Kelly Flagg Thrilled With Sons Continuing New England Basketball Legacy

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Cooper Flagg may be taking over the basketball world at Montverde Academy in Florida, but his family's success in the sport didn't start with him.

For the Newport, Maine product, both of his parents played basketball in college, specifically with his mom taking her talents to the Division 1 level at the University of Maine.

"I started playing when I was young," Kelly Flagg told NESN.com at the HoopHall Classic. "I grew up watching my dad. I was interested from a young age. I used to take ski lessons and play basketball at the same time. They were both on Saturdays, and I had to choose. Basketball won, and I stopped skiing."

Playing in her home state at the highest level in college marked a major milestone and the payoff for hard work and dedication for Flagg.

"I worked for that goal," Flagg remembered. "Back then, those were big dreams for a kid from Maine. I was able to accomplish that."

As her sons have come to find out, freezing winters in Maine don't create many activities during the season, pushing kids inside for sports such as basketball. As a result, the state has developed an underrated basketball identity.

"It's Maine, it's cold in the winter," Flagg explained. "There's nothing else going on. Communities come together and fill gyms on Tuesday and Thursday nights. That's what people do, and our community is no exception. The Nokomis community is comprised of eight small towns. It's a regional school. People come out from far and wide. When it's tournament time, I always joke that I hope someone turned out the lights when they left town because the entire community would go out and support. It was electric when you ran out on the floor."

For her three sons, the Flagg family got to team up for a state championship in 2022 with Cooper and his brothers, Hunter and Ace, teaming up for the ultimate victory for Nokomis.

"That's a dream for any family," Flagg said of the title.

Cooper has taken the basketball identity of the family a step forward, emerging as the top player in the nation for the class of 2024 at Montverde and securing a college commitment to play at Duke University.

Flagg remembers watching her son in second-grade diving for balls and setting up layups against kids two years older than him. Looking at her husband, Flagg had the realization that there was something special in her son.

"At the end of that season, he was craving more," Flagg added. "He would want to play me one-on-one every day in the driveway."

Cooper's process in choosing a college had plenty of competition. Given Kelly's status as a USA certified coach, universities had connected conversations in trying to recruit the 6-foot-9 forward. Ultimately, years of watching Duke games with his mom and wishing for Blue Devils gear for Christmas helped Cooper make the decision, just making the cut over a pitch from coach Dan Hurley and the University of Connecticut Huskies.

With a bright future ahead for Cooper with a Duke commitment and a potential NBA future, his mom knows that winning in the present is still the priority.

"The focus is similar on winning a national championship with Montverde," Flagg said. "They didn't get it done last year. That's still a sensitive topic. Cooper didn't talk for two days. I know him and his teammates are carrying that. It's motivating them throughout the season."