Cooper Flagg has taken the US Youth Basketball by storm with some people calling him the number 1 prospect for the NBA draft at 17 years old only. After announcing himself on the big stage in the FIBA U17 world cup Flagg has a lot of potential for a legendary career in the NBA.
At the age of 15, he won the first Gold at u17 world championship and youngest player ever to win the Male athlete of the year in history. Life is never the same for him as he is being praised by NBA superstar Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics) who is looking forward to Flagg having a career in NBA.
Signed with Duke Basketball
Recently, Flagg has joined the Duke Basketball High school team which will determine his fate for the upcoming NBA draft. The NBA scouts will be hunting for the talent in the mid-season tournament this year at the end of 2024. The exciting young prospect is already in the potential top 5 picks of the draft. With Duke Basketball, he is expected to get attention and intense battles among the best talent in youth basketball. It will be interesting to see how things will end up by the end of 2024.
NO.1 Prospect in USA Youth Basketball
Cooper’s basketball love and legacy goes back to the 1980’s when his dad used to watch the Boston Celtics in the NBA. In 1980’s Boston Celtics won three NBA titles with Larry Green winning MVPS’s in his rivalry with Magic Jhonson. Cooper’s family love for basketball would be a dream come true if their own bloodline plays for the Celtics in the future. However, it is still early to call on the future, but Flag has already made headlines in the U.S.A. With passion, and love of his family the future is very bright for young 17-year-old. Both parents of the Cooper’s family have played Basketball at the NCAA.
Cooper was born in a small-town Newport, Maine in 2006 and started playing basketball for the Blue Wave Elite in the fifth grade. He was trained and coached by his father and mother in the early days of middle school. After showing glimpses of talent, he was then coached by Andy Bedard, a former D.I player for Boston Celtics and NCAA. That’s where things started to get serious after Flagg grew taller and showed some serious movements on the court. Everything went smoothly for the Cooper’s family in Maine which turned them into a royal family. His young talent and hard work let him develop some excellent skills at the age of 13.
Everything changed after the U-17 World Championship. Despite being the youngest (15) in the team, Cooper didn’t hesitate to bag buckets. The team didn’t lose a single game with a 7-0 record the U.S.A earned a 7th Gold medal in a row. History was made and Flagg’s family is now a part of history. Flagg has a twin brother, Ace Flagg, and both are playing basketball with the best in the country. Cooper was on top of another team with averaging 9.3 points, 10 rebound 2.3 steals per game. Playing as small forward shows how dominant the 6 foot 6 feet long Cooper is at the international level. After that he got attention from many academies and transfers request was made because he was announced as the Male athlete of the year in 2022 and top 5 recruits in the 2024 class.
Debut with Montverde Academy
Cooper’s mother made the decision to join Montverde Academy in Florida. There was no stopping him from success as the young start excelled in his first game as head coach praised him for being a bright start at a very young age. Cooper’s next challenge was the Hoophall classic Basketball League, and he started cooking from the very beginning on the court. This tournament is covered by ESPN’s college programme broadcast that headlined by Cooper’s Flagg.
On his debut game, Cooper stole the show by scoring 21 points with 5 rebounds took his team to the victory as the game ended with 85-63 over LaLumiere (IN). He was named the MVP of the game and was proud to represent his town Maine at this level. Cooper is the first basketball player who has been named no.1 prospect in the class of 2024 and there has been no one from Maine who has done that before. This made him proud of his town to go to the next level and make a big name in the world. In the end of 2023 season, Cooper Flagg has verbally joined the Duke Basketball for the next two years. This was his childhood dream to be a part of Blue Devils, which has now come true at the age of 17. His brother will be joining him after a year. With a year and half still left of his career at the Montverde Academy. Cooper’s chapter at Duke will start in the summer of 2024 as potential NBA agents will be scouting in the five games in Las Vegas. We already know his potential, but there is still some work left for the NBA dream to come true. This is a great story that made a star at a young age, and he continues to shine brightly on the big stage.
With praise from Jayson Tatum and playing against the best talent in the world. Cooper’s parents have done a fabulous job to keep the dreams alive of their sons which is a remarkable sign the American Spirit is still alive in our generation and more talent will be coming ahead for the future. With multiple leagues and competition, the NBA agents is ready to take advantage of the young high school talent in the country.
