By: JAEQWON SUAREZ / DEPUTY ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Cooper Flagg has finally decided as to which university he will be committing to for the 20204-2025 school year. He initially considered joining UConn, the defending NCAA champs, but after he visited Duke University, he committed to the Blue Devils on October 30.
Flagg has had an astounding basketball career thus far, representing the USA Basketball Team at the FIBA U17 World Cup at 15 years old in 2022. He averaged about 9.3 points with 10 rebounds in the games.
Originally from Maine, he led his high school team to the state finals as a freshman before transferring to play for Montverde Academy in Florida. In the last season, Flagg played in 25 games and averaged 9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 blocks in under eighteen minutes per game.
Standing at 6'8" and playing small forward, coaches from Duke, UConn and Kansas had their eyes on him.
Flagg has many college coaches compliment him on his work ethic. “Cooper Flagg is what a modern-day wing looks like in the NBA," one college coach noted. "Long, athletic, versatile and can dribble, pass and shoot. I think the intensity and competitiveness he plays with will translate really smooth to the next level.”
An NBA scout also added that Flagg “has the mental makeup. He's consistent with his mindset, motor and production. If he doesn't develop an ounce of his offensive package from this day forward, he's still potentially in the running for a Defensive Player of the Year at the NBA level. Just the progressions that he's shown with the live-ball playmaking, shot-creating off the bounce, instinctive reads and plays on both ends and then how he carries himself.”
He ended up canceling his trip to Kansas after visiting the Huskies at UConn, which only left him with two options. Flagg stated in an interview that Duke was always his dream school.
“[Duke is the] dream school obviously but there’s still so many more options that I want to look into and everything like that,” Flagg told ZAGSBLOG.
That gave Flagg a certain amount of relief, considering Duke has steadily been producing many NBA prospects.
Flagg originally ranked second in the 2025 class behind Cameron Boozer. However, after reclassifying to the class of 2024, he became the top-rated prospect.
After originally visiting Duke in August, Flagg’s official visit during the school’s Countdown to Craziness event helped him envision himself in blue and white.
As he expressed during his commitment video with SLAM, “After I got on campus, I really started to envision myself in Durham. All the love I felt made me really excited, seeing all the Crazies and the atmosphere in Cameron. I'm honored that I have the opportunity to join the brotherhood."
With Flagg’s commitment to the Blue Devils, Jon Scheyer, the head coach of the Blue Devils will be starting the next season with a team that doesn’t seem to falling off anytime soon.
Scheyer was able to keep five of his players that could have declared for the NBA Draft last year. With his top five staying along with Flagg joining the next school year, his recruitment skills have landed him a competitive team bound to compete for a championship next year.
However, UConn is still the reigning NCAA champion, so only time will tell if the Blue Devils can survive March Madness.