Comment on Newport’s Cooper Flagg invited to USA Basketball men’s U17 national team training camp

Cooper Flagg of Newport is one of four high school basketball players from the Class of 2025 among 35 athletes expected to participate in the 2022 USA Basketball Men’s U17 National Team training camp June 18-25 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The preliminary roster was announced Monday by USA Basketball. Thirty-five players overall will be vying to earn spots on the final 12-player roster that will represent Team USA at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup scheduled for July 2-10 at Malaga, Spain. Training camp participants and coaches were selected by the USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Committee, and team members will represent the high school graduating classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. Flagg, 15, is completing his freshman year at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport, where he led the Warriors to a 21-1 record and the school’s first Class A state championship in boys’ basketball last winter. The 6-foot-8 Flagg became the first freshman in state history to be named the Gatorade Maine Player of the Year, and he also was the top vote-getter on the 66th annual Bangor Daily News All-Maine boys basketball team. Flagg, ranked third nationally in the Class of 2025 by ESPN, currently is playing for Maine United in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and has led the Pine Tree State entry to a 7-1 record in EYBL competition so far this spring. Flagg also participated in a USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team minicamp held April 1-3 in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Final Four. Flagg already has received numerous Division I college scholarship offers, including from Duke, UCLA, Michigan, Iowa, Albany, Bryant and the University of Maine. He and twin brother Ace, a 6-foot-7 forward, have announced they will be transferring to national prep power Montverde (Florida) Academy in August. Flagg will be joined at the USA Basketball Men’s U17 National Team training camp by three other members of the Class of 2025 in Jeremiah Green of Denton, Texas; Koa Peat of Gilbert, Arizona; and Bryson Tiller of Atlanta, Georgia. Peat is ranked second in the Class of 2025 by ESPN while Tiller is sixth and Green 12th. The class of 2023 will be represented by Kylan Boswell, Rob Dillingham, Garwey Dual, Dennis Evans III, Jeremy Fears Jr., Ron Holland, Jalen Lewis, Justin McBride, Arrinten Page, Jaylin Stewart, Sean Stewart, DaJuan Wagner Jr.