Flagg: USA's Swiss Army knife-type all-arounder from unheralded Maine

MALAGA (Spain) - Cooper Flagg does it all - playing defense inside and outside; scoring in all kinds of ways; and comfortably passing the ball to his teammates. The United States forward has a game that reminds many of an old school Yugoslavian type player - and that from a state not known for producing many basketball players.

Flagg is the personification of a team player as he has scored 7.5 points in two games while also grabbing a team-high 10.5 rebounds, a tournament- best 6.0 offensive boards, to go with 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.0 blocks.

 
"He does whatever it takes to win, he does everything: he tries to rebound, he’ll block shots, he’ll hit shots, makes the extra pass. And that’s what makes him a vital weapon coming off the bench," USA coach Sharman White said about Flagg. "He plays the game the right way."

Many see that versatility and ball-sharing and think about the likes of Toni Kukoc from the great Yugoslavian teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Yugoslav winning the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 1990 of course was 36 years before Flagg was born. Flagg would need to show more offensive firepower to be really worthy of this flatterous comparison with the croatian legend but the filiation is there.

 
"I'm not exactly sure what an old style Yugoslavian type of play is, but I do think that my game has always been team oriented and very versatile. This means I am able to do anything that coach would need of me," said the 2006-born Flagg, who is making his FIBA debut in this tournament.

Flagg's knowledge of the game comes from a basketball-loving family including mother Kelly who played basketball at the University of Maine from 1995 to 1999, was a three-time America East champion, made four NCAA Tournament appearances and was team captain. Cooper's older brother Hunter also plays the game and actually played this past high school season with Cooper and his twin brother Ace at Nokomis High School, where they won the first Maine state title in school history.

 
"Winning the Gold Ball was one of the best days of my life, and to accomplish that for my community and to do it with the kids that I grew up with playing basketball together, having sleepovers with and hanging out let alone with two of my brothers was one of the best feelings that I have ever had," said Cooper, who was named as Maine's Gatorade player of the year this season.

The northeastern state of Maine is not really known for producing many basketball players - among them NBA coach Brett Brown, European veteran Nik Caner-Medley as well as Troy Barnies and former WNBA player Cindy Blodgett. That also gives Flagg motivation.

"Knowing I'm putting on for the whole state of Maine is what really drove me to get to the point where I am now. It gave me the confidence I needed when I may have been down on myself. Knowing that not just my family and friends believe in me but the entire state has my back fills me with a ton of confidence and motivation," Flagg said.

 
Another supporter of Flagg is a former NBA veteran Brian Scalabrine, who attended the talent's games this season and worked out with him individually.

"Having somebody like that who has been through the same process and put in the time and the work and all the reps in the gym going to my games and wanting to help me on this journey is a really good feeling knowing that I am on the right path, headed in the right direction. He has helped me slow the game down and helped me with positioning," Flagg said of the veteran of 11 NBA seasons.

 
After this tournament in Spain, Flagg will make a move, leaving Maine and Nokomis to attend the acclaimed Montverde Academy in Florida, which has produced so many top talents such as Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Cade Cunningham, D'Angelo Russell and Precious Achiuwa. But before that, Flagg wants to fulfil the dream of winning the U17 World Cup.

"It would mean a lot to me to finish this mission that started in Colorado and continue the success that team USA has always had," he said.

And showing his all-around game in the process.

FIBA