Duke SF signee Cooper Flagg leads Montverde to Chipotle Nationals title
Duke Five-Star Plus+ small forward signee and No. 1 prospect Cooper Flagg finished his high school career with a bang on Saturday afternoon.
Scoring 16 points while collecting eight rebounds, two assists and a whopping six blocks, Flagg helped lead Montverde (Fla.) Academy to a 79-63 win in the Chipotle Nationals championship game over Paul VI Catholic (Va.).
LSU four-star point guard signee Curtis Givens piled on a team-high 24 points, while Maryland four-star center commit Derik Queen logged 19 points and six boards. With the championship win, Montverde finished its illustrious season 33-0. The Sunshine State program has now claimed the national title in seven of the last 11 years.
Flagg’s highlight of the day came at the end of the third quarter, as he blocked a three-point attempt and immediately raced down to the other end for a thunderous slam dunk:
The next time Flagg takes the floor, he’ll be a Blue Devil in Durham. He’s one of six elite prospects in Jon Scheyer’s top-ranked 2024 class and is flanked by Five-Star Plus+ center Khaman Maluach and five-star small forward Isaiah Evans.
“Cooper is the safest bet in this class,” an NBA Scout said of Flagg to On3. “I think he has a ceiling as a No. 2 on a good team. He passes it and there is defensive upside. The jump shot does have questions, but he does everything else at such a high level. There is no concern for me to him being a good pro.”
Flagg racking up trophies to round out high school career
Flagg, who also played in the McDonald’s All-American Game earlier this week in Houston, has brought home plenty of hardware to round out an impressive high school career. At the end of March, Flagg was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year, beating out Five-Star Plus+ Rutgers signee Ace Bailey and Five-Star Plus+ Baylor commit VJ Edgecombe. He was also named the Naismith National High School Boy’s Basketball Player of the Year in March.
“Cooper Flagg is filled with winning plays. What stood out the most in this setting today is his competitiveness. He competes from the starting whistle to the final buzzer and did so today. Flagg’s timing on defense puts him in a different class than many of his peers. He is excellent in the passing lanes and his shot-blocking ability affects play around the rim,” Shaw wrote of Flagg ahead of the McDAAG.
In the latest ESPN mock drafts for the 2025 NBA Draft, Flagg is projected as the No. 1 overall pick. He was the top-ranked player in the 2025 cycle, but reclassified during the fall and later committed to Duke in November, choosing the ACC powerhouse over UConn.
“I would just tell them — looking at our recruiting class especially and knowing the guys like Isaiah [Evans], Kon [Knueppel], Darren [Harris], Patrick [Ngongba] and Khaman [Maluach] — we have a really good class coming in,” Flagg said to On3 when asked about his message to Duke fans. “Get excited and stay excited, I think we have a lot of talent coming in. It’s the right personality fit for guys to come in and excel.”
Some fans are already dubbing the Newport (Maine) native and incoming Blue Devil as the next ‘Duke Villain’. He welcomes it.
“I love it. Keep it coming,” Flagg said. “Call me whatever you want. It’s not going to change my opinion of myself.”