No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg calls out rival programs for "negative recruiting" while discussing his Duke commitment
Duke freshman Cooper Flagg appeared on 'The Brotherhood Podcast' on Monday to discuss his decision to join the Blue Devils over other programs.
Flagg said many rival programs used "negative" recruitment tactics which he was not a fan of.
"It's something that I looked at through it was like negative recruiting. It just was something that I didn't like going through that process when other schools would try to do that," Cooper Flagg said.
The 6-foot-9 forward also mentioned that head coach John Scheyer and his staff played a huge role in making him commit to Duke.
"I think it was something that coach Scheyer had kind of stressed to me a lot going through the whole process was about the feel and I would know when I got the feeling of where I wanted to be," Flagg added.
"So, I think it really came down to when I came on my visit and I was just able to meet all the guys on the team, interact with the coaches and just kind of have that feeling of like being on campus.., I kind of had the feeling like this is where I want to be and that's kind of what helped to propel my decision."
According to him, it was down to two schools, Duke and UConn. In October 2023, Flagg agreed to join Duke and officially committed to the Blue Devils by signing a National Letter of Intent in November.
Cooper Flagg projected No.1 pick for 2025 NBA draft
CBS Sports unveiled their 2025 NBA mock draft earlier this week, projecting Cooper Flagg as the top pick. Hailing from Newport, Maine, Flagg has yet to hit the court in college basketball but has already captured attention as one of this season's most discussed collegiate players.
He has been compared to LeBron James, who made a big splash coming out of high school, as well as former Duke star Zion Williamson.
Flagg transferred to Montverde Academy from Nokomis Regional for his sophomore year of high school. In 2023-24, he averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.6 steals per game for Montverde varsity team.
He also impressed during a scrimmage against the USA Olympics team in early July. The 17-year-old went toe to toe against the likes of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday and Bab Adebayo.