Inside the mind of Cooper Flagg: ‘He wants to destroy his competition’

NEWARK, N.J. — Kelly Flagg remembers the scene prefer it was yesterday.

Her twin boys, Cooper and Ace, had been taking part in the favored online game, “Simply Dance” on the Nintendo Wii on the age of 4. They had been dancing to the tune “The Ants Go Marching” and after Cooper received the primary recreation, Ace hugged his brother and let him know the way proud he was of him.

“It was such a vivid reminiscence for me,” Kelly mentioned. “Cooper and Ace had been so aggressive taking part in the sport.”

When the subsequent tune got here on, it was Ace who received, however the reception from his brother was fairly completely different, as Cooper proceeded to cross his arms, flip away, and, based on Kelly, was “very mad.”

Kelly proceeded to show her son the lesson of being an aesthetic winner, and that is when it hit her that she had a really completely different sort of child in her household room. 

“That aggressive drive comes from inside,” Kelly mentioned of Cooper. “He will not settle for some other method than being the perfect at no matter it’s he is doing. It would not matter what it’s. It may very well be baseball, soccer, soccer – heck, even cornhole! He makes the whole lot a contest. All the pieces that we attempt to do, he desires to win, and he desires to destroy his competitors.”

The son of Ralph, a former basketball participant at Jap Maine Neighborhood School, and Kelly, who was part of 4 NCAA Event groups throughout her time on the College of Maine, Cooper’s work ethic and drive originate from his household’s deep basketball roots. 

Kelly, who frolicked teaching her sons with their Maine United AAU program, is aware of when to play the motherly position together with her two boys, however she additionally makes it a degree to all the time be sincere with them, which is because of understanding their needs in life.

“I am a realist. I’ve by no means, ever sugarcoated something,” Kelly mentioned. “I give props to them once they’re deserving and congratulate them on jobs effectively completed. But when I did not suppose they performed effectively, I am not one to say ‘good job’ or something like that. That is not me. And I feel it is a profit to them that I have been sincere.”

Cooper craves sincere suggestions, and Kelly makes positive to offer him simply that, particularly with regards to critiquing him on issues which can be effort-related.

“When he passes the ball and I see him standing round and watching as a substitute of transferring and chopping to the basket, or when he would not crash the glass on a shot, these are issues I’m crucial of him on,” Kelly mentioned of Cooper. “Greater than something, it is free throws. That basically eats at me. There is not any excuse for lacking a free throw. I do not care. It is free for a cause. He is shot 1,000,000 of them so he ought to by no means miss any.” 

Sure, the aggressive edge is within the genes. 

It is what led Cooper to play on the fifth and sixth grade stage as a third-grader. By the point he reached the fifth grade, he was taking part in on the seventh and eighth grade stage. By the point he obtained to seventh grade, he was dunking a basketball. 

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The lasting picture of Flagg for Matt Cohen, who served as an assistant coach at Montverde Academy, got here again in December 2023. It was a time of yr when most individuals are within the vacation spirit, however 17-year-old Cooper Flagg was something however that.

Sitting within the foyer of a Fort Meyers lodge, Flagg was approached by Paul VI standout Patrick Ngongba, who was set to be a future teammate of Flagg’s at Duke.

“Cooper would not even communicate to him earlier than the sport or on the lodge,” Cohen recalled. “Pat was confused. He was saying to his dad and mom, ‘Why is not Cooper speaking to me?'”

When requested by the Montverde teaching employees why Flagg was ignoring a future school teammate in Durham, Flagg did not maintain again along with his response.

“Yeah, we could also be teammates subsequent yr, however proper now, that is my enemy,” Flagg informed the coaches. 

“This man, he is so aggressive that he would not even look in Pat’s course as a result of regardless that he was going to be associates and teammates with him at Duke, he couldn’t be pleasant with him then,” Cohen mentioned. “It speaks to the competitor he’s.” 

Flagg and Montverde Academy completed 33-0 on the season, profitable a nationwide championship after Kevin Boyle constructed a roster together with NCAA Event hero and Maryland star Derik Queen, UConn star Liam McNeeley, Baylor’s Robert Wright, Georgia’s Asa Newell and extra.

Cohen credit Flagg’s aggressive nature for Montverde’s success, pointing to a recreation final February towards Lengthy Island Lutheran, which featured present Baylor freshman star V.J. Edgecombe.

“The sport begins and Cooper is speaking essentially the most trash that I’ve ever seen him speak,” Cohen mentioned. “He is saying ‘you are not like this or that.’ There are movies going viral on his efficiency. He had a complete killer mentality, and we blew them out by 32.”

However what occurred subsequent is one thing Cohen admits he’ll always remember.

“We walked out of the locker room, and we will not even get out as a result of the whole hallway is full of little youngsters on the lookout for Cooper and screaming his title. All of them needed his autograph,” Cohen recalled. “For Cooper to be speaking trash and dominating a recreation with this vicious mentality to strolling out and giving each child his time, it says all of it about who he’s. 

“His face lights up when he sees youngsters who’re admiring him as a result of I actually consider it is his purpose to be a task mannequin. He actually cherishes his younger followers. He is aware of coming from how a lot he loves the Celtics and the way a lot he grew up idolizing these groups, he desires to pay it ahead to the subsequent technology.” 

That is Flagg: the perfect participant to ever come out of the state of Maine, raised by two dad and mom who preach blue-collar values and hold him measured by how a lot they push him, and a man who, greater than something, desires to win. 

