Duke Basketball: Impact of Blue Devils landing No. 1 prospect Cooper Flagg

Why is he Important?

Anytime a coach can land the top recruit in the country it is a big deal but when that recruit is a player like Flagg is means a lot more. Flagg is the best high school recruit we have seen since Zion Williamson and even that may not do it justice. Flagg has gone viral on social media numerous times for his basketball accomplishments, but they are different accomplishments than other viral stars like Zion and even Mac McClung to an extent.

The 16 year old from Maine is one of a kind. He has been described as a “sneaky” athlete, but one watch of his highlight tape and you will see there is nothing “sneaky” at all about his athleticism or his ability. He is legitimately one of the most talented players the game has seen has come out of the high school ranks since LeBron James. Yes, I said it.

Let’s start our journey at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport Maine. That is where the 6’8” Flagg is a freshman and dominating his competition. The forward averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals, and 4 blocks per game and earned the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year as a Freshmen in 2021-2022. He led the team to a 21-1 record and a state championship as a 15 year old and he was just getting started in his high school career. That season prompted the move to Montverde Academy to finish out his high school career.

This also started the recruitment process for he forward and Duke and coach Scheyer were heavily involved in his recruitment from this point forward. His first year at Montverde, surrounded by a ton of talent still saw him produce 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists

This past summer on the Nike EYBL circuit the forward was the best player in the league, and it wasn’t close. In case any of you need a refresher into the EYBL, it is the premier league for High School Basketball talent. It is the premier AAU shoe circuit league and gets the best players annually. Flagg was putting these types of numbers up against the best talent in the country. In the summer playing for Maine United the top recruit put up a stat line of 27 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks over 17 games played on the summer circuit. Those were his season averages but there were a few individual games that stood out to show everyone that Flagg was different.

In a game against Team United the forward scored 45 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 blocks. In another game against the Indy Heat he had a line of 27 points, 17 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 blocks, and 3 steals. Flagg set the 16U EYBL record with 52 points in a game. Yes, let’s address this now he is a volume shooter and the game plan for Maine United was to throw the ball to Flagg and let him do the work. He did take 23 shots in the 52 point game but his efficiency is not something you would normally see from a volume shooter. He shot over 55% from the floor, 34% from three, and 84% from the line.

Throughout the summer the forward was putting up eye popping numbers in the EYBL while having eyes from every blue blood on him. Flagg chose Duke over the National Champions. He chose to attend Duke University and not UConn. That has created a little bit of a rivalry between the two head coaches and especially between the fan bases. Flagg is the best player to ever come out of the Northeast and he is going to be one of the best recruits to ever play for Duke. He is a three level scorer, elite passer for his size, and elite rebounder.

He is a walking triple double and unless the opponents have a athletic big man who can stop Flagg from running all over the court he is going to do the same thing in the ACC. He likely won’t be scoring 30 a night but he will still average about a double-double and card multiple triple doubles. Flagg is one of those once in a generation prospects. No like him will come around again for a long time.