Flashback to 3 Years Ago When Cooper Flagg Helped Nokomis High School to Its 1st Gold Ball [VIDEO]

It's amazing what has happened to Cooper Flagg in three years.

On March 5, 2022, Cooper Flagg, then a 15-year-old freshman helped lead the Nokomis Warriors boys' basketball team to their first gold ball, beating Falmouth at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.

After they won, there was a police and fire truck escort for the bus as they came off I-95 and drove to Newport and Nokomis High School. I remember members of the community had fireworks shooting off on the Williams Road as the bus got closer to the High School. And the gym was packed to greet the team in a hastily thrown-together celebration.

My wife teaches at Nokomis (she's set to finally retire for good in June) and we drove down from Bangor to be part of the celebration. Each player was given the opportunity to speak. Cooper, who had been so instrumental in the win, was one of the last players to speak, as a freshman. I remember him deflecting the praise and including all his teammates!

Since that time he's been at Montverde High School. He won the Gatorade Player of the Year last year, 2 years after winning the Gatorade Award for the best Maine Male Basketball player. He reclassified, graduating Montverde a year early, and as an 18-year-old, has helped lead Duke to the #1 team in the nation, getting ready to play in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 27th. And then yesterday, he was named the US Basketball Writer's Player of the Year, and Freshman of the Year, all as a just-turned 18-year-old.

All the while staying humble and giving credit to his teammates, his family, and remembering he's just a kid from Newport, Maine!

He's given Maine so much to be proud of. Will he go as the #1 draft pick in the NBA this June? Will he lead Duke to the NCAA Championship? Who knows:? But there's little doubt he's gone a long long way since March 5th, 2022 when he helped bring the Gold Ball to Newport Maine!

And let's not forget his twin brother who will be playing for the Black Bears starting in the Fall of 2025! Can't wait to see what Ace does up at The Pit!

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