Cooper Flagg, widely regarded as the nation’s top player in the 2024 recruiting class, made a highly anticipated announcement on Monday regarding his college basketball destination. The 6-foot-9 small forward, hailing from Maine and playing for Montverde Academy in Florida, officially revealed that he will join the Duke Blue Devils.
Flagg’s decision was shared on social media in collaboration with Slam Magazine, just ahead of the NCAA’s early signing period, which commences on November 8. The young talent had also been contemplating joining defending national champions, the UConn Huskies, but ultimately chose to pursue his collegiate basketball career with Duke.
Cooper Flagg’s commitment to Duke continues the impressive recruiting efforts of Duke’s head coach, Jon Scheyer, as he begins his tenure. Scheyer, a former Duke player and a successor to the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, has been actively shaping the incoming classes at Duke. In the Class of 2022, Duke secured the No. 1 spot in the 247sports rankings. In the current recruiting cycle, Duke was already positioned with the No. 4 ranking before Flagg’s commitment.
Duke’s recruiting class for 2024 already boasts commitments from highly regarded talents, including five-star forwards Isaiah Evans and Jon Knueppel, as well as four-star forward Darren Harris.
Cooper Flagg had often expressed his affinity for Duke, labeling it his “dream school.” However, his considerations expanded to include UConn after an official visit to the Huskies in September. During his visit, he spent time with family friend and UConn’s 7-2 center, Donovan Clingan. Notably, Flagg and Clingan’s mothers had been teammates in the 1990s at Maine, and they commemorated their connection by wearing replicas of their mothers’ jerseys in a shared social media post.
Flagg had initially planned to announce his college decision last week but delayed it following tragic shootings in his home state of Maine.
