The expected top pick in Wednesday night’s NBA Draft remains proud of, and present in, where he came from
A cardboard cutout of Cooper Flagg stood in the window of Bear's One-Stop in Newport, Maine, along with press clippings of the expected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
A cardboard cutout of Cooper Flagg stood in the window of Bear's One-Stop in Newport, Maine, along with press clippings of the expected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe
In the past year, Maine native Cooper Flagg dominated the US Olympic team in a scrimmage and led Duke to the Final Four. He already has appeared in national commercials, his autographed sports cards have sold for more than $10,000, and on Wednesday the Dallas Mavericks are expected to select him with the No. 1 pick of the NBA Draft.
He could become the league’s first white American superstar since Larry Bird, but he also is only 18 and would just be finishing his senior year at Nokomis Regional High in Newport if he had not moved up a year to accelerate his pro career. It’s been a lot.
So earlier this month, while living with his family in a Los Angeles rental home and preparing for his rookie season, Flagg asked his parents, Ralph and Kelly, if he could go back to Maine to watch his former school’s graduation.
He cemented his legacy there by leading the Warriors to the Class A state title as a freshman in 2022. Even though he then transferred to a prep basketball power in Florida, his connection to the region has endured.
“He just said, ‘I feel like it’d be fun to go home and celebrate with the kids I grew up with,’ ” Kelly said. “I think he was looking at it as like the finality of his childhood, a full-circle moment to go back where it all started.”
Flagg just needed a burst of home. It has become clear over the years that his town and state needed him, too.
Cooper Flagg (far right in red shirt), shown in an undated photo camping with his brothers and family friends, will likely be selected first overall in Wednesday’s NBA draft.
Cooper Flagg (far right in red shirt), shown in an undated photo camping with his brothers and family friends, will likely be selected first overall in Wednesday’s NBA draft.Kendra Hartsgrove
Cooper Flagg's one season at Duke included a January game at Boston College against the Eagles.
Cooper Flagg's one season at Duke included a January game at Boston College against the Eagles.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
Putting town on the map
I drove 200 miles from Boston to the middle of Maine to find out what Flagg means to Newport.
Life is predictably slow and peaceful in this town of 3,200, where the chamber of commerce sits in a small log cabin, banners recognizing local war heroes hang from telephone poles, and a Christmas tree farm is located down the road from an apple orchard.
Town manager Jim Ricker said signs declaring this the hometown of Cooper Flagg will soon go up on main roads. During my visit, I just saw signs for turtle, moose, and deer crossings. Then I passed Sherm O’Brien’s taxidermy post, where the animals can no longer do that.
The exception was Max, the graying 14-year-old black lab who waddled to the door with a warm tail wag. Sherm’s wife, Leona, was sitting behind a counter surrounded by animal heads, while her daughter, Ronda, worked on someone’s new trophy in the back.
When I said I was a sports journalist