Flagg explodes on national scene
Just a mere freshman, Cooper Flagg has burst onto the national recruiting radar and has Duke’s attention. The 6-foot-8 Maine native is now a national recruit.
It’s not often that we have an established recruit on the radar for Duke who’s merely a freshman in high school. But today, that’s the topic of discussion.
Cooper Flagg, a 6-foot-8, 190-pound forward and a ninth grader, has simply blown up as an elite high major recruit. With his recent breakout performances at the Nike EYBL and the USA Basketball mini-camp, this kid’s recruitment has seen a meteoric rise in attention.
His mother, Kelly, a coach for Maine United on the Nike circuit and who was a Division I player herself, talked about the developments with Bull City Hoops.
“Oh it’s definitely been exciting hearing from the college coaches,” she said. “Our Maine United Team is on the 15U Nike circuit and these kids got a little taste of playing out of state. Our team is coached by Andy Bedard and Cooper has been on the radar for some of these schools a couple of years.”
Cooper also has a twin brother named Ace, who is also on college radars. But as Kelly explains, their games couldn’t be any more different.
“Ace is 6-7 and he’s definitely more of an interior post player, rim runner and rebounder. Cooper at 6-8 is more of a guard,” she added.
The offers and attention have spiked for Cooper since the USA and Nike event. He had offers from Bryant, Maine and Albany beforehand, but he now holds them from Iowa and UCLA, and he’s heard from Louisville, Kentucky, Duke, Maryland and Stanford amongst others.
Naturally, we asked about Duke. And since Kelly is a coach, the colleges can work around NCAA contact restrictions.
“Ive had a great conversation with Coach (Jon) Scheyer,” she said. “He is certainly interested in pursuing Cooper and really likes the things that he can do. He wants to develop a relationship with him.”
Flagg didn’t hesitate to offer an excitement to her voice when talking about the Duke program.
“I won’t lie, I am kind of excited to see how that unfolds. Cooper has always been a Duke fan. When he was little, he was always put in Duke stuff. So he’s always been a huge Duke fan. Aside from that, it’s tough to argue with what they produce, year after year. But it’ll come down to where he has the best connection and best fit.
“I told Coach Scheyer I am definitely pulling for Duke. I make no bones about it.”
On the court, the tapes of Cooper show a well-developed prospect who is as versatile as they come. The Maine native has pristine footwork, a smooth handle, a good looking jump shot and ridiculous countermoves and intuition for a 15-year-old. His comfort on the perimeter and in transition is something to see and he’s got a lot of bounce, quickness and agility as well.
His mother modestly talked about two comparisons that played for Duke.
“As he’s evolved and gotten stronger, we’ve heard comparisons to Jayson Tatum and we’ve also heard the Mike Dunleavy Jr. comparisons as well.”
Both sons, Cooper and Ace, will play for Montverde Academy in Florida for legendary coach Kevin Boyle. It was a decision they made after watching Montverde play at an event in Massachusetts.
“Just the way that Coach Boyle coaches and pushes the kids reminded us so much of the way that coach Andy Bedard pushes them. They watched them and loved it.”
While there’s certainly a long way to go in Cooper’s recruitment, the 2025 prospect has established himself as a nationally elite player in his class. And Scheyer is paying close attention.