Flagg’s ‘no fear’ approach draws Group U.S.A. raves

LAS VEGAS– A 3-pointer over Anthony Davis, swish. A standard turnaround over Jrue Holiday, easy. An acrobatic putback after crashing the boards and getting fouled by Bam Adebayo, no problem.Those are 3

of the very best protectors in the NBA.Cooper Flagg is 17 years of ages.

He held his own against them all.The story of practice for the U.S. Olympic males’s basketball group on Monday was Flagg, who hasn’t even played his first college game yet. The Duke freshman– part of the choose team that was welcomed to exercise versus the Olympic team during its training school and projected by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft– looked totally at ease going against some of the league’s greatest names.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated” The chance, it was great,”Flagg stated.” It was a true blessing to be here.

I believe just the physicality, and just the

level of where I wish to get to, there’s a lot to get better at, a lot where I need to keep improving. This revealed just how huge the information are.”He will definitely get better. That may be a frightening concept.” He kicked butt here,”said U.S. choose group coach Jamahl Mosley of the Orlando Magic.”

There’s a respect element for what he’s done. People who have not seen him play, as he gets himself going within the game, they quickly see what he can do. “The select group is generally comprised of young NBA players, brought in to scrimmage the nationwide team and help them prepare for either World Cup or Olympic competition. Flagg

was the very first college player asked to be part of the choose group given that Doug McDermott and Marcus Smart were asked to sign up with a mini-camp in 2013. However those situations weren’t anywhere near the same as Flagg belonging to this camp. McDermott had actually played 110 college games for Creighton at that point and was a two-time agreement All-American.

Smart was coming off a freshman season when he won Big 12 novice of the year and player of the year honors at Oklahoma State. They were already proven.Flagg has zero college points. He still showed plenty in this camp. “He desires it,”U.S. guard Devin Booker said.”I know this experience, he’s going to take with him and progress.” In Monday’s skirmish– the Olympic group beat the

select team 74-73– Flagg was in the middle of everything down the stretch and

looked completely comfortable. And when it was over, there were a lot of pictures with everyone; the select team’s final day in camp

was Monday, though some may be welcomed to remain to continue assisting the Olympic squad.” To be able to do what he did, not even playing a college game, not to mention an NBA game, there’s no fear, “select group forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat said.”It’s ruthless. And the thing that you can outline him is that he simply has a knack and the will to win. He doesn’t require the ball.

He just discovers a way to it. And the ball discovers its way to him. That’s something that you can’t teach. He’s just got a great feel for the game. “Flagg is a 6-foot-9 forward from Newport, Maine, who led Montverde Academy in Florida to a 30-0 record and a national title in addition to taking part in the Nike Hoop Summit and other high school all-star games. He picked Duke over Connecticut, was USA Basketball’s male professional athlete of the year in

2022 after leading the Americans to gold at the U17 World Cup, and was the Gatorade National Player of the Year, Naismith Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American in his final high school season.”I was shocked, I was shocked, and I was truly thrilled for this chance,” Flagg stated.”And I’m simply actually blessed that I was able to come out and capitalize on it and reveal what I have. I was truly grateful to come out and discover. That was the greatest thing for me, simply having the ability to find out and grow, to share a health club with all of these excellent, terrific names. Legends. So, I’m simply genuinely blessed.”Details from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps was used in this report.