The nation’s presumptive top player in the 2024 recruiting class, Cooper Flagg, declared on Monday that he will attend Duke University to play college basketball.
The 6-foot-9 Maine small forward, who attends Florida’s Montverde Academy, has also entertained the idea of playing for the reigning national champion UConn. His choice was made public on social media in collaboration with Slam Magazine, and it was made shortly before the NCAA’s early signing period opened on November 8.
Flagg’s dedication carries over Jon Scheyer’s aggressive recruiting strategy to begin his coaching career.
As Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski’s chosen successor, Scheyer took the lead in assembling the incoming class for his first season as head coach of Duke, which was ranked first in the Class of 2022 by 247sports.
With four prospects listed in the top 25, the Blue Devils had the second-best class this year and were ranked No. 4 going into Wednesday when Flagg made his decision.
Five-star forwards Isaiah Evans and Jon Knueppel, as well as four-star forward Darren Harris in the 2024 class, have already committed to play for Duke.
Flagg had spoken to Duke as his ideal university, but he also mentioned the Huskies on an official visit in September, during which he spent time with a family buddy and 7-2 center Donovan Clingan of UConn.
The mothers of Clingan and Flagg were teammates at Maine in the 1990s, and the two shared a photo of themselves on social media that was a copy of their moms’ uniforms.
Flagg was supposed to make his announcement last week, but he decided to wait because of the deadly killings that occurred in his state.
