The best student in the United States is compared to Kirilenko. Will he be great or fail in the NBA?
Nikita Biryukov April 3, 2024, 16:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Cooper Flagg, even before appearing in the NCAA, hears odes addressed to him.
The 17-year-old American Cooper Flagg is not yet so famous in the world of basketball, because he is just beginning his path to greatness in the NBA. However, the boy is already being compared to the best player in the history of the Russian league, Andrei Kirilenko, and to the legendary Kevin Garnett. When will Flagg arrive in the NBA and why are he being given such advancements before his first NCAA season? There are many interesting things ahead.
More about Cooper Flagg:
Who is Cooper Flagg anyway? We talk about the future first pick of the 2025 NBA draft
The young basketball player played at the Montverde Academy (Florida) at the school level. Just a month ago Flagg received the “Best Player of the Year” award in the United States among all schoolchildren in the country. During the season, the boy averaged 16.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. His team never lost a single game during the season, with a record of 30 consecutive victories.
Most mock drafts have Cooper as the best player in the 2025 draft class. The guy has already accepted an offer from one of the most famous teams in college basketball: Duke. Flagg will spend next season in the NCAA and in 2025 he will be able to declare his candidacy for the NBA draft. The famous NBA University basketball portal compared the 17-year-old basketball player with Kirilenko, highlighting his enormous reach, excellent anthropometric data, elite instincts, excellent skills in defense, ball handling, passing and finishing.
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At the same time, some scouts and analysts compare Flagg with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Paul George, but the figure of Kevin Garnett stands out. First of all, they highlight the zeal and passion with which Cooper gives everything on the court, even from a very young age. KG knew how to handle the ball brilliantly, shoot from any point on the court, except for stable three-pointers, and defend from any of the five positions. Flagg has similar traits and, most importantly, a strong desire to become one of the best in the NBA.
The young American talent has room to grow: he doesn’t have the best speed or the muscles to be able to take on his opponents one on one. In turn, almost everyone notices that he needs to add various techniques to create free space for throwing. As we can see, the boy is far from perfect and needs to improve.
Cooper Flag
Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Throughout the history of the NBA there have been many promising talents who were predicted to have a great future in the league, the possibility of becoming the next Jordan or some other legend, but in reality they did not live up to the expectations. expectations placed. them and subsequently failed. First, you’ll have to look at Flagg in the NCAA: what he will show in the best college league in the United States.
However, we can already safely say that the guy is incredibly talented and promising. The only thing left to do is not lose this baggage of skills and continue progressing with each new day. Russian basketball fans are glad that the NBA remembers Kirilenko, who was simply a monster on defense, capable of defending himself against anyone on the court and quite versatile on offense.
Russian in the NCAA:
The NCAA Coach of the Year has been promoted. The Russian basketball player played a huge role in this.
Can America’s best young prospect in recent years live up to expectations in the NBA? We may get a small part of the answer in 2025 if Cooper Flagg decides to declare for the draft. But it’s too early to speculate, all that remains is to enjoy the boy’s performance for Duke in the new season. By the way, the Blue Devils haven’t become NCAA champions since 2015. Maybe Flagg can win the long-awaited championship with Duke…
