NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Just one year ago, he was here inside the Riverview Park Activities Center, turning in one ridiculous performance after another at Peach Jam while further growing his status as a generational talent and likely future No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. One game, he got 38 points, 16 rebounds and 12 blocks. Another game, he got 37 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks. From start to finish, he dominated everybody in the 16-and-under division in a way that eliminated any good reasons to pass on the opportunity to reclassify from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2024, graduate early and enroll at Duke.
I’m writing about Cooper Flagg, of course.
Everybody is these days — especially after the 6-foot-9 forward was sensational earlier this month while training with Team USA in Las Vegas in advance of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. In one sequence that went viral, Flagg handled pressure from Jrue Holiday with zero issues, used a screen to get Anthony Davis switched onto him and then buried a 3-pointer in the face of the future Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer.
Think about this for a moment.
One year, you’re playing against a bunch of other 16 year-olds in a small town in South Carolina. Just 12 months later, you’re out in Las Vegas, on the court with LeBron James, Steph Curry and Anthony Edwards, driving for dunks, extending for blocks, launching from 3-point range and just generally looking very comfortable against some of the best players in the world even though you won’t turn 18 until December.
“He looked like a hell of a player — [like] somebody that’s just going to only get better with more experience,” said Kevin Durant, who is one of just three men to ever do what some believe Flagg could do next season, i.e., win the John R. Wooden Award as a freshman. “[He’s] 17 years old coming in here playing like he’s a vet almost. No emotion. Just going out there and doing his job. And that’s a…
..
