and they understand what it means when someone is posterised. They know it’s a viral tale when someone with Flagg’s physique drops a couple baskets on some future Hall of Famers. He did it anyhow.

Kevin Durant, a four-time Olympic gold medallist and Suns forward, was unable to play against Flagg due to an ailment at the time. But you recognise him. He was observing.

Durant described Durant as a confident, youthful, competent player with strong fundamentals. He expressed excitement about the upcoming season.

That must be really nice to hear, right?

“I learnt a lot from them,” Flagg remarked about his time with Team USA. “Just to hear such great compliments means a lot to me.

“It’s not something that everyone gets to do,” Flagg said. “That experience of playing against top players is not common. The opportunity to go out there and play and compete was quite valuable to me, and I learnt a lot from them. “The way they carry themselves, play, and compete.”

Durant received a lot of attention when he entered college and decided to take a one-shot approach. More significantly, he’s seen a lot of individuals hailed as the next big thing since his arrival. Some have succeeded. Others had failed.

What is the secret to reaching, if not exceeding, such high expectations?

“Just keeping the main thing the main thing — basketball,” Durant told reporters. “It appears like he is just concentrating on the game and attempting to assist his side win. He seems to be an excellent teammate on television, which is quite beneficial when you’re completely focused on your group. This tends to distract your attention off the outside sounds. He has a decent head on his shoulders, excellent parents, teammates, and coaches, so I believe he will be alright.”

There are a few individuals who would discuss Booker and the moment they realised he was more than just a late lottery choice. Those who are very invested in basketball talk about it as if it were an instinctive sense they receive from seeing someone up close.

Booker, who added that everyone’s start to their NBA career is unique and sometimes be tough, was asked whether it’s something he thinks is identifiable.

“Yes, you can,” Booker said. “I wouldn’t say it’s always smooth. You never know if it will be. But you can see when there is competitiveness, an attitude, and professionalism at that young age.”