Duke basketball recruiting heats up with visit from Cooper Flagg

Duke basketball fans will get their first look at the Blue Devils in late October at Countdown to Craziness ahead of the 2023-24 season.

But it’s never too early to look ahead at recruits who could join the Blue Devils in the next two years. NCAA rules allow high school athletes to begin taking official visits in August ahead of their junior year.

Cooper Flagg is among the players in the Class of 2025 being courted by Duke coach Jon Scheyer’s program.

Here’s a look at Flagg's background, Duke’s two commits in the 2024 class and a big-time recruit from New Jersey who could be picking the Blue Devils in the near future.

Cooper Flagg has unofficial visit with Duke basketball

Cooper Flagg made waves Aug. 4 when he posted photos of himself on social media, wearing a Blue Devil jersey days after an unofficial visit to Duke. In an Instagram post, the 16-year-old basketball star wrote “Duke nation how we feeling? #brotherhood.”

Flagg, a 6-foot-8, 200-pound wing with more than 246,000 Instagram followers, is the top-ranked recruit in the nation among Class of 2025 prospects, according to Rivals. He’s second behind Cameron Boozer in rankings by ESPN and 247Sports.

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Flagg is entering his junior year at Montverde Academy in Florida. Duke has successfully recruited several Montverde stars in recent years, including RJ Barrett, Dariq Whitehead and current freshman Sean Stewart.

Flagg has thrived in the last two summers. He was named the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year in 2022 after leading Team USA’s U17 team to a gold-medal finish in the FIBA World Cup. In early July, Flagg averaged 25.4 points, 13 rebounds, 6.8 blocks and 5.7 assists per game at the famed Peach Jam tournament.

Over the weekend, Flagg was at NBA star Steph Curry’s camp in California, competing against fellow top recruits. After making Duke his first visit to a college campus, Flagg’s recruitment is worth keeping an eye on for fans of the Blue Devils.

Isaiah Evans, Darren Harris joining Blue Devils in 2024, but what about Dylan Harper?

Duke currently has two recruits — Darren Harris and Isaiah Evans — in the Class of 2024 set to join the Blue Devils as freshmen in the 2024-25 season.

Harris, a sharpshooter from Virginia, made his decision in October 2022 and in-state recruit Evans followed suit in April.

A 6-foot-6 guard, Harris is ranked 67th nationally in his class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. As a guard at Paul IV Catholic, Harris is following the lead of former Paul IV standouts Trevor Keels and current Duke captain Jeremy Roach.

Harris was named the Most Valuable player at Peach Jam in July after leading Team Takeover to an unbeaten run in the tournament. He scored 28 points in the championship game.

Evans, the reigning Mr. Basketball in North Carolina, is ranked 19th among recruits in the 2024 class by the 247Sports Composite. The 6-foot-7 wing averaged 20.4 points per game at Peach Jam and attended Jayson Tatum’s Elite Camp in July.

But will Dylan Harper join that duo in Durham? The top-ranked player in his class, Harper recently dropped a hint on social media that he may be closing in on a decision.

According to recruiting services, Rutgers and Duke are considered the favorites to land the 6-foot-5 guard from New Jersey. Harper averaged 21.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game at Peach Jam and recently joined Flagg at Steph Curry’s camp.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball: Cooper Flagg visits Blue Devils on recruiting trail