Cooper Flagg has turned into quite the star at Duke and is projected to be the number one overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. But long before his stardom, he was an unknown talent from Maine who only Brian Scalabrine or the White Mamba knew about. He went into detail recently about how impressed he was with Flagg at just 13 years old.
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Flagg has turned into the face of college basketball. He’s a versatile scorer who can defend well and looks to be a generational talent who will make a massive difference for an NBA team. Teams like the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets are all tanking to get a shot at picking Flagg.
But before Flagg was a well-known talent, he was an up-and-coming unknown player coming out of Maine. His hype reached as far as some former NBA players like Scalabrine. But the White Mamba didn’t believe in the hype, so he invited him out to play against some college kids at just 13 years old.
“I know a guy up in Maine, and he trains Cooper,” Scalabrine told Julian Edelman on Games with Names. “He was telling me stories about this kid. At the time, he was a 13-year-old playing against U Maine guys, and he would start to dominate. I’m like, ‘Man, get the f*ck out of here. No way a 13-year-old is better than D-1 players.’”
Scalabrine then told his friend to send Flagg down to train with him. Scal told his Maine friend that if Flagg could hang with his guys, he could hang with anyone. But at first, his guys weren’t down to get shown up by a 13-year-old. So, he had to trash-talk them a bit to get it to happen.
“He sends him down. He gets out of the car, and I go, ‘Do you need to warm up?’ He’s like putting on his two knee braces. I’m like alright man, let’s go,” Scal said. “First possession, he goes to the right and he pump fakes, throws it up off the backboard, goes up with the left, and he dunks it. The gym was silent.”
It must have been quite the sight to see a 13-year-old dunk in such an environment. But it speaks to how ahead of his years Flagg’s skill level has always been. Scalabrine said he immediately got on the phone with Team USA and Duke after the practice.
“I called USA basketball the next day. Duke the next day. I’m telling you guys, this guy is nasty. They blew me off.”
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Ultimately, both USA Basketball and Duke did bring in Flagg per Scalabrine’s wishes. The ‘Maine Event’ was a part of the USA Select team that helped their Olympic roster prepare for the Paris event. And as he says, he just took off from there. Now, Flagg is the most sought-after player in this upcoming draft.
Cooper Flagg speaks about Brian Scalabrine
Flagg has credited Scalabrine for helping him with his success at such a young age. The ex-NBA veteran has mentored the youngster over the past few years, and he spoke on how it’s helped turn him into the player he is today.
“I definitely think he had a big impact on me and influenced some decisions,” Flagg told Hoops Hype. “Just ’cause he knows what it takes, and at the time, we didn’t know. We kinda had some doubts, and I think he kinda just filled me with confidence… It was really the first person from afar just telling me and pushing me forward and really just giving me that confidence.”
We’ll see if the confidence that Scal instilled in Flagg can go a long way in his NBA career. He’s already on the verge of winning a National Championship in college basketball. And to think scouts used to doubt him because of the state he hailed from. Cooper Flagg has reignited hope for all small-town basketball stars around the US.
