High school basketball’s most highly-touted prospect, Cooper Flagg, who is widely expected to be the top pick in the 2025 NBA draft, made a significant commitment announcement on Monday. Flagg officially declared his commitment to Duke University, choosing the Blue Devils over UConn.

Flagg’s decision to join Duke was, to many, not entirely surprising, given that they had been perceived as the frontrunners in his recruitment since its early stages. Duke’s head coach, Jon Scheyer, had a notable presence at Flagg’s games, dating back to when he was competing on the 15U Nike EYBL circuit, and this support continued throughout the spring. However, his recruitment was by no means a foregone conclusion, as prominent programs like UConn, Kansas, Kentucky, and Michigan all showed strong interest during the past summer.

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As the summer concluded, Flagg had narrowed down his choices to just three schools: Duke, UConn, and Kansas. He took an official visit to UConn in late September, a move that appeared to close the gap between the two contenders. Shortly after, Flagg canceled a planned visit to Kansas, leaving only Duke and UConn in the running. However, a second visit to Duke, coinciding with the Blue Devils’ Countdown to Craziness event last weekend, solidified the momentum in favor of Scheyer and the Duke program.

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In a noteworthy development in August, Flagg announced that he was reclassifying from the 2025 high school class to 2024, with plans to enroll in college the following autumn. His birthday in December of his freshman year will render him eligible for the 2025 NBA draft, marking a pivotal step in his promising basketball career.