Dylan Petersen
Cooper Flagg may have just had the greatest Peach Jam run of all time. The 6’9 junior led Maine United all the way to the E16 championship game. Yes, he led a team from Maine all the way to the championship game at the best AAU tournament in the world. I was lucky enough to be in attendance for Flagg’s last three games, and I can proudly say that he was the most dominant basketball player I have ever seen. He is a real life cheat code.
Cooper Flagg can truly do it all on the court. He might be the next coming of LeBron James.
Flagg averaged 25.4 points, 5.7 assists, 13 rebounds, and a whopping 6.9 blocks. He was ranked top 5 in all of those categories, which is unbelievable if you really think about it. Flagg could takeover in any area of the game when needed. If you needed a bucket he could get you one and if you needed a defensive stop and a rebound he could get you both.
There have been many lengthy prospects in the past with Flagg’ scoring ability, but the skill that impressed me most about Cooper Flagg was his shot blocking. His presence around the rim was very intimidating for the opponents. Flagg had multiple games with 10+ blocks. I have never seen a player who could time up blocks as well as Flagg could. Time and time again players would miss easy layups just because Flagg was lurking around the rim.
Game Recap vs. NH Lightning
This was my first game ever seeing Cooper Flagg and after watching him I was mind-blown. The gym was packed and the right side of the court was flooded with college coaches including Duke Coach Jon Scheyer and UCONN Coach Dan Hurley. Cooper Flagg started the first few minutes off a little slow, but once he saw one bucket go in there was no looking back. Maine United and New Heights Lightning battled back and fourth all game long. Cooper could not be stopped throughout this game, he was dominating the paint on the offensive and defensive end. Flagg also made the game tying three to send the game to overtime and he iced the game with his free throws in double overtime. Myself and the crowd were wowed from the performance by Cooper Flagg. He ended up finishing with 37 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 blocks.
Game Recap vs. Team Griffin
There was no way Flagg could match his dominance again from his previous game but he sure did. The gym was packed again and the hype too see Cooper Flagg was truly getting out of hand at this point. This time, Flagg was showing off his incredible shot creating skills as he went 5-9 from three. He also had his signature play of Peach Jam where he threw the ball off the backboard to himself and than dunked over a defender standing in the paint. The gym erupted during that play and Flagg even had Chris Paul shaking his head in disbelief. Maine United went on to beat Team Griffin and Cooper Flagg finished with 34 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 blocks to help send his team to the championship game.
Game Recap vs. NightRydas Elite
The matchup that everyone wanted too see was set: Cooper Flagg versus Cameron Boozer. The two best high school players in America. These two players will be competing for that #1 ranking for years to come. Surprisingly both players struggled throughout this game. Boozer battled with foul trouble and he only finished with 5 points. Cooper Flagg had an “off game” but he still finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. It was a very close game for much of the game but Cameron’s twin brother Cayden stole the show finishing with 23 points and 5 assists. Cayden’s 23 points helped NightRydas Elite secure their second straight Peach Jam championship in a row.
The game was streamed on ESPN and people on Twitter were truly amazed by Cooper Flagg’s game. People were comparing him to LeBron and saying he is easily the best player in America right now. Flagg carried a team from Maine all the way to the championship game at Peach Jam and his performance will never be forgotten. It will be interesting to see how Cooper Flagg’s future turns out because the sky is the limit for him.
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