5-star SF Cooper Flagg signs with Duke Blue Devils

Five-Star Plus+ Montverde (Fla.) Montverde Academy small forward Cooper Flagg has signed with the Duke Blue Devils.

Flagg committed to Duke at the end of October, choosing the Blue Devils over schools like UConn and Kansas.

The 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward is the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Flagg’s mother was a team captain at Maine when the Black Bears won its only NCAA Tournament game in program history.

Flagg currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $893,000 — second among high school basketball players behind Bryce James. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Cooper Flagg Player Archetype

On3 National Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw wrote this about Flagg as a prospect:

“Since first talking about Cooper Flagg among the top high school prospects, back in June of 2022, the name we continued to come back to is Andrei Kirilenko. When you watch Flagg, you can see shades of Kirilenko in his game. While Flagg’s offensive game continues to expand and become more efficient, he possesses game-changing defensive attributes.

“In his prime, Kirilenko was a solid free throw shooter and a 30-plus percent three-point shooter. He scored in an efficient manner, taking advantage of opportune moments his motor, athleticism, and IQ created. Flagg, like Kirilenko, is an efficient offensive player. He stays within himself, finding open spaces in the half-court, and is a good off-ball cutter.

“The question with Flagg continues to be his jump shooting, and that is something that continues to sharpen. Over his last 50 games played, high school and travel ball, Flagg shot 35.4 percent from three on 2.9 attempts. While he is polished in the mid-range, extending his range while shooting off movement is an area he is continuing to develop.

“Flagg is showing comfort on the ball, initiating the offense from different levels of the floor, and getting to his spots in the half-court. He knows his comfort areas and gets there within two and three dribbles, possessing a confident array of go-tos and counters in the mid-to-high post.

“Kirilenko was an all-star in 2004. He was twice named NBA All-Defense first-team, and the 6-foot-9 wing was always among the NBA’s leading shot blockers. While this is not a one-to-one comparison, Flagg’s game continues to grow. Flagg’s ability on defense is truly unique, with the ability to dictate the flow of play from that end.

“A look across the landscape of today’s NBA, and you see the value of having game-changing wings. Ten of the top 20 paid players in the NBA are wings. Whether it is the play-making wing or the two-way wing, many of the NBA’s best teams are anchored from the wing position. And while Flagg is still defining his exact player archetype, he certainly fits the direction basketball is heading.”