ESPN senior college basketball reporter and nationally syndicated radio host Myron Medcalf wrote that former Nokomis High School of Newport basketball star Cooper Flagg is a “perfect fit for Duke.”
The 6-foot-8, 200-pound Flagg, rated the top college basketball prospect in the 2024-25 freshman class, committed to Duke University on Monday morning. He selected the Blue Devils over the University of Connecticut.
Medcalf said Flagg follows a group of former versatile Duke stars who were allowed to utilize all of their different talents while playing for the Blue Devils.
That list included Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, Shane Battier, Marvin Bagley and Zion Williamson.
“The program has allowed multiple players with a diverse skill set to use all of their abilities,” Medcalf wrote. “[Current Blue Devils coach] Jon Scheyer — who was a Duke assistant when Williamson won the Wooden Award [nation’s best player] in 2019 — won’t hold Flagg back.
“He will allow him to play the way he wants: above the rim, on the perimeter, in space, in transition and anywhere else he desires. The Duke system is built for Flagg, and vice versa.
“He just committed to a school with a strong track record of refusing to put players like him in a box,” Medcalf wrote.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote that landing Flagg makes Duke the favorite to land the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.
He pointed out that the Blue Devils have already landed the nation’s No. 8 recruit in five-star wing Isaiah Evans and top-50 guards in Kon Knueppel (No. 22) and Darren Harris (No. 45). They are also still pursuing five-star prospects V.J. Edgecome (No. 5) and Pat Ngongba (No. 19).
Borzello noted that Flagg, the other three commits, Edgecombe and Ngongba all visited Duke for Countdown to Craziness two weekends ago.
Scheyer has landed the No. 1 and No. 2 recruiting classes since being named Mike Krzyzewski’s successor.
This season’s Duke team is ranked No. 2 in the country in the Associated Press preseason poll and is the preseason favorite to defend its Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
The Blue Devils have the ACC preseason Player of the Year and All-ACC first team selection in sophomore center Kyle Filipowski and All-ACC second team guard Tyrese Proctor, who is also a sophomore.
Guards Jared McCain and Caleb Foster were chosen to the All-ACC Rookie Team.
Duke went 27-9 overall last season, 14-6 in the ACC, and won the conference tournament before beating Oral Roberts 74-51 in its first NCAA Tournament game and then losing to No. 20 Tennessee 65-52 in its second game.
Borzello wrote that one college coach told him Flagg is “what a modern-day wing looks like in the NBA. 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.”
Borzello’s story also included an overview of Flagg from an NBA scout he interviewed last summer.
“Flagg is just different. He has the mental makeup. He’s consistent with his mindset, motor and production,” the scout said. “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 [award] 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 has a chance to be a transformational basketball player in the sport as a whole,” he added.
Krysten Peek, the NBA draft analyst for Yahoo Sports wrote that one NBA scout told Yahoo Sports that Flagg was “one of the best players to ascend the high school ranks in the last 10 years.
“He’s the best defender in the country and has a lot of intangibles to his game that make him a projected top prospect in his class.”
Peek called him the “most versatile player in the country and top rim protector in high school basketball.”