Cooper Flagg: College Coaches Give their Scouting Report on Duke's Latest Commitment

On Monday, Cooper Flagg committed to Duke giving the Blue Devils their fourth commitment of the 2024 recruit cycle. Jon Scheyer’s group currently has the No. 1 ranked class in On3’s 2024 Team Recruiting Rankings. 

The talk of Cooper Flagg has really picked up steam since he decided to reclassify into the 2024 class in August. He has quickly become one of the most anticipated basketball prospects in recent memory. His clips go viral after each game and his game results are widespread quickly on social media. 

Flagg, who is the No. 1 ranked player in the 2024 On3 150, has a unique game. So I wanted to speak with the coaches who were on the sidelines evaluating him their thoughts. I spoke anonymously with a few high-major coaches, across the basketball’s high major landscape to give their scouting reports and player comparisons on Cooper Flagg.

College Coaches Scouting Cooper Flagg

A Coach in the Big 12 – “Competitiveness. He never doesn’t show up to the fight. Positional versatility. He can play anything one through four. He’s a much-improved shooter with range off the catch and bounce. Excellent shot blocker on the weak side. He can play too emotional at times and try to do too much.”

A Coach in the ACC – “He has good size and length with an elite feel for the game. High-level competitor. He can score on all three levels. A good defender, always in the right place, and he has great timing to block shots. He still needs to add strength, which is normal at this point in his development. He is clearly a high draft pick after his one year of college ball. It’s hard to think of a comparison, he’s so unique. He has great size with ball skills and defensive ability.”

A Coach in the SEC – “I think he is Joe Alexander with a jump shot. The dude is a player! Joe was super athletic and he loved the game, a top ten pick in the NBA Draft, he just needed a jump shot to stick. Cooper has all the tools, all he needs is the weight room and experience.”

A Coach in the Big 12 – “He reminds me of Paul George because of his ball handling and his ability to create matchups. He’s a big-ass guard.”

A Coach in the ACC – “His competitive spirit is off the charts. He has a very high IQ and feel for the game. Great versatility, and can pass as well as score the ball at a very high level. He’s a two-way player and can defend multiple positions. He needs to continue to improve as a perimeter shooter. I project him to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He reminds me of a better version of Andrei Kirilenko.”

A Coach in the Big East – “I heard someone compare Cooper Flagg to a young Andrei Kirilenko over the summer. I watched Andrei when he was 16 years old, and I think that is a spot-on comparison. The difference in my view is that Cooper’s offensive skill set is much further along at the same stage. And for the generation that has never heard of Andrei or doesn’t know his game, research his first couple years in the NBA. I think Cooper needs to improve his three-point shooter, but it’s only natural for uber-talented, long prospects for that to be the area. That was AK’s ‘hole’ and he never really developed it, but was an excellent NBA player.”