Cooper Flagg ended months of speculation by committing to Duke on Oct. 30, a huge win for the Blue Devils and coach Jon Scheyer.
Now comes the fun part -- envisioning what Flagg, the No. 1 recruit in the 2024 class, can bring to Duke, where he needs to improve and assessing what his professional future holds via conversations with NBA scouts. Flagg will enter Duke as the Blue Devils most anticipated recruit since Zion Williamson in 2018. A native of Newport, Maine, Flagg won a state championship as a freshman at Nokomis High School, scoring 22 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the state final. His star power just grew from there.
At just 15 years old, Flagg played for USA Basketball's Under-17 team at the 2022 FIBA World Cup and was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 9.3 points, 10 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 2.4 steals per game. He saved some of his best for the championship game, finishing with 10 points, 17 rebounds, eight steals and four blocks in a win over Spain.
Flagg, 16, has dominated games since that point. He has elite versatility, scores both inside and outside the arc and knows to facilitate when defensive attention is on him -- breaking and attacking pressure has become common practice. Flagg finishes transition opportunities, competes on defense and is a standout shot blocker.