College Basketball

Top-ranked recruit Cooper Flagg reportedly set to announce commitment this week

Updated Oct. 25, 2023 6:31 p.m. ET

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 high school basketball prospect in the 2024 class, will announce his college decision this week between his finalists, Duke and UConn. Flagg’s high school coach, Kevin Boyle of Montverde Academy, released the news in the following report from Forbes.

The 16-year-old standout from Maine, who will be 17 when he begins his college career, chose to reclassify from the 2025 class to 2024 in August in order to expedite his pathway to the NBA after an extremely impressive summer. After he was named the Most Valuable Player at the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 Camp in June, Flagg went to Augusta and dominated at Nike EYBL Peach Jam. Averaging 25.4 points, 13 rebounds, 5.7 assists and most impressively, 6.8 blocks per game, the 6-foot-8 forward notched three triple-doubles in seven games, including a 38-point, 16-rebound, 12-block, 6-assist performance.

What makes Flagg such a unique prospect is his instincts on the defensive end of the floor. His length, athleticism and awareness are on another level for a prospect his age, and he never gives up on a play. On offense, he can relentlessly attack the rim and has a quality handle for a prospect of his size. If the jumper proves to be more consistent, it would not be surprising to see Flagg emerge as the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Flagg's leadership qualities are also through the roof, and to be the best basketball player from the state of Maine gives his story a unique angle. Before Flagg, the Maine United AAU team was never on the map. He had them competing in the Peach Jam championship game. His 430,000-plus Instagram followers are only a start, and I would expect Flagg to have an impact on college hoops similar to Zion Williamson during his time at Duke.

Flagg’s decision comes days after he was on his official visit to Duke during the Blue Devils Countdown to Craziness event at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Jon Scheyer ushered in the No. 1 recruiting class in 2022, the No. 2 class this year, and just agreed to a six-year contract extension at Duke through the 2028-29 season.

Flagg’s visit to UConn took place in September, a result of strong recruiting efforts by Dan Hurley and assistant coach Luke Murray, among others on the staff leading the reigning national champions.

One interesting layer to the Huskies in this sweepstakes: Donovan Clingan and a Maine connection.

Clingan, the sophomore center who was recently named to our FOX Sports preseason All-America team, and Flagg have a special connection in that their mothers were college teammates at the University of Maine.

Kelly (Bowman) Flagg and the late Stacey (Porrini) Clingan were part of the Black Bears’ first NCAA Tournament teams, serving as captains for those squads in the late 1990s.

During Flagg’s visit to UConn, the two came together for a special photo shoot.

The Blue Devils have been the front-runner in this recruiting race based on discussions across circles in the grassroots landscape, but we’ll wait and see if Flagg might pull the surprise and head to Storrs instead of Duke.

Keep it locked here, @CBBONFOX and @John_Fanta for the latest on Flagg’s recruitment.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.

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