Hall of Famer Grant Hill recently commended Duke commit Cooper Flagg, and the former Blue Devil believes the 17-year-old has a bright future ahead in college and the professional level.
Flagg, the consensus top recruit in the class of 2024, recently scrimmaged with the USA Basketball select team against the senior roster ahead of the Olympics. He was the first collegian to participate with the select team since Doug McDermott and Marcus Smart in 2013.
He went viral after some highlights surfaced on social media and earned high praise from Kevin Durant. The showing by Flagg also impressed Hill, the managing director of USA Basketball.
“I think he is great,” Hill said on the “Dan Patrick Show” on Friday. “He’ll be a great college player. I think his game may even resonate and translate better on the NBA stage. He is young. He is 17, so he is still learning. Sometimes when you’re young, you have no fear. You don’t even know you’re supposed to be scared. But he has all of the tools. He has got the mental make up, too. He has some nasty in him. He isn’t afraid.”
Flagg, who turns 18 in December, dazzled in spurts in the scrimmage. From splashing 3-pointers in front of Anthony Davis, to drawing defenders such as Jrue Holiday, Flagg put on a show against a roster competing for its fifth straight gold medal.
The 6-foot-9 forward was the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year while playing for Nokomis Regional High School. He played last season at the Montverde Academy in Florida and chose coach Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils over UConn and Kansas.
Flagg is the overwhelming favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft, ahead of Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Dylan Harper, Tre Johnson and Dink Pate, among others.
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