Cooper Flagg gives most teams all kinds of problems.

The freshman guard/forward is 6-9, 205 pounds and has picked up accolade after accolade this season for Duke. He’s a consensus first team All-American, the ACC player of the year, etc. Flagg will also likely win the national player of the year awards, too.

He averages 19 points per game, 7.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.4 steals.

Simply put, he’s a handful. And he’s the best player on the No. 1 seed Duke team that stands between No. 2 seed Alabama and the Final Four. The two teams will face off in the Elite Eight on Saturday (7:49 p.m. CT, truTV/TBS) at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

So, to whom will Alabama men’s basketball turn to slow him down? That answer doesn’t seem to be a simple one.

“We’re going to have to try different things and see who kind of becomes maybe our best matchup there and see what we can do,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said.

Perhaps it’s Grant Nelson. Or maybe Mouhamed Dioubate. Both can play defense well and have the length necessary and enough athleticism to have a shot at defending him.

Nelson expects “a bunch of guys” to defend Flagg, not just one Alabama player to bear the load of trying to stop him.

“I feel like we’re going to throw whatever at him,” Nelson said. “I don’t know if we’ve made a clear decision yet. But we’ve got a lot of guys on this team we feel can go in there and make an impact.”

No matter who’s standing between Flagg and the basket, the plan will be similar.

“We’re just going to try to make everything hard for him,” Dioubate said. “We know the good player he is. We’re going to try to pressure him. Make him take more shots. Just be physical with him.”

Oats remains realistic about the challenge. He knows Alabama won’t hold him to 10 points. “That’s just not happening,” Oats said. But Alabama also can’t allow him to get say 25 points, 10 assists and draw a bunch of fouls.

“We’re going to have to be on top of our game plan with them and have a couple different options,” Oats said. “Because I think if you just do the same thing with them all the time, he’s smart enough to figure it out pretty quick.”

Oats said Flagg’s strength is his versatility.

“Look, there’s a reason he’s going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft,” Oats said. “I mean, I think you’re going to have to mix it up because he’s so versatile and you’re going to have to try to keep him off balance a little bit. Because if you give him the same dose of everything for 40 minutes, it seems like he’s got a pretty high IQ.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for Follow him on X and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.