Cooper and Ace Flagg are national champions.
The Flaggs’ No. 1 Montverde Academy Eagles (Florida) downed No. 2 Paul VI (Virginia) 79-63 in Saturday afternoon’s Chipotle Nationals title game in Indianapolis, capping off a perfect 33-0 season and securing a record seventh national title in program history — following in the footsteps of Montverde alumni such as Ben Simmons, D’Angelo Russell and RJ Barrett.
Facing off against a stacked Paul VI team with three top 75 prospects in the nation, No. 1 prospect Cooper Flagg tallied 16 points (6-for-9 shooting), eight rebounds (led all players), two assists and a whopping six blocks (led all players) on Saturday, taking home all-tournament MVP honors.
Cooper also dropped 28 points, six rebounds and three assists against No. 5 Christopher Columbus (Florida) in the semifinals on Friday, and Ace played one minute in Saturday’s national championship.
Two of Cooper’s most memorable highlights from Saturday’s matchup came towards the end of the game.
In the dying seconds of the third quarter, Flagg bookended a block of Paul VI into a one-man fast break, weaving past oncoming defenders and thunderously slamming the ball home with two hands to beat the buzzer. A few minutes into the fourth quarter, Flagg was at it again, teaming up with senior Liam McNeeley to corral a loose ball with just one shoe on.
Cooper and Ace will look to add to their trophy cases next season, at Duke University and Montverde Academy, respectively — two of the most established basketball programs in the country.
At Duke, Cooper headlines the No. 1 recruiting class in the country featuring five top 25 prospects, including Patrick Ngongba II (No. 23) of Paul VI, North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year Isaiah Evans (No. 14) and NBA Academy Africa graduate Khaman Malauch (No. 6) from South Sudan.
At Montverde, Ace will return to a squad with seven national titles in 11 years, as he prepares to play Division I college ball beginning in 2025. Ace averaged 2.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game this season, and has offers from UMaine, West Virginia and George Washington.
