Cooper Flagg dishes on Boston Celtics movie research, imaginative and prescient for Duke's protection and new bond with Kevin Love

Kevin Love says he has a brand new phrase that he desires to dwell by: “Plant timber and watch ’em develop.” Contemplate Cooper Flagg certainly one of Love’s subsequent timber that may not want an excessive amount of assist rising. Love and Flagg are in the midst of a fast, however deserved, media tour. Flagg was named the Gatorade Greatest Male Participant of the Yr award on the 2024 ESPYs on Thursday, a feat Love achieved again in 2007. It is simply the beginning for Flagg, the coveted Duke signee, whose model is simply blowing up much more after a jaw-dropping showing in opposition to a LeBron James, Stephen Curry-led Crew USA membership that’s the favourite to take gold on the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games.

“Oh, he’ll translate,” Love advised CBS Sports activities. “Simply taking part in in opposition to future Corridor of Famers, among the guys who’re among the biggest gamers of all time and essentially the most adorned gamers of this technology and definitely the very best. He is very poised for his age. Talking of his demeanor, he research the sport. You may inform he has nice folks round him, nice teammates that he cares for and that helps you and interprets in any scenario. That is the fantastic thing about this award and it isn’t only a basketball award. It is locally, it is one thing that is solely going to assist him in Duke and past.”

The 17-year, NBA veteran and the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft grew up on reverse coasts, however they’ve bonded over their love and appreciation for one of many NBA’s all-time groups: the 1985-86 Boston Celtics. Love will go down as among the best outlet passers within the historical past of the sport, however he emulated the late, nice Invoice Walton who gained Sixth Man of the Yr for Boston. Flagg is a born-and-bred Celtics fan. Rising up in Newport, Maine, he did not have a lot of a selection.

“We would have a couple-hour drive for AAU tournaments and our little Chrysler van had a film projector that may come down the center and we would pop in 85-86 Celtics the entire championship run and watch recreation by recreation, taking part in the entire thing again and again,” Flagg advised CBS Sports activities. “I feel the best way they performed, the best way they obtained the ball out rapidly, moved it down the court docket, the selflessness and unselfishness on that crew of simply accepting a task, doing the precise issues, placing your physique on the road, it sort of embodies what a great crew has to have. Everybody has to sacrifice one thing. Taking part in the sport the precise manner will get you a large number farther than making an attempt to do issues you’ll be able to’t or do not assist your crew win. That sort of affect has been invaluable to me.”

Flagg may solely lean again and pop a smile as Love described watching Boston’s outlet drill which kickstarted an elite transition offense. In fact, the Celtics may play protection too with a large back-line that includes some mixture of Robert Parrish, Kevin McHale, Larry Chicken and Walton.

Flagg hopes to recreate that type of basketball at Duke this winter. Jon Scheyer has a crew contemporary out of the incubator. Duke’s beginning backcourt of Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster are the lone returners. Flagg is the large title, however Duke has a whopping 10 newcomers. On paper, Duke has an opportunity to be among the best defensive groups within the nation. However getting that many contemporary faces to gel defensively is not straightforward.

Nonetheless, the defensive upside for this group is off the charts. Freshman middle Khaman Maluach is big, checking in at 7-foot-2 and 250 kilos. Duke added Syracuse switch Maliq Brown, one of many ACC’s finest defenders final season. Proctor is a hellacious on-ball defender, and ripply Tulane switch Sion James is a menace on that finish, too.

Duke may trot out a beginning lineup with Foster, a ho-hum, 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard, being the smallest participant on the ground.

Flagg is on the epicenter of all of it. He is thought to be among the best defensive prospects highschool basketball has ever seen. He is 6-foot-9, 200 kilos and the queen on the chess board along with his potential to protect up and down the lineup and supply elite secondary rim safety.

Perhaps most significantly, being particular defensive is of utmost significance to Flagg. He lights up describing simply what Duke may very well be on that finish of the ground.

