The Journey of the Top-Ranked High School Basketball Player’s Collegiate Commitment

Teaser: The Next NBA Superstar Leaves New England to Become a Blue Devil: The Journey of the Top Ranked High School Basketball Player’s Collegiate Commitment     

As the fall fades and football season concludes for teenagers across the country, high school basketball begins and aspiring athletes move from the grass to the courts. One of these rising athletes is a 6 '8 phenom from New England. Cooper Flagg, a 16-year-old kid from a small, rural town in Maine, has left scouts, college coaches, and celebrities in awe of his talents. As a freshman at the local Nokomis Regional High School, Flagg won Maine’s Gatorade Player of the year in 2021. In his remarkable 2021-2022 freshman season, he averaged 20.5 points per game and 10 rebounds, leading his team to a 21-1 record and later a state title (Gatorade). With Cooper Flagg becoming nationally recognized and making a name for himself, he became an easy pick for the Men’s U17 National Team, where he helped the team to a gold medal win over Spain. At the FIBA Men’s U17 World Cup, Flagg averaged 9.3 points and 10 rebounds per game and was later announced the USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year (USA Basketball). Flagg continued to display his talent at the most prestigious tournaments around the country while proving to be one of the best defensive players on the court. 

With Cooper Flagg’s young and blossoming career ahead, Flagg made a critical decision to leave his hometown in order to pursue his collegiate dreams. He decided to transfer with his twin brother, Ace, to Montverde Academy in Florida, a basketball powerhouse that has produced talents like R.J. Barrett, D’Angelo Russell, and Ben Simmons. It is here where Flagg plays against the best competition in the country in hopes of developing his game for the next level. Additionally, he is able to showcase his talent on the national stage. As a sophomore at Montverde, Flagg averaged 9.8 points per game and 5.2 rebounds, earning him the top spot in the 2025 high school recruiting class (MaxPreps). During the summer after his sophomore year, Flagg shocked the basketball community again. He decided to reclass up a grade into the 2024 class so that he could head to college sooner and one day to the NBA. Even after jumping up a grade, ESPN still ranks him as the number one recruit in the 2024 class, where he is a Five-star and touted as one of the best high school basketball players this decade (ESPN). 

Cooper Flagg’s next decision was to decide the college where he would take his talents. After official visits to both Duke University and the University of Connecticut, he canceled his last scheduled visit to the University of Kansas. On October 30th, Cooper Flagg announced his commitment to play at Duke University under Jon Scheyer. With Duke acquiring Flagg, 247 Sports ranks the 2024 Duke basketball recruiting class as the number one class in the country. Duke has four Five-star 2024 commits, which is double the amount of Five-star recruits at the next best recruiting class, Kentucky (247Sports). During Duke’s annual Countdown to Craziness event, Flagg revisited Duke for a second time, experiencing the electric atmosphere of Cameron Indoor Stadium, and further confirming his commitment to attend Duke. In Flagg’s interview with SLAM, Flagg explained that "after [he] got on campus, [he] really started to envision [himself] in Durham" (SLAM).  It seems like Duke is the perfect fit for Flagg and his development into an NBA player. Duke, with its five NCAA basketball championships, is always in contention to win March Madness every year, but with Flagg, the other members of the 2024 recruiting class, and Duke’s stacked current roster, Duke has a more than favorable chance of bringing back a ring to the Blue Devils. 

The future is bright for Cooper Flagg,  as he continues to shine on the basketball court. In his first high school game this 2023-2024 season, he scored 19 points for the nationally number one ranked Montverde Academy. Flagg is also projected to be the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft after he completes his freshman year of college. Cooper Flagg is a standout generational talent, who has the capabilities of becoming a superstar in the future, but as of now, he is still just a young boy from a rural Maine town, playing high school basketball with his twin brother, and trying to make a name for himself on the court. 

Ryan Wolff