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Tag: Cooper Flagg

  • Lakers Stars Expected to Return in Game Against Mavericks – LAmag

    Forward LeBron James, among other players, are expected to return in tonights game against the Dallas Mavericks after sitting for the Feb. 10 game against the San Antonio Spurs

    The Los Angeles Lakers are taking on the Dallas Mavericks tonight at Crypto.com Arena at 7 p.m. During the Lakers’ most recent game — their Feb. 10 136-108 loss against the San Antonio Spurs — Los Angeles sat their entire regular starting lineup.

    For tonight’s game, the only players on the injury report are center Deandre Ayton, who is questionable due to right knee soreness, and guard Luka Dončić, who has been out since Feb. 5 with a left hamstring strain.

    The Lakers have beaten the Mavericks twice this season. Their first victory was a 129-119 win on Nov. 28, and the second was a 116-110 win on Jan. 24.

    Ahead of the game against the Spurs, Dončić, forward LeBron James, guard Austin Reaves and guard Marcus Smart were listed as out on the injury report for various reasons. After James sat out Feb. 10, it is no longer possible for James to meet the 65-game minimum for him to be eligible for postseason awards, ending his 21-year long streak.

    After the Lakers lost, ESPN TV personality Stephen A. Smith was critical of the Lakers’ decision not to play their everyday starters.

    “Work it out,” Smith said. “If you got LeBron James off, make sure somebody else is playing. If you got Austin Reaves off, make sure somebody else is playing,” he continued. “But then everybody? That is disrespectful and insensitive and dismissive to the fans. And somebody needs to say it.”

    For tonight’s game, the Mavericks have a handful of players on the injury report, as star-rookie forward Cooper Flagg has a left midfoot sprain that will keep him out of action through the All-Star break, with three other players listed as doubtful and two more listed as questionable.

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    Tony Gleason

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  • Mavericks fire GM Nico Harrison 9 months after widely panned Luka Doncic trade

    DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks fired general manager Nico Harrison on Tuesday, an admission nine months later that the widely criticized trade of Luka Doncic backfired on the franchise.

    The move came a day after Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont attended a 116-114 loss to the Bucks in which fans again chanted “fire Nico,” a familiar refrain since the blockbuster deal in February that brought Anthony Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers and angered the Dallas fan base.

    The Mavericks appointed Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi as co-interim general managers to oversee basketball operations.

    Dumont’s hope for goodwill with the fans never came even after Dallas landed No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg with just a 1.8% chance to win the draft lottery.

    There have been plenty of empty seats in the upper deck of American Airlines Center this season, something not seen consistently since 2018, when the Mavericks traded up to get Doncic with the third overall pick.

    Doncic was a 25-year-old generational point guard in his prime when Harrison unloaded him for the oft-injured Davis, who has missed 30 of 44 regular-season games since his arrival in February.

    Harrison was in his fourth season and had engineered three trades that helped the Mavs go on a run to the Western Conference finals in 2022 and the NBA Finals two years later.

    The Doncic trade and a slow start to the first full season without the young superstar led to a stunning downfall for Harrison, who declined to comment to The Associated Press. Dallas is 3-8, and Davis has missed six of the 11 games with a calf injury.

    “No one associated with the Mavericks organization is happy with the start of what we all believed would be a promising season,” Dumont wrote in a letter to fans. “You have high expectations for the Mavericks, and I share them with you. When the results don’t meet expectations, it’s my responsibility to act.”

    While Dumont didn’t directly mention the Doncic trade in the letter, he acknowledged the vitriolic reaction of fans, who protested after the shocking deal. The Las Vegas-based Dumont and Adelson families, who bought the Mavericks from Mark Cuban in late 2023, were targets of the criticism as well.

    “I understand the profound impact these difficult last several months have had,” Dumont wrote. “Please know that I’m fully committed to the success of the Mavericks.”

    Dumont approved Harrison’s decision to trade Doncic, which kept the Mavericks from having to commit to a $346 million, five-year supermax extension for the Slovenian star.

    Harrison tried to defend the deal by repeating a “defense wins championships” line. But with Davis sidelined by a calf injury and star guard Kyrie Irving still out after tearing the ACL in his left knee last March, defense hasn’t mattered much because Dallas has one of the worst offenses in the NBA.

