National champ Jayson Tatum places his bets on Duke commit Cooper Flagg - “Going to take college basketball by storm”
Jayson Tatum had high praise for Cooper Flagg when the 17-year-old Duke Blue Devils commit was invited to be on the Select Team to face Team USA during their preparations ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Boston Celtics superstar claimed that Flagg's game and athleticism are a step further than his skillset when he was heading to Duke back in 2016.
The NBA champion backed up his statement when asked about his remarks on Cooper Flagg in a recent Sports Illustrated interview called "10 Burning Questions" uploaded to YouTube on July 25:
"I think he's going to take college basketball by storm," Tatum said. "I've been fortunate enough to be around him and see him play up and close. I'm super excited for him and obviously Duke that they got the best payer in the country. And hopefully, he brings a national championship and I'm certain I'll be playing against him here in NBA pretty soon."
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Cooper Flagg is the first college player to become a part of the Select Team in the last 20 years. The significance of the feat becomes more valuable when considering he has yet to play his first college basketball game.
One big cause of appreciation throughout Flagg’s stint was his ability to blend with some of the best NBA players, albeit while bringing his own scoring touch to the court.
Moreover, he did not shy away from facing the likes of Anthony Davis, Steph Curry, Jrue Holiday and others while spearheading the Select Team’s offense in the final minutes of the close 74-73 loss.
Cooper Flagg already has a Team USA stint on his resume
One of the few elements helping Cooper Flagg bring his A-game in front of NBA stars was his pre-existing association with the Team USA program.
His talent was first noted early by Sharman White, Team USA's U-17 coach, from the 46-player pool that was invited to attend the nation’s Junior National Team minicamp in April 2022.
Flagg made it to the U-17 roster that summer as the second-youngest player heading for the FIBA U-17 World Cup in Spain. He averaged a near-double-double of 9.3 points and 10.0 rebounds through seven international games while registering 2.9 blocks and 2.4 steals per game in under 20 minutes of play.
Flagg came off the bench in the gold medal game against Spain to score 10 points, 17 rebounds, eight steals and four blocks in a 79-67 win.