What’s next for No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg after UConn visit?
Cooper Flagg’s official visit with the UConn men’s basketball program has come and gone.
What’s next for the No. 1 recruit in the nation? Only Flagg and his family likely know at this point, though it’s hard to imagine the 6foot-8, 195-pound forward would make his collegiate decision before his other two scheduled official visits: Kansas on Oct. 6-8, then Duke Oct. 20-22.
Three of the most decorated college basketball programs in the country, vying for his services for what will likely be just one season. Flagg is projected by some to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Flagg’s visit to UConn came with surprisingly little social-media fanfare. There was a video of him arriving at Gampel Pavilion, accompanied by UConn sophomore center and family friend Donovan
Clingan, on Friday afternoon. There were several pictures posted on Twitter of Flagg posing with fans at Saturday’s UConn football game. At one point, the somewhat sparse student section broke out into a chant of “Coo-per Flagg! Coo-per Flagg!”
“He said it was positive,” Montverde associate head coach Kevin Boyle Jr. said of Flagg’s visit.
Otherwise, Flagg didn’t reveal too much with
Boyle in a brief conversation before Monday’s practice. The program, which is coached by Boyle Jr.’s father, typically doesn’t get too involved with its players recruiting situations. That’s one of the reasons it’s been able to attract star players like Cade Cunningham, R.J. Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid and many others over the years.
And now, Cooper Flagg.
“He’s definitely a really, really well-rounded player,” Boyle Jr. said. “The thing that excites people about him is, right now, he does a lot of things good to very good on the court — and he still has the potential to sharpen some of those things. Right now, he’s a good shooter and has some very good shooting games. But, if you watch him a number of times, he’s one of those guys who can and will improve as he continues to get reps.”
Off the court, Flagg is a “really good kid” with an excellent work ethic and fierce competitive streak.
“He’s one of those guys that takes pride in winning,” Boyle Jr. said. “His record this past summer, it really became evident to people and put him over the top in their eyes, because his (AAU) team was kind of undermanned, talent-wise, in Nike EYBL and the Peach Jam. His will to win and make defensive plays and tire himself out and play every minute of every game is a huge skill in itself, especially in kids that are highly-touted at a young age. A lot of times that comes with a certain comfort or taking their foot off the gas. He’s definitely not done that.”
Boyle Jr., who is related to UConn graduate assistant Rich Kelly (Kelly’s father is Boyle Jr.’s mother’s uncle), hasn’t talked with Flagg about his future too much. But he’s impressed that Flagg hasn’t put out a list of eight or 10 schools and whittled it down over the ensuing weeks.
“I think you can kind of take something away from him and his family’s process, based on being selective about the two or three schools that they’re engaged with,” the coach said.
And as for Flagg’s twin brother, Ace, a junior at Montverde, it doesn’t appear that he’s a package deal — even if former West Virginia coach Bob Huggins and others have offered him a scholarship alongside his brother. Ace, who is being recruited by several Atlantic-10 schools, appears intent on “carving his own path,” per Boyle Jr.
Of course, the optics of a 41-7 blowout loss — to Duke, of all teams — on a wet, rainy afternoon certainly weren’t great. It would seem unlikely that Flagg would make his college decision based on that, though he’ll be greeted with entirely different atmospheres on his visits to Kansas and Duke.
Both of those schools are holding their “Midnight Madness” celebrations on the weekends Flagg is visiting. Kansas will host its 39th “Late Night in the Phog” event on Oct. 6, an affair that is elaborate if not always family-friendly (Snoop Dogg saw to that a few years ago). Topping the bill this time will be rapper Flo Rida.
Two weeks later, Duke hosts its “Countdown to Craziness” at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where Flagg might be the star attraction.
Wedged in the middle will be UConn’s First Night festivities, though details of the event haven’t been released yet. Flagg won’t be there, but maybe that’s a good thing, given the event’s past history of baskets that won’t raise, strange verbal putdowns between the men’s and women’s teams and washed-up rappers (TPain).
But again, that’s all optics. Ultimately, Flagg and his family will likely make their decision based on basketball and his chances to develop on the court. Flagg’s father, Ralph, recently “liked” a Twitter
post that read, in part: “The personal connection (’the guy who can best develop me’) to the (head coach) is going to be the slim differentiator.”
And certainly Dan Hurley, who has put Top 75 recruits James Bouknight and Jordan Hawkins into the NBA Draft lottery and had three-star recruit Tyrese Martin selected in the second round just in the past few years, has a proven track record.
If local fans want to see him play live, there will be a few opportunities. Montverde will be at the annual Spalding Hoophall Classic at Springfield College to play three games Jan. 11-15. The team will not be at the National Prep Showcase at Albertus Magnus College in November, however.
If UConn fans really want to get ambitious, Montverde will play a pair of games in Maine on Jan. 5-6 as a homecoming for Flagg and his twin brother teammate Ace, a junior. Flagg’s mother, Kelly, told the Portland Press-Herald that it will likely be the last time Cooper will be able to play close to home for a very long time, since whatever college he goes to is unlikely to make the trip to play Maine in Orono (then again, maybe a coach would consider such a trip as enticement for Flagg’s commitment …?).
The team will also play in New Jersey in early February and at Long Island Lutheran in March.
One other interesting note: UConn travels to Kansas on Dec. 1 for a Big East/Big 12 Battle at Allen Fieldhouse. Perhaps Flagg will have already made his decision by then. Perhaps it will be a true “Capture the Flagg” showdown.
More likely, just like Duke football’s romp over UConn this past weekend, it will have no bearing on Cooper Flagg’s decision.