“We’ve so many versatile guys defensively,” Flagg says. “We’ve such a tall lineup. That does not imply we’re not fast additionally. We’ve massive guards who can sit down and guard small guards. We’ll be so versatile in the best way we defend. We’ll have the ability to decide our spots and decide our protection on the best way we guard. I feel we could be very tactical with the best way we guard this yr. I am so excited to get this going.”

The sport has modified and Flagg’s potential to protect all people defensively and move, dribble and shoot exemplifies it. 

“For us, it was energy forwards, small forwards and level guards,” Love mentioned. “Now, guys are identical to switching 1-through-5 and do the whole lot and play each place. Folks prefer to say the phrase ‘unicorn’ however you are seeing that. The sport is positionless, and we did not have that previously. I feel that is a fantastic factor. It speaks to the ability work. You are by no means too good to not must work in your abilities and work on actually the whole lot. 

“Trying again at grassroots basketball and AAU, in hindsight, whether or not it is coaches or the whole ecosystem, I want we’d’ve targeted much more on ability work. You watch the European affect and the way a lot better the European recreation has gotten, they do not give a shit about rankings. They care about getting higher. They care about ability work. They play two video games per week. We had been taking part in three video games on Thursday, three video games on Friday, 4 video games on Saturday and generally 5 video games on Sunday. That is an excessive amount of. I am not going to say I felt like I left some issues on the desk in my profession, however hindsight you assume is 20/20. I want the ability work and being hungrier to have extra video games would’ve been paramount. It is like going to a great trip. You allow wanting extra. I want that was what we had.”

Flagg and Love have already gone their separate methods. Love is heading again to Miami to be Bam Adebayo’s backup massive man which he describes as “the very best job on this planet.”

For Flagg, he is itching for a little bit of normalcy after the pomp and circumstance of the ESPYs in Los Angeles, competing in opposition to the very best of the very best in Las Vegas and, in fact, his summer season obligations at Duke. That is a whole lot of flights.

However he is obtained another that he is cherishing on faucet.

Subsequent month, Flagg will return house to host a basketball camp on the College of Maine (a spot his outdated Nokomis Excessive Faculty coach Earl Anderson needed him to go to for a yr). Flagg and his brother, Ace, will lead the camp for girls and boys from first grade to sixth grade. The primary session offered out so rapidly and there was such an enormous curiosity that they needed to create a second session. That off-court work is an enormous piece of why Gatorade chosen Flagg as its Participant of the Yr.

“It means the whole lot to me,” Flagg says. “Coming from a small city, realizing all people. Having a really tight circle. We name it our village again house. Simply having that assist system from a younger age. Being tight-knit, near all my folks has helped my folks by means of this course of a lot, so I am actually excited to go house and do one thing for the youthful technology and pay it again. I am excited for the chance to be house for slightly bit.”

It’s going to be a well-deserved, quick break. Perhaps Flagg can sneak his manner onto the golf course once more along with his mentor and former AAU coach, Andy Bedard. However the highlight is not leaving Flagg anytime quickly. Duke’s season will probably be right here earlier than he is aware of it. The 2025 NBA Draft is lower than a yr away. Flagg’s hopeful he will not have to attend lengthy to listen to his title referred to as, and Love will probably be ready within the NBA when he will get there.

“(Kevin Durant), Steph, LeBron are phasing out of their careers within the subsequent few years and the sport is in such a great place,” Love mentioned. “Watching how a lot it modified since 2007 after I was going to UCLA, it is getting so a lot better. The expertise stage domestically and overseas has taken such a leap ahead. That is why the TV deal was $76 billion. These are absurd numbers. You are excited for younger males like Cooper and Cameron (Boozer) who proceed to evolve and take it to the following stage.”

However is Love the very best outlet passer within the recreation? Or does that title belong to Walton from Flagg’s beloved Celtics?

Flagg says it is Love, however the vet would not let it slide.

“Oh, Walton,” Love says with amusing. “That is not honest.”

READ MORE: Finding Flagg, untold stories of Cooper Flagg’s generational rise