Kevin Love says he has a brand new phrase that he desires to reside by: “Plant timber and watch ’em develop.” Think about Cooper Flagg considered 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 completed 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 displaying in opposition to a LeBron James, Stephen Curry-led Workforce USA membership that’s the favourite to take gold on the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games.
“Oh, he’ll translate,” Love instructed CBS Sports activities. “Simply taking part in in opposition to future Corridor of Famers, a number of the guys who’re a number of the best gamers of all time and essentially the most adorned gamers of this era and positively the very best. He is very poised for his age. Talking of his demeanor, he research the sport. You possibly can 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 is not only a basketball award. It is in the neighborhood, 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 choose within 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 top-of-the-line outlet passers within the historical past of the sport, however he emulated the late, nice Invoice Walton who received 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 might have a couple-hour drive for AAU tournaments and our little Chrysler van had a film projector that might 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 instructed CBS Sports activities. “I feel the best way they performed, the best way they bought the ball out shortly, moved it down the courtroom, the selflessness and unselfishness on that workforce of simply accepting a job, doing the suitable issues, placing your physique on the road, it type of embodies what a great workforce has to have. Everybody has to sacrifice one thing. Enjoying the sport the suitable manner will get you a large number farther than attempting to do issues you possibly can’t or do not assist your workforce win. That sort of affect has been invaluable to me.”
Flagg might 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 might play protection too with an enormous back-line that includes some mixture of Robert Parrish, Kevin McHale, Larry Chook and Walton.
Flagg hopes to recreate that type of basketball at Duke this winter. Jon Scheyer has a workforce 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 top-of-the-line defensive groups within the nation. However getting that many contemporary faces to gel defensively is not simple.
Nonetheless, the defensive upside for this group is off the charts. Freshman middle Khaman Maluach is gigantic, checking in at 7-foot-2 and 250 kilos. Duke added Syracuse switch Maliq Brown, one of many ACC’s greatest defenders final season. Proctor is a hellacious on-ball defender, and ripply Tulane switch Sion James is a menace on that finish, too.
Duke might 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 top-of-the-line defensive prospects highschool basketball has ever seen. He is 6-foot-9, 200 kilos and the queen on the chess board together with his capacity to protect up and down the lineup and supply elite secondary rim safety.
Possibly most significantly, being particular defensive is of utmost significance to Flagg. He lights up describing simply what Duke could possibly be on that finish of the ground.
“We now have so many versatile guys defensively,” Flagg says. “We now have such a tall lineup. That does not imply we’re not fast additionally. We now have huge guards who can sit down and guard small guards. We will be so versatile in the best way we defend. We’ll be capable of choose our spots and choose our protection on the best way we guard. I feel we will 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 capacity to protect all people defensively and cross, dribble and shoot exemplifies it.
“For us, it was energy forwards, small forwards and level guards,” Love stated. “Now, guys are identical to switching 1-through-5 and do every part 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 wonderful factor. It speaks to the talent work. You are by no means too good to not must work in your expertise and work on actually every part.
“Trying again at grassroots basketball and AAU, in hindsight, whether or not it is coaches or your entire ecosystem, I want we might’ve centered much more on talent 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 talent work. They play two video games every week. We had been taking part in three video games on Thursday, three video games on Friday, 4 video games on Saturday and typically 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 talent work and being hungrier to have extra video games would’ve been paramount. It is like going to a great trip. You permit 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 huge 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, after all, his summer season duties at Duke. That is a whole lot of flights.
However he is bought yet one more that he is cherishing on faucet.
Subsequent month, Flagg will return residence to host a basketball camp on the College of Maine (a spot his previous Nokomis Excessive Faculty coach Earl Anderson wished 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 bought out so shortly and there was such a giant curiosity that they needed to create a second session. That off-court work is a giant piece of why Gatorade chosen Flagg as its Participant of the Yr.
“It means every part to me,” Flagg says. “Coming from a small city, understanding all people. Having a really tight circle. We name it our village again residence. Simply having that assist system from a younger age. Being tight-knit, near all my folks has helped my folks via this course of a lot, so I am actually excited to go residence and do one thing for the youthful era and pay it again. I am excited for the chance to be residence for a bit of bit.”
It will be a well-deserved, quick break. Possibly Flagg can sneak his manner onto the golf course once more together with his mentor and former AAU coach, Andy Bedard. However the highlight is not leaving Flagg anytime quickly. Duke’s season can 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 known as, and Love can 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 stated. “Watching how a lot it modified since 2007 once 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 subsequent 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 fun. “That is not truthful.”
READ MORE: Discovering Flagg, untold tales of Cooper Flagg’s generational rise