Once the undisputed king of college basketball, the ACC is now struggling to keep pace. Even with Cooper Flagg’s dominance, the conference is gasping for relevance. How did we get here?

Only Duke, Clemson, and Louisville are a lock for March Madness, and they’re the only teams that are nationally ranked. The level of basketball is going down with each season, and analysts don’t know what to do about it.

However, this isn’t ‘breaking news’. Observers have repeatedly discussed the ACC’s talent and recruitment shortages over the past few years. Top end talent just is not coming to this league. Over the last three years, the conference has only managed to send five out of its eighteen teams to the national tournament. There’s a huge problem, and national coach Jeff Capel reserves the right to say ‘I told you so.’

The Pitts head coach lives and breathes ACC culture. Putting aside all the family connections, it’s the only conference he has coached in. In a column for the Virginian Pilot, he highlighted financial shortcomings as a major reason for the league’s prolonged talent acquisition struggles. After entering into the NIL era, star players are looking to make good money in college. And why shouldn’t they? But that’s where the ACC has lacked. It is taking its own sweet time on the business end of things.

Seth Davis, editor-in-chief of hoopshq.com, retweeted sports columnist David Teel’s status, critiquing the conference and its arrogance. “It takes a lot longer to catch up than it does to fall behind.” He said in his post, calling out the ACC’s reluctance to do business. Right now, thanks to Cooper Flagg, the conference is holding its own against the rest of the NCAA. However, what will happen once he leaves?

Life after Cooper Flagg, troubled times ahead for the ACC?

Even with all the buzz surrounding Cooper Flagg’s sophomore year at Duke, there isn’t a high chance that he comes back. In that case, what happens? Well, a lot. The conference loses one of the biggest stars that the NCAA has ever seen, but it’s not all bad. There’s actually an influx of top-end prospects that are heading to the ACC in 2025.

Let’s take Duke, for example. Jon Scheyer’s keen eye for talent has pushed his Blue Devils to #1 on ESPN’s class of 2025 recruitment rankings. Duke, alongside talent, has procured readymade chemistry by signing the Boozer twins. Cameron Boozer is the third ranked player in his class, while Cayden lags behind at number sixteen. Not only that, Scheyer has two more top 35 talents in his back pocket.

Even North Carolina, which had struggled with the transfer portal this year, has some high-end talent coming their way. Caleb Wilson’s last minute commitment has strengthened the Tar Heels beyond measure, putting them high on ESPN’s ranking. With Kiyan Anthony to Syracuse, Mouhamed Sylla to Georgia Tech, and Jaden Toombs to SMU, the ACC looks to be in good hands going forward.

Cooper Flagg may be the ACC’s saving grace this season, but he’s only a short-term solution. Unless the conference adapts to the new era of NIL-driven recruiting, the ACC’s fall from grace will only accelerate. The question is not if, but when.