Welcome to Duke, Cooper Flagg!

[Billy Dat]

One player who comes to mind as a comparison is Shav Randolph in terms of big expectations/hype. Shav was more of a true big man but I remember the hype for him being huge - maybe that was due to his family ties to NC teams. Cooper seems like the far more complete player but getting Shav was a big deal at the time.

Also because he was an in-state kid coveted by UNC. We never used to get those kids. I was thinking the other day how far we have come in that respect.

[rsvman]

Fantastic news! What impresses me most about Flagg is his motor and his defense. He's going to be fun to watch!

[ClemmonsDevil]

One player who comes to mind as a comparison is Shav Randolph in terms of big expectations/hype. Shav was more of a true big man but I remember the hype for him being huge - maybe that was due to his family ties to NC teams. Cooper seems like the far more complete player but getting Shav was a big deal at the time.

I would put Shav more in the Danny Ferry category as far as type and hype. More skilled offensive than defensive bigs coming out of high school. I think the comp for Flagg is a more ball friendly Lively. His defense is way ahead of his offense at this point but he has the look of a kid who is going to be an excellent offensive player one day because of his shooting range and shooting motion.

I would settle for Bagley on offense and Lively on defense if I get to choose.

[MartyClark]

Hard to believe that Zion was #5. In August I saw him in that exhibition in Canada, and my judgment (???) was that no one in basketball history had a better combination of strength, bulk and skill than Zion. How was he rated below RJ, Reddish, Nassir Little and Bol Bol?

I remember having doubts about Zion. The film I saw from his high school days showed him competing against much shorter, less talented players. I wondered whether he would be a one trick pony, a guy who could dunk, but wasn't a great player.

I was very happy to be wrong about him.

[moonpie23]

Welcome to the party, pal !!!!

[camion]

I remember having doubts about Zion. The film I saw from his high school days showed him competing against much shorter, less talented players. I wondered whether he would be a one trick pony, a guy who could dunk, but wasn't a great player.

I was very happy to be wrong about him.

I remember people saying that he would come back to earth when he ran up against more mature kids who could match up with him physically. Someday that may happen.

[Phredd3]

Cooper is going to be his own guy, and he'll look really, really different from Zion Williamson. I'm looking forward to seeing what Cooper Flagg brings to Duke.

[proelitedota]

Woah. What a nice headline to wake up to.

Welcome fellas. Let's get it done.

[nmduke2001]

Love to see that the Kentucky hate still simmers. I was reading twitter and a Kentucky reporter posted something about Cooper committing to Duke. The replies were what you would expect, but two made me LOL:

"This guy is the Grayson Allen of Luke Kennards"

"I hate the stereotype but if you were to ask AI to create a Duke Player, that would be it"

[scottdude8]

I know that we're now going to start projecting out our potential 2024 lineup around Flagg, which will probably focus on which guards could return to run the offense and provide floor spacing around him. But I'm most excited about something else: the potential to pair Flagg with a sophomore Sean Stewart in the frontcourt. Yes, that wouldn't be a "traditional" front court with a true 5 man, but as I've written those guys are few and far between (and will likely become more so given the NBA is moving away from them)... so with that in mind, could you imagine how defensively disruptive those two could be together, given their (projected) abilities as switchable defenders and rim protectors?!?!

[DavidBenAkiva]

I know that we're now going to start projecting out our potential 2024 lineup around Flagg, which will probably focus on which guards could return to run the offense and provide floor spacing around him. But I'm most excited about something else: the potential to pair Flagg with a sophomore Sean Stewart in the frontcourt. Yes, that wouldn't be a "traditional" front court with a true 5 man, but as I've written those guys are few and far between (and will likely become more so given the NBA is moving away from them)... so with that in mind, could you imagine how defensively disruptive those two could be together, given their (projected) abilities as switchable defenders and rim protectors?!?!

Imagine what a frontcourt of Mitchell, Flagg, and Stewart might do on the court. I doubt that happens, but you never know. If Mitchell isn't a for-sure 1st rounder next June, there's a small chance he might come back to try to improve his stock and go in a weaker draft in '26.

[JasonEvans]

The comp I see most often for Cooper is "a more offensive-minded Andrei Kirilenko." AK-47, as he was known, was a good shooter but a truly dynamic defensive player in the NBA from 2001-15. As a 6-9 wing, he actually led the league in blocked shots in 2005 with 3.3 blocks per game. I've also seen comparisons to current Memphis star Jaren Jackson Jr. who has led the league in blocked shots 2 years in a row and was NBA DPOY last year.

The difference between Cooper and those two elite defenders is his offensive skill set. Cooper operates with the ball in his hands all the time and is a fabulous facilitator for his teammates when he inevitably draws the double-team. He's an excellent shooter, hitting over 85% of his FTs and draining 40% from three last year at Monteverde.

As bonkers as it sounds, he will likely be the preseason ACC POY next year and I would expect him to be a preseason first-team All-American as well. Yes, he is that good. Recruits like this don't come along very often.

[JasonEvans]

Imagine what a frontcourt of Mitchell, Flagg, and Stewart might do on the court.

Opposing coach in locker room: "Guys, we know what we are up against in this game. It won't be easy. But I am confident we have a plan in place that will allow us to score at least 30 points... maybe even 40 if we get lucky!"

[kAzE]

I know this was widely expected, but I just want to say Coach Scheyer deserves his flowers for continually killing everyone on the recruiting scene. Duke fans are very, very spoiled. Hoping he can turn this recruiting success into success in the NCAA tournament soon!

Welcome to Duke, Cooper. Can’t wait to see what the future for him looks like. We got another great one.

[ClemmonsDevil]

Love to see that the Kentucky hate still simmers. I was reading twitter and a Kentucky reporter posted something about Cooper committing to Duke. The replies were what you would expect, but two made me LOL:

"This guy is the Grayson Allen of Luke Kennards"

"I hate the stereotype but if you were to ask AI to create a Duke Player, that would be it"

I love Allen Iverson, but he shouldn't be creating Duke players. He went to Georgetown.

[Deslok]

Wait... are we talking about practice?

[Dukehky]

Super excited about this one. Welcome Cooper. Any chance Ace follows him?

As far as I know, we are not recruiting Ace. Believe others were recruiting the pair, but don't think the staff saw a fit/role with him, and didn't want to use him in the Cooper recruitment, when there are other schools that would be thrilled if Ace came aboard by himself.

[KKDL19]

It will for sure be interesting to see how Duke plans to use the '24 class for some of their skills overlap some.

[AGDukesky]

I love Allen Iverson, but he shouldn't be creating Duke players. He went to Georgetown.

I’m still trying to figure out why all these students are having Iverson write their school papers. The guy is just prolific…

[ClemmonsDevil]

I’m still trying to figure out why all these students are having Iverson write their school papers. The guy is just prolific…

He really is.