If you thought Duke was just going to fade away into the ether after Coach K retired, think again.
Duke is back with a vengeance. And it’ll have one of the best high school basketball players we’ve seen in years to back it up. Cooper Flagg has officially committed to playing at Duke next season.
News broke Monday morning on Flagg’s commitment to the Blue Devils via Slam Magazine. The publication released the announcement along with the latest cover featuring Flagg in a Blue Devils jersey. Duke haters, please look away. I know it hurts.
BREAKING: Cooper Flagg officially commits to Duke… and is on the cover of SLAM 247. https://t.co/FsuijqYx29 pic.twitter.com/lUKLDvbQUB
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) October 30, 2023
RELATED: Cooper Flagg went to Duke and we have no choice but to hate him now
For those of you who aren’t as in the loop on Flagg’s talent, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about this truly special basketball talent.
Who is Cooper Flagg?
Flagg is quite literally the best prospect in basketball right now — regardless of class.
He played for Maine United on the Nike EYBL circuit over the summer and dominated the competition. He played against top talents like Cam Boozer, who he was ranked behind to start the year.
But he won the MVP at the NBA Players Association Top 100 camp in June and completely dominated the Peach Jam in July.
Simply put, he’s the highest recruit Duke has landed since RJ Barrett and its biggest talent since Zion Williamson.
So he jumped up to No. 1? Just how good is he?
Y’all. I cannot overstate just how good this dude is. You don’t even have to believe me. Just watch this here. His highlights are insane.
Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, announced he's committed to Duke. The 6'9, 16-year old averaged 26.8points, 12.4rebounds, 5.2 blocks and 4.7 assists, shooting 37% for 3, in the Nike EYBL 16U for Maine United this summer. pic.twitter.com/gwzt9JgqqA
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) October 30, 2023
He’s putting up insane numbers by mostly using his athleticism. His game is still a bit raw offensively, and that’s where things get even scarier. He has a solid mix of perimeter skills and power moves that could potentially make him a terrifying offensive talent.
Even if he doesn’t become one, though, he’s going to be an elite defender at every level because of his quickness and leaping ability.
Wait, wait, wait. Ain't this the guy who they said beat Bradley Beal one on one?!?
Listen, man. That’s not exactly what people say happened. But where there’s smoke there’s fire — and there’s plenty of smoke here.
The rumor was that Beal and Flagg were playing one-on-one. Beal apparently took things lightly because, of course, he did. It’s a high school kid! Why would he try hard?
But Flagg apparently started giving him buckets and he got upset about it before taking over. At least, that’s the story according to Brian Scalabrine.
“I heard a rumor that my boy Cooper Flagg was at Jayson Tatum’s camp and he was busting Brad Beal 1-on-1, and Brad Beal got mad at him. Started cussing him out. This dude is a major trash-talker. … So I guess the rumor is that Brad Beal and him were squaring off 1-on-1 and Brad Beal was taking it lightly. It’s a high school kid. Then Cooper started giving it to him. And I guess the rumor is, Cooper started talking trash and Bradley Beal got mad. Really mad.”
How true is all of that? I don’t know. Flagg denied it happened. Beal hasn’t talked about it. We don’t know.
But the fact that this is out there just shows you how good this dude might be already.
Wow. That's wild. So he's already the No. 1 pick in the draft?
Barring any setbacks like injury, he should absolutely be the first pick when he enters the draft.
But, obviously, that won’t happen this year. He isn’t eligible to be drafted until 2025. Even that’s pushing it a bit — Flagg reclassified from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2024 so he could go to college and play ball a year earlier. He’s still 16 years old right now. He won’t turn 18 until December of his freshman year at Duke.
It’s still pretty early for him. But when he does finally come out? Watch it, man. He’s going to be good. Really good.
Whatever team manages to draft him will be lucky.
