
Duke’s Cooper Flagg plays in front of a sold-out crowd against Boston College on Saturday. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — First came the look you rarely see from Cooper Flagg. A mixture of frustration, incredulity and bemusement, the result of being called for a technical foul late in the second half of the Duke men’s basketball team’s game at Boston College on Saturday night.
Then, seconds later, came the kind of response Flagg has made a trademark since his freshman year playing high school basketball in gyms in Maine: a 3-pointer swished as the sold-out crowd, many of them from his home state and sporting his jersey, awarded him with a standing ovation, while Flagg responded to the adulation with a pair of triumphant screams.
If there was one moment that summed up Flagg’s latest return to New England, that was it — a mixture of love for where he is, and love for where he’s been.
“For me, it’s more of just a blessing,” Flagg said after scoring a team-high 28 points in Duke’s 88-63 win over the Eagles. “To be able to come out and see a lot of familiar faces in the crowd, people I knew. It gave me more confidence than anything.”
It’s become the state’s wildest sports story, as a kid from rural Maine has risen to become basketball’s star of stars. He’s the projected top pick in next year’s NBA draft, and, at 18 years old, the centerpiece of Duke, one of college basketball’s most prestigious programs. He plays his games at Cameron Indoor Stadium, on Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski’s floor, in a building with a capacity nearly three times the size of his hometown of Newport.
Does he ever have to pinch himself, when he sees where he is?
“I think I have a ‘pinch me’ moment almost every week at this point,” Flagg said. “I mean, this was my dream growing up, my entire life, to be in the position I’m in right now. I’m just trying to enjoy it and stay in the moment.”
It’s not just a magical ride by Maine standards. The players and coaches around him can barely believe what they’re seeing either.
“The thing about Coop is … he just keeps getting better,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “He’s hit a new level of what he’s doing, with his assertiveness. I don’t know how many guys I’ve coached, but he’s as good as any of them in terms of wherever you put him, he’s going to do something really good.
“He should still be in high school. For him to adjust that quickly as an 18-year-old is as good as I’ve seen.”
At Duke, Flagg is at home. He’s surrounded by good players and pushed by good coaches, the key cog of a winning team and in a position to play the kind of grade A competition that will best develop him as a player — his sole focus since before he got to high school.
“This is an incredible league, incredible teams every single night,” he said. “Every night is a fight and a war, it’s an incredible league to play in. … (My teammates) have just helped me so much. Settling in, getting better, getting in the gym with them has been huge for me.”
He doesn’t forget what’s always been home, however. Nor does he overlook what his success means to the people from there.
“It means a lot to me, especially being from Maine,” he said. “To a lot of kids from Maine that might be in a similar situation to what I was in growing up, it’s easy to just not believe in yourself or just think you can’t do it. I just want to keep proving that it doesn’t really matter where you’re from. As long as you stick to it and keep working, you can make anything happen.”
Maine basketball fans have taken that to heart, which is a reason why they came down in droves and helped pack BC’s Conte Forum for Flagg’s lone New England trip with the Blue Devils. Flagg’s Duke No. 2 jerseys were everywhere, as were “In Flagg We Trust” T-shirts, a popular seller over the past year.
Before the game, many of them gathered around the visiting player entrance, hoping to catch a fist bump, high five or just close glimpse of the local star, waiting as one Duke player after another trotted onto the floor. Finally, Flagg emerged, giving a few high-fives, smiling wryly after a handshake with a coach, and turning and waving toward the crowd.
Or, he may have been holding up his hand for a high-five from a teammate. But given the swarms of fans that turned out to see him, it may as well have been the former.
“I expected (the turnout). I heard from a lot of people leading up, all the way back to sometime last year, people talking about coming to this game,” Flagg said. “It was a huge turnout, and I’m just really grateful to have such a support system from the state of Maine.”
It wasn’t an entirely loving crowd, however, and Flagg heard from the BC fans who showed up hoping to see their Eagles upset the hated Blue Devils and their celebrated freshman. They jeered him during the national anthem. “Over-rated!” chants rang in as Flagg missed four of his first five shots.
And then came the highlights. A spinning layup through contact, prompting cheers. A dunk with 50 seconds left in the half, giving the fans what they were waiting for, punctuated by a primal yell. Another dunk with just over 14 minutes left in the game, leading to another loud roar.

Duke’s Cooper Flagg during warmups prior to a game at Boston College on Saturday. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald
And finally, the 3-pointer with 6:03 to go and the celebration near midcourt, the cap to it all.
“There was a lot of energy, especially coming after that (technical) call,” Flagg said. “It was a learning experience to come back, stay focused and just knock down a shot.”
There was one more highlight. After doing an on-court postgame interview, Flagg made his way toward the exit and again acknowledged the waiting fans, who stuck around well after the game had been decided for the night’s final glimpse of the state’s biggest star.
“People (came) all the way from Aroostook, which I don’t know how many hours that is, but I would say a lot,” he said. “It’s huge, the level of support. Just to be able to see them show up and support, it means a lot to me. It gives me a lot of confidence, and I’m just really blessed.”
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