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Flagg was within the fourth grade when Andy Bedard first laid eyes on him. A member of the College of Maine Sports activities Corridor of Fame, Bedard starred for the Black Bears from 1998-2000 following a two-year run at Boston School. His son, Kaden, was taking part in in a youth basketball league alongside Flagg, and that is what finally led to Bedard beginning the Maine United AAU program. 

To make Flagg’s want of taking part in AAU basketball a actuality, Kelly would drive Cooper, Ace and their finest grade faculty good friend 90 minutes from Newport to Portland for follow, which occurred 2-3 instances per week for 4 years.

“We’d cease at Pizza Hut and seize a field of pizza,” Kelly mentioned. “They’d eat on the way in which down and sleep all the way in which again. So, I might get to Portland at about 4:30, follow till 6:30 or 7, and return dwelling by 8:30 or 9 o’clock. That is once they had been 10 years outdated, so these had been late nights. However that is the place the work started.” 

Kelly trusted Bedard, who she went to varsity with, due to the kind of participant he was. She knew he was the suitable individual to push her son past what he was comfy doing.

“We knew Andy would work on new abilities as a result of Andy’s imaginative and prescient was not for him to only be caught inside on the block, however to work on ball dealing with and shot-creating abilities with the guards,” Kelly mentioned. “That was so crucial and good for his growth at such a younger age.” 

When Bedard made the choice to extend the extent of competitors within the AAU ranks, he wasn’t sure if the greatness he noticed in Flagg would translate towards a few of the prime packages throughout the nation. However he’ll always remember the primary time he noticed Flagg go up towards elite-level competitors, one thing that seemed to be straight out of a Hollywood film script. 

“The primary recreation of MADE Hoops was fairly particular,” mentioned Bedard, who was referring to the premier EYBL center faculty hoops league within the nation. “That is when Cooper and my son had been in seventh grade, and we did not actually look the half. We appeared three or 4 years youthful than anyone else. … There was some discuss him [Flagg] being fairly good, however we proceeded to steamroll the match. Not solely was he beating groups, he was beating them unhealthy. Opponents tried box-and-one, triangle-and-two, and I even noticed a line-and-three on him. There was nothing anyone might do.”

The rise of Flagg continued into highschool, the place he starred at Montverde Academy and on the AAU circuit. Bedard recalled taking part in in Peach Jam throughout Flagg’s junior yr, and Maine United was going up towards Drive Nation within the opening spherical of a match.

“I informed him what we completely wanted him to do: rating!” Bedard mentioned. “The child goes out on the courtroom and will get 52 factors on 15-of-17 from the ground. Now, him getting 52, this child was simply as completely satisfied scoring 12 and profitable the sport for Montverde as he was scoring 52. It is laborious to outline as a result of he is such a singular breed and a blessing in our recreation, one the sport wants.” 

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Quick-forward to the current day, the place Flagg is within the midst of a historic freshman season at Duke as his Blue Devils are set to battle Arizona in a Candy 16 showdown at 9:39 p.m. ET Thursday in Newark, New Jersey. The 6-foot-9 ahead is averaging 18.7 factors, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per recreation whereas taking pictures 49% from the ground. The evolution of his perimeter recreation mixed along with his otherworldly defensive instincts locks him into the No. 1 spot on this June’s NBA Draft. 

The Blue Devils are the odds-on favourite to win all of it as Jon Scheyer has constructed a crew that goes past simply Flagg. Junior guard Tyrese Proctor is taking part in the perfect basketball of his profession with 19 made triples within the final three video games. Kon Knueppel is a next-level shooter who has the identical aggressive DNA as Flagg. Khaman Maluach is an NBA Academy product who makes a useful influence defensively, whereas Sion James and Mason Gillis present a seasoned presence wanted in a locker room that includes a number of marquee freshmen. 

Flagg can exit and get 30 factors on any given night time, however that is not his precedence.

“If I do know I am matched up towards any individual, or I’ve to play them the subsequent day, I’ve to be locked in and haven’t any associates on the courtroom,” Flagg mentioned when informed in regards to the change he shared with Ngongba final yr throughout the Metropolis of Palms Basic. 

The 18-year-old freshman phenom is unapologetically himself. He is good. And whereas Duke followers proceed to carry out hope of him returning for his sophomore season, Flagg is aware of what’s in retailer for him this June in Brooklyn. 

“Cooper is about to maneuver on with one thing extremely particular with the subsequent step he’ll go after this,” Scheyer mentioned. 

However that is not what Flagg is targeted on proper now, and Kelly is aware of that higher than anyone as a result of, similar to the “Simply Dance“ competitors on Nintendo Wii on the age of 4, Cooper is simply wired to stare on the subsequent problem forward of him: Caleb Love and Arizona. 

“Proper now, the one factor that he cares about is profitable the nationwide championship,” Kelly mentioned. “He is hyper-focused on what’s forward of him on this second. He is dwelling within the second with this crew. He is all-in, and that is all that issues to him. 

“He desires to win so badly, and till he raises that nationwide championship trophy, nothing else issues.” 

John Fanta is a nationwide school basketball broadcaster and author for FOX Sports activities. He covers the game in quite a lot of capacities, from calling video games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Community to offering commentary on The Discipline of 68 Media Community. Observe him at @John_Fanta.

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