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Before breakfast, a quick stop at the driving range. It may seem trivial that hitting a bucket of balls was Jon Scheyer’s priority on the last morning of Cooper Flagg’s official visit to Duke — Oct. 22, 2023. But the coach wanted one final one-on-one window with the nation’s No. 1 recruit, and he’d come to learn how much the Newport, Maine, native appreciated golf.
In fact, amid Flagg’s meteoric rise to becoming arguably the top NBA prospect in America, the high schooler often found reprieve in playing 18 at Fogg Brook Resort, the local course near his childhood home.
Scheyer came to know nearly everything about Flagg and his family during the recruiting process. From the first time he saw Flagg play live, courtside at a grassroots game, Scheyer was convinced the 6-foot-9 forward was the type of generational talent worth building a roster around. The type that has Duke and Flagg, who has emerged as college basketball’s best player, two games from a national title as the Final Four begins Saturday in San Antonio.
So Scheyer went all in on building the relationship necessary to land such a transcendent recruit. But with Flagg on campus, the coach needed to nail his final impression.
As they hit balls behind the Washington Duke Inn, Scheyer secretly hoped that Flagg might tip his hand. Instead, the teenager kept quiet. After about half an hour, they dropped their clubs and walked to a private dining room. Flagg’s parents, Kelly and Ralph, plus Duke general manager Rachel Baker, were already there waiting at a table for five.
Then, midway through breakfast, Flagg dropped the bomb: Actually, he had decided.
He was coming to Duke.
“I cried,” Scheyer told The Athletic, thinking back on the morning that changed the trajectory of his program. “I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
Hoopla ensued. More tears. Celebratory screams. Eventually, Scheyer busted Flagg for keeping his cards so close to his vest: “I’m like, dude, I was just with you for 30 minutes, and you didn’t say anything!”
Flagg’s connection with Scheyer ultimately sold him. Eighteen months later, it’s that same tie between the Blue Devils’ two leading men that has the program approaching college hoops history, starting with fellow No. 1 seed Houston in the Alamodome.
“Cooper knew that moment,” Kelly said. “He knew, and he’s never looked back. He’s been so sure of his decision from day one, and he and Jon are in this together. They really are.”
A few months ago, scrolling through some old photos, Kelly stumbled upon her son’s Christmas wishlist from when he was in the fourth grade.
With the gift of hindsight, it couldn’t be more on the nose: A Jayson Tatum jersey, a Duke blanket, a Duke necktie and Duke socks.
Like mother, like son.
Flagg first saw Scheyer play at Nike’s Peach Jam in 2022, upon a recommendation from longtime Boston Celtics center Brian Scalabrine, who had watched a 13-year-old Flagg dominate college players in an open gym setting. “I remember watching him and saying, Scal was right,” Scheyer said. “Took me about 90 seconds (to realize it).”
NCAA rules prohibit how early college coaches can contact prospective recruits, though, so Scheyer started to build his relationship with Flagg indirectly — through Kelly. Because Flagg’s mother was one of his Maine United coaches, college coaches were permitted to contact Kelly before they ever got close to her son. “We started building a relationship,” Kelly said, “and that foundation, I think, really helped so that when he was able to start having conversations with Cooper, he was a little more comfortable.”
On the first night college coaches were permitted to reach out to players, during the summer between Flagg’s freshman and sophomore seasons, Kelly and Ralph remember the high-profile names they saw pop up on their phones: Bill Self, John Calipari.
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