NEWPORT — The search for the next great basketball prospect is never-ending. To Jeff Goodman, the next piece in that search hails from here.

Although there’s never a shortage of elite basketball talent, there’s a bit of a dearth in the search for a star Goodman — one of the country’s most renowned basketball analysts — believes is a game-changing talent. When Cooper Flagg reaches the college level a little over a year from now, though, that dearth will end.

“There’s no clear-cut No. 1 in this college freshman class, and the high school senior class (is) kind of the same way; it’s underwhelming,” Goodman, a former ESPN broadcaster who is now a reporter for Stadium, said Thursday, a day before Flagg announced his decision to reclassify to 2024. “Everybody is looking for that next guy, and Cooper is that next guy.”

It’s a consensus that many analysts and recruiting gurus are reaching as Flagg heads into what will be his final year at the high school level after Friday’s reclassification announcement. There’s been a clear jump in the ex-Nokomis High standout’s game, and it’s taken him from a highly regarded prospect to a generational one.

Flagg has been an elite defensive prospect since the very start of Flagg Mania at Nokomis, if not even earlier. From Day 1, scouts and recruiting analysts have been raving about the versatility of his defensive game, whether it’s his elite shot-blocking, his rebounding or his on-ball defense.

What’s changed, though, has been Flagg’s offensive capabilities. If he had a clear weakness before heading to Montverde Academy to ply his trade against some of the nation’s top high school teams, it was his shooting. That’s changed this year, something Goodman noticed during Maine United’s deep run in last month’s Peach Jam.

“Watching him at the Peach Jam this year several times, he’s gotten so much more confident with that and more comfortable shooting the ball,” Goodman said. “The hard part for Cooper is he can get to the basket whenever, but now he understands that, for his development, he needs to shoot from the perimeter, and that’s made him a better player.”

Rob Cassidy, national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com, knew he was watching a special talent when he first saw Flagg play in last year’s Peach Jam. Yet Cassidy did notice Flagg struggling to match up with some of the other elite players, particularly Cam Boozer, who was No. 2 player behind him in Rivals.com’s 2025 rankings before Friday’s reclassification.

This year was different. Flagg registered 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven rebounds in leading Maine United past Boozer’s Nightrydas Elite squad in the first matchup between the two before putting up 18, 12 and seven in the rematch. It was a product, Cassidy said, of Flagg adding muscle mass and growing more into his body.

“Even watching them (last year), I felt he was the best long-term prospect, but he just wasn’t as physically developed as Boozer,” Cassidy said. “He physically got pushed around a little bit, but he was bigger this year, and he did not let that happen. I think it just took him a little bit when he started playing against guys who also have pro futures day-in and day-out, but that’s toughened him up and made him more consistent.”

Cassidy had said he’d rank Flagg as the No. 1 player in 2024 in the event he reclassified, and that move was made immediately Friday as Flagg jumped Dylan Harper for the top spot in Rivals.com’s 2024 rankings. Flagg also becomes the odds-on favorite to be the top NBA draft pick in 2025 with a skill set that’s tailored to fit the modern game.

“If you look at what the NBA wants right now, most of the big contracts you see are big, athletic wings that can handle the ball, and Cooper checks those boxes,” Cassidy said. “I still think he’s probably more advanced defensively right now than he is offensively, but he’s a special kid. I think he’s almost certainly a one-and-done type of guy.”

Scout and recruiting insider Samad Hines of thegrindhoops.com has spoken highly of Flagg’s ball-handling, shot-blocking and all-around playmaking ability. A player with his skill set at 6-foot-8, he says, is a rare trait.

Flagg’s development, Hines said, will only continue at Montverde. Yet the most significant growth he’s seen from Flagg hasn’t been in his skill set but rather in his drive and aggression, something that’s helped take the soon-to-be high school junior’s game to the next level.

“Honestly, the biggest improvement I have seen from Cooper is probably just his intensity and competitiveness for the game,” Hines said. “He has always had skills and the competitiveness in him, don’t get me wrong, but he continues to grow, and he (is) showcasing it at a high level. I love his passion for his teammates and the game itself.”

There are other intangibles in Flagg’s favor, too. He made his teammates measurably better at Nokomis before doing the same at the U17 World Cup in Spain last summer. His ability to do so — one that’s “off the charts,” Goodman said — was also on display at Peach Jam as he led a thoroughly impressive Maine United team to the title game.

Flagg, of course, is not about to stop working to get better, and no 16-year-old athlete’s game is ever perfect. There’s still room, Goodman said, for him to make even further progress on his already improved jump shot — not that he has any doubts the prodigy from Newport will do just that.

“The one area you can get better at with work is perimeter shooting, so I’m not worried; that’s the one area that nobody’s concerned about,” Goodman said. “He’s such a unique prospect that you can’t even compare him to anyone I’ve seen in the last 20 years. There’s nobody like him.”

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Varsity Maine Boys’ Game of the Year: Eight-overtime game makes history

Next »

Newport native, ex-Nokomis star Cooper Flagg reclassifies to Class of 2024