    With Davis and Irving playing together for just part of one game last season, the Mavericks missed the playoffs a year after Doncic led them to the NBA Finals.

    The slow, injury-plagued start to this season for the Mavericks coincided with Doncic joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only NBA players to open a season with three consecutive games of at least 40 points.

    Doncic’s historic run was interrupted by a three-game injury absence, but the Lakers won twice without him and are 8-3.

    Harrison had spent 20 years with Nike and had close relationships with several NBA stars, including the late Kobe Bryant, when Cuban hired him in 2021.

    The hiring of Harrison was the first step in trying to restore stability after former general manager Donnie Nelson was fired, then Rick Carlisle resigned as coach a day later. Nelson and Carlisle had been together for 13 years.

    Harrison hired Jason Kidd as coach, and the Mavericks reached the Western Conference finals their first season together after Harrison’s first blockbuster trade.

    He broke up the European pairing of Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis and got Spencer Dinwiddie, who played a key supporting role with Doncic as the Mavericks stunned Phoenix with a Game 7 blowout in the second round before losing to Golden State in five games.

    A year later, Dinwiddie was part of the next blockbuster trade, which brought Irving from Brooklyn. The Mavericks faltered the rest of that season largely because of injuries, but they reached their first NBA Finals in 13 years in 2023-24, led by the pair of star guards. Dallas lost to Boston in five games.

    That deep playoff run came in the first six months after Cuban sold the team. He said then that he would maintain control of basketball operations, but that didn’t happen.

    Dumont quickly put full control of the basketball side in the hands of Harrison, who saw Davis as a championship-caliber player in the mold of Bryant. Davis won a title with LeBron James and the Lakers in 2020.

    Cuban criticized the trade of Doncic, saying he never would have approved it and adding that he didn’t think Dallas got enough in return. Months later, though, Cuban credited Harrison for his salary cap management.

    Finley, who was Harrison’s top assistant and has been in the Dallas front office for a decade, was a two-time All-Star for the Mavericks in the early 2000s when Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki was coming of age.

    Finley had moved on to San Antonio when Nowitzki led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2006. Dallas lost to Miami that year but beat the Heat five years later for the franchise’s only championship.

    ___

    AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA

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  • Dallas Mavericks fans spent months rebelling against the man who traded Luka Dončić. The team just fired the embattled GM

    (CNN) — The Dallas Mavericks fired general manager Nico Harrison on Tuesday, dismissing the man who traded away fan-favorite Luka Dončić in one of the most shocking NBA trades in recent memory.

    Mavs fans essentially rebelled against Harrison in the months after the early February trade, chanting, “Fire Nico!” at every opportunity. Harrison became something akin to Public Enemy No. 1 in Dallas, even after lucking into the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and drafting Duke star Cooper Flagg.

    In a letter to fans, owner Patrick Dumont said the current state of the organization is not in line with the expectations fans have set for the Mavs.

    “No one associated with the Mavericks organization is happy with the start of what we all believed would be a promising season,” Dumont wrote. “You have high expectations for the Mavericks, and I share them with you. When the results don’t meet expectations, it’s my responsibility to act. I’ve made the decision to part ways with General Manager Nico Harrison.”

    He added, “I know our players are deeply committed to a winning culture, this decision was critical to moving our franchise forward in a positive direction.”

    The organization announced Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi will serve as co-interim general managers while a permanent replacement is sought.

    The Dončić trade ended up ushering in one of the bleakest stretches for any NBA team in recent memory. On February 1, the Mavericks sent Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and the Lakers’ 2029 first-round draft pick.

    In the period after the deal, the Mavericks went 14-21, lost Anthony Davis – the main player Dallas received in return for Dončić – for weeks due to injury in his first game with the team, lost talisman Kyrie Irving to a season-ending ACL injury and watched a slew of other players go down hurt. Davis returned as the Mavs tried to win a spot in the NBA playoffs through the play-in round but ultimately fell short.

    During that entire time, the fans demanded Harrison be fired and pundits declared that the Mavericks had just made a potentially franchise killing move. Dončić is just 26 years old, led the team to the NBA Finals in the 2023-24 season, had been named All-NBA each year he had been in the league and was entering his prime. All reporting around the deal indicated that Dončić never planned to leave Dallas, and his emotional return to Texas in April indicated that the pain of the surprise move still pained him.

    The 26-year-old told ESPN that he threw and cracked his phone when he first heard about the trade, adding that he felt “sadness mostly” and that he “felt like my heart was broken, honestly.”

    Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic reacts while watching a tribute video before first game in Dallas after the trade. Credit: Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images / Reuters via CNN Newsource

    In his end-of-season news conference, Harrison said he was surprised by the city’s depth of feeling for Dončić.

    “I did know that Luka was important to the fanbase,” Harrison told reporters during his season-ending news conference. “I didn’t quite know to what level.”

    At the time, Harrison remained staunch in his belief that Dallas has the makings of a winning team despite the trade and fan backlash.

    “We feel that’s a championship-caliber team and we would have been winning at a high level and that would have quieted some of the outrage,” Harrison said, adding that being healthy is the only thing keeping the team from challenging for a title. “And so unfortunately we weren’t able to do that, so it just continued to go on and on.”

    But how the franchise handled the Dončić trade and its immediate aftermath sealed Harrison’s fate in the minds of many Mavs fans.

    Dallas Mavericks fans hold up a sign referring to Mavs general manager Nico Harrison during the game against the Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Center on February 10. Credit: Tim Heitman / Getty Images via CNN Newsource

    One of the things that particularly irked fans was a report after the trade that slammed Dončić’s conditioning, with ESPN citing sources inside the franchise revealing frustration with his diet. The treatment of a player who was widely revered as an icon in Dallas, especially less than a year after an NBA Finals appearance, went over like a ton of bricks.

    “Everyone wants to point at Luka’s flaws, at least for a half-second,” Mavs fan Matthew Slovak told CNN. “The overwhelming narrative is that this is the most ridiculous thing ever, but there was that, ‘Yeah, but.’ There is no ‘yeah, but.’ – this is the most indefensible trade of all time.”

    In his letter, Dumont emphasized that he understood the frustrations of the fans.

    “I understand the profound impact these difficult last several months have had. Please know that I’m fully committed to the success of the Mavericks,” he wrote.

    “Thank you for your support, thank you for holding us accountable, and thank you for your passion and for your patience. You deserve transparency and a team that reflects your spirit. Our goal is to return winning basketball to Dallas and win championships. Our family is committed to that mission and to continuing to invest in Dallas and the Mavericks’ future.”

    CNN’s Ben Morse and Andy Scholes contributed to this report.

    Kyle Feldscher and CNN

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  • Mavericks get troubling Cooper Flagg injury update

    The Dallas Mavericks continued their disappointing start to the 2025-26 NBA season with another loss on Monday night, falling to the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder with a 101-94 final score at the American Airlines Center.

    No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg put forth the worst performance of his young NBA career so far, scoring just two points on 1 of 9 shooting from the field and 0 for 3 shooting from behind the 3-point arc. The 18-year-old rookie also recorded two rebounds and two steals through 31 minutes of action.

    This lack of production could be connected to a hit Flagg took during the first possession of the game. From that point forward, the presumed NBA Rookie of the Year wore heavy wrapping on his left shoulder whenever he went to the bench.

    “Cooper Flagg has had a big wrap on his left shoulder while on the bench throughout the game. Appeared to take a shot on it first possession of the night,” Mavericks insider Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported.

    Loading twitter content…

    More Basketball: Mavericks Double Down on Cooper Flagg Decision Despite Backlash

    After the game, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said Flagg played through shoulder soreness.

    Kidd said the team will see how Flagg feels on Tuesday before determining his status for the rest of the week.

    “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. His shoulder is sore, we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. He played through it, he’s a tough kid, but we’ll have more tomorrow,” Kidd said, via Noah Weber.

    More Basketball: Mavericks Make Bold Cooper Flagg Decision Before NBA Debut vs Spurs

    This disappointing performance comes just after the Mavericks’ first win of the season on Sunday night. In a 139-129 victory over the Toronto Raptors, Flagg recorded a career-high 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the field. The reigning NCAA National Player of the Year also had four rebounds, four assists, one block and a highlight-reel fast-break dunk.

    The Mavericks will provide further details regarding Flagg’s injury status as they approach their next matchup against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.

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  • Charles Barkley rips Dallas Mavericks for Cooper Flagg point guard experiment

    It didn’t take long for pundits to find issue with the new-look Dallas Mavericks, with Charles Barkley lambasting the franchise’s use of No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg in his debut.

    Flagg got off to slow start in the first half with zero points, while initiating the offense at times in a role that Barkley, the NBA Hall of Famer and “Inside the NBA” commentator, said misused the Duke product.

    “The Dallas Mavericks trying to outthink everybody, think they the smartest dude in the world and realized it’s just basketball,” Barkley said. “They need a point guard, first of all. Cooper Flagg, he only got two attempts. Why’s he only got two attempts? They got him trying to initiate the offense. Man, start D’Angelo Russell till Kyrie [Irving] comes back. These guys always wanna act like lets reinvent the wheel. Man, it’s basketball. … They didn’t even put Cooper Flagg in a position to be successful.”

    Flagg eventually scored the first bucket of his NBA career at the beginning of the first half, a top of the key jump shot off a handoff from Dereck Lively.

    The Mavs started Flagg, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, Anthony Davis and Lively. With Kyrie Irving not expected back till January, head coach Jason Kidd has been vocal about Flagg playing point guard.

    Kenny Smith agreed with Barkley, arguing that Flagg shouldn’t be concerned about the duties of a point guard and that he should instead be focused on offensive rebounding, finishing and cutting, saying those are the things he’ll be great at.

    Lawrence Dow

    Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.

    Lawrence Dow

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  • See photos from Cooper Flagg’s first preseason game as a Dallas Maverick

    Cooper Flagg made his much-anticipated Mavericks debut Monday night at Dickies Arena, showing flashes of the two-way game that made him the No. 1 pick while helping Dallas to a 106-89 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    Flagg finished with 10 points and a handful of eye-catching plays that energized the crowd and hinted at the role he could play as the regular season approaches.

    The 18-year-old logged just 14 minutes but filled the box score, posting 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block while shooting efficiently.

    Even in a limited preseason role, his energy shifted the pace — the kind of presence that can quietly change a team’s rhythm.

    Flagg’s versatility stood out most. At 6-foot-9, he defended multiple positions, crashed the glass, and spaced the floor with confidence. His ability to cut without the ball, rotate early on defense, and find open shooters gave Dallas fans a glimpse of a player whose impact goes beyond the box score.

    The Mavericks continue their preseason Saturday when they host the Charlotte Hornets at American Airlines Center.

    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg warms up prior to the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg warms up prior to the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg warms up prior to the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg warms up prior to the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) is introduced prior to the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) is introduced prior to the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) passes the ball in the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) passes the ball in the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) has a word with forward Cooper Flagg (32) in the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) has a word with forward Cooper Flagg (32) in the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg passes the ball in the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg passes the ball in the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) goes up for a layup in the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) goes up for a layup in the first half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) sits alone on the bench in the second half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) sits alone on the bench in the second half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) is interviewed following the second half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) is interviewed following the second half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) is interviewed following the second half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) is interviewed following the second half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) greets fans following the second half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
    Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) greets fans following the second half of a preseason NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. Christopher Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

    Christopher Torres

    Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    Chris Torres is a staff visual journalist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He previously worked as a photojournalist for the Santa Clarita Valley Signal in California for two years. He grew up in Los Angeles, but now resides in west Fort Worth.

    Christopher Torres

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  • Best Sports Bars to Watch the Cowboys This Season, Like it or Not

    It’s really a complicated time to be a sports fan in Dallas. Maybe you’ve sought therapy, or maybe you’re all ‘love and happiness’ about all these situations and have simply moved on…

    Lauren Drewes Daniels

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  • Nation’s Top Prep Talent Headlines Bob McKillop Invitational

    Nation’s Top Prep Talent Headlines Bob McKillop Invitational

    The nation’s top-ranked player. The country’s top-ranked team. High school’s best basketball conference. New York’s No. 1 prospect. They’ll all be under the same roof for a two-day competition being termed “the biggest event in the history of Long Island basketball.”


    HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., February 14, 2024 (Newswire.com)
    –
    It’s no wonder tickets are scarce for the Bob McKillop Invitational, which takes place Feb. 16-17 at Hofstra University’s 4,000-seat home gym, “The Mack.” The event is presented by GOLD SN.

    The headliners are Cooper Flagg, a transcendent talent ranked No. 1 on ESPN’s list of top seniors, and local favorite V.J. Edgecombe, rated No. 4. The 6-4 Edgecombe stars for Long Island Lutheran High (LuHi), which plays both Friday and Saturday.

    Flagg is a 6-9 forward for Montverde Academy, which might have the greatest assemblage of talent in prep hoops history – four players ranked in the top 14, six in the top 51. The only recent comp is the 2019-20 Montverde team, which finished 25-0 with Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes.

    Flagg is the Maine Man (his home state) bound for Duke. Montverde coach Kevin Boyle, a New Jersey native, called him “the most entertaining, recognizable and talented high school player since LeBron James,” in an interview with NJ Advance Media.

    Flagg sizzled in Montverde’s first meeting with LuHi this season, finishing with 21 points and 14 rebounds in a 73-59 victory at the City of Palms Classic in Florida. The rematch, an EYBL Scholastic league game, comes Friday, Feb. 16, and tickets are sold out. Join the waiting list here: https://admitone.com/events/bob-mckillop-invitational-hempstead-9378067.

    Both Flagg and Edgecombe also will take the court Saturday for additional EYBL Scholastic league games: Montverde vs. Legacy (6:30 p.m.) and LuHi vs. Brewster (8:30 p.m.). LuHi is New York’s top-ranked team.

    Rashid Ghazi, EYBL Scholastic Commissioner, and Tony Dorado, Nike Basketball, say: “This is a unique event that will drive fans’ engagement and generate significant publicity for the schools. It’s tremendous to add Long Island as a premium stop on the EYBL Scholastic schedule and we appreciate the LuHi community hosting us.”

    Celebrities and hoop junkies will flock to “The Mack” for the greatest two-day hoops event in Long Island history. Knicks play-by-play man (for ESPN Radio) Pat O’Keefe will handle all the announcing duties, saying: “I jumped at the opportunity to see this much NBA talent up close and personal.”

    The home favorite will be Edgecombe, who turned down Duke and Kentucky to commit to Baylor. LuHi is ranked 6th nationally by ESPN, five spots behind undefeated Montverde.

    “V.J. is a powerful, athletic guard who glides down the court and explodes to the rim,” says Paul Biancardi, the NBA draft analyst and recruiting director for ESPN 100. “He can score at a high clip at all four levels – the rim, the midrange, the 3-point line and the free throw line. And keep an eye on him as a playmaker.”

    MATCHUPS & TIMES:

    *Feb. 16 (Legacy vs. Brewster, 4 p.m.; Holy Trinity vs. Chaminade, 6 pm.; Montverde vs. LUHI, 8 p.m.) … Doors Open 3 p.m.

    *Feb. 17 (Montverde vs. Legacy, 6:30 p.m.; LuHi vs. Brewster, 8:30 p.m.) … Doors 6 p.m.

    LOCATION: David S. Mack Sports Complex (245 Hofstra University; Hempstead, NY 11549)

    REMAINING TICKETS: https://admitone.com/events/bob-mckillop-invitational-hempstead-9378067

    STREAMING: League Ready (@League_Ready on YouTube)

    THE NAMESAKE: Queens, N.Y., native Bob McKillop has connections to multiple schools in the event. He played for Chaminade HS on Long Island and Hofstra, where he was team MVP in 1972. He coached at Holy Trinity and LuHi, where he won five state titles. He then thrived at the college level, coaching Stephen Curry at Davidson. He won 634 games from 1989-2022. He retired in June after a 27-7 season.

