Cooper Flagg chooses John Scheyer and the Duke Blue Devils

October 30, 2023 by Max Feldman

THE LEAD

Cooper Flagg, the top overall prospect in 2024, has made his long-awaited decision, committing to Duke. John Scheyer and company beat out UConn for his services.

BACKGROUND

For most, Flagg arrived on the national scene this summer playing in the EYBL, but the Newport, Maine native arose on our platform during his seventh grade year. From there, Flagg rose to stardom with Maine United, quickly making it clear he was among the cream of the crop in terms of long-term prospects nationally. Flagg, born December 21st of 2006, reclassified to 2024 after a historically strong summer (26 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5.6 stocks per game on 50% FG, 33% 3PT and 83% FT) at the E16 level. The future Blue Devil is now widely projected to be the top overall selection in the 2025 NBA Draft, narrowly making the age cutoff by 9 days.

SOUND BITE

An NBA scout on Flagg late this spring, "I'd take him first next year, the year after or the year after. I get the Boozer stuff, but he's the one."

WHAT'S NEXT?

Flagg is the crown jewel of this class, without a doubt, but their work isn't done yet. The top two targets on the board are VJ Edgecombe and Patrick Ngongba. Rarely do the Blue Devils not cross the finish line when they lock in on a prospect, but there's some stiff competition for both. If we've learned anything over the past few cycles, it's that Ignite will get players. They've been involved with Edgecombe since his ascension last year and the fit would make plenty of sense. Ngongba is now down to three, and has taken official visits to all three. Scheyer might have the lead here, but Tang and K State are going to go down swinging.

MY TAKE

Duke's track record of producing wing prospects speaks for itself, and Flagg fits the bill of a dominant two-way figure who can have a scheme structured around him on either end. From Kyle Filipowski currently to Jayson Tatum, to Zion Williamson, to Brandon Ingram, Paolo Banchero and many more previously, Flagg should slide seamlessly into a creator role and is arguably the most talented playmaker of the bunch. The work rate and intensity that he brings to the table should translate from the jump at the next level, even if he was considered a high school freshman just about 15 months ago.

With a pair of versatile wings and a deadeye shooter already in the fold, Flagg is the piece that glues the group together. Ask me the four prospects who process the game at the highest level in 2024, Duke now has two locked down in Flagg and Kon Knueppel. Isaiah Evans' ability to score from multiple levels should pop, but it's the defensive fit between the two that's vastly enticing. At 6-6 with length and twitch, Evans provides problems switching up and down the line and guarding in space, while Flagg is as good of a rotational defender as you'll find at 16-years-old. Hard to know what the roster will look like given the Blue Devils depth of prospect in 2023-24, but they should return a number of key pieces to fill in the gaps.

MORE FOR YOU