By ADAM ZAGORIA
Cooper Flagg has officially reclassified to the Class of 2024 and remains eligible for the 2025 NBA Draft.
With the Class of 2024 being generally considered week compared to 2023 and 2025, one NBA executive said it was possible Flagg would be the No. 1 overall pick were he eligible to be drafted in 2024 — which he is not.
“He could be since there is no consensus No. 1 right now,” the executive said, adding that he’d like to see Flagg improve his 3-point shooting percentage and his ability to defend in space.
“Let’s be honest,” the executive said, “he doesn’t have many weaknesses for a young player, but if he has areas to improve those would be the two.”
Montverde (FL) Academy coach Kevin Boyle, who has coached three No. 1 picks, seven top-3 picks, nine lottery picks, 16 first-round picks and 19 current NBA players, told me Flagg was “unique” among players he’s coached. “He’s right up there with anyone [I’ve coached],” Boyle said. “His talent and his versatility makes him very unique. His size, his ability to fill up a stat sheet are incredibly special. He can have 10 points and be very instrumental with a handful of assists and deflections and blocked shots and defending the key player on the other team. “He can be such an incredibly valuable player in today’s NBA world because of his versatility that is really unique.” As for college, Duke’s Jon Scheyer and UConn’s Dan Hurley were regular fixtures at Flagg’s games at the Nike Peach Jam last month. The 6-foot-9 Flagg recently took an unofficial visit to Duke, which he has previously called his “dream school.” “Duke is in the driver’s seat, just because the kid’s always liked Duke,” one source close to the situation said. Flagg’s older brother, Hunter, wore a Duke outfit one day at Peach Jam. Duke has been linked to Flagg for some time, in part because his mother played college basketball at Maine where she was a team captain as a senior. Kelly and Stacey Porrini Clingan, the late mother of UConn big man Donovan Clingan, played at Maine for coach Joanne P. McCallie, who coached at Duke from 2007-20. Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram And Like ZAGS on Facebook2 minutes of Cooper Flagg being absolutely unstoppable. pic.twitter.com/2qm1zN9l1X
— Overtime (@overtime) July 10, 2023