    EYBL SCHOLASTIC: The 14-team national high school basketball conference includes eight teams currently ranked in the ESPN High School Basketball Top 25. Ranked league teams competing in the Bob McKillop Invitational are #1 Monteverde (Fla.), #6 Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.) and #12 Brewster Academy (N.H.). More information is available at www.nikeeyblscholastic.com.

    Source: Gold SN

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  • Who is Cooper Flagg? 5 things to know about top-ranked Duke commit

    Who is Cooper Flagg? 5 things to know about top-ranked Duke commit

    Duke men’s basketball landed ESPN’s top recruit in the class of 2024 on Monday when five-star forward Cooper Flagg announced his commitment via Slam Magazine.

    Here are five things basketball fans should know about the 16-year-old star.

    Flagg Is the Projected No. 1 Pick in 2025

    Duke should make the most of Flagg’s presence on campus, since he probably won’t be there for long. According to most NBA Draft experts, he is projected to go at the top of the 2025 NBA Draft, and scouts have speculated that he could be “one of the better No. 1 overall candidates of the decade.”

    At 6-foot-9, he can handle the ball in both half-court sets and in transition, and his passing is one of his best attributes.

    “Comparing him to a single NBA player is very difficult because of how diverse his game is,” Flagg’s AAU coach Andy Bedard told ESPN. “The reality is, you’d have to take a premier skill set of multiple players and create a ‘super player’ that I don’t think we’ve seen before.”

    A general view of the “Cameron Crazies,” fans of the Duke Blue Devils, during Countdown to Craziness at Cameron Indoor Stadium on October 20, 2023, in Durham, North Carolina. Duke men’s basketball on Monday landed top recruit Cooper Flagg.
    Photo by Lance King/Getty Images

    Flagg Hails From an Unlikely Hometown

    Newport, Maine (population: 3,133 in 2020) isn’t exactly a hotbed for professional basketball prospects, but Flagg put the tiny town on the radar of scouts. During his freshman season, Flagg attended Nokomis Regional High School, where he became the first freshman to win Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year award and led the school to a state title after a number of losing seasons.

    The next summer, Flagg and his twin brother Ace transferred to Montverde Academy, which is one of the premier prep basketball programs in the country. At Montverde, he impressed in several high-profile showcases, including the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts, and raised his profile nationally.

    Flagg was slated to announce his commitment last week, but he opted to wait in the wake of the Lewiston shootings just over an hour from his hometown.

    “All of our focus should be on supporting the victims, their families, and law enforcement,” Flagg wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Everything else can wait. My heart is with Maine.”

    Flagg Lists Larry Bird as a Major Influence

    Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the region where he grew up, Flagg fashioned parts of his game after NBA legend Larry Bird. He told Slam Magazine that his family would put on clips of the Celtics from the 1980s in the car when they traveled hours to and from AAU games.

    “We would always either have the ’85 or ’86 Celtics championship games on or the Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird movies. It instilled Bird’s mindset within me and Ace. How he was always the hardest worker, no matter what,” recalls Cooper. “Especially from that Celtics team that played against the Rockets, it was more about the teamwork and the ball movement.”

    Flagg Has Already Impressed NBA Stars

    Perhaps Flagg’s best performance of the summer in 2023 came when he impressed at Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry’s camp with his athleticism, size, length, competitiveness and skills.

    Celtics star Jayson Tatum was impressed by Flagg’s mindset after Flagg attended his camp (like Flagg, Tatum went to Duke).

    “He’s got an edge about him, not arrogant,” Tatum told Jeff Goodman. “He knows he’s good, but he realizes he’s got a long way to go. He’s going at guys, going at the pros. He was trying to block every shot, getting every rebound. He wasn’t playing cool. He was playing hard, competing. He was asking questions a lot, listening.”

    Duke Has a Stacked Recruiting Class

    Top prospects don’t always make a college basketball team a contender, given that they are much younger than other programs that feature fifth-year seniors and transfer-portal stars. Still, the Blue Devils now have Flagg (No. 1), Isaiah Evans (No. 8), Kon Knueppel (No. 22) and Darren Harris (No. 45) out of the graduating class of 2024 (all rankings via ESPN). They are also reportedly still in the running for Dylan Harper (No. 2).

    Expect the Blue Devils to be one of the NCAA’s biggest stories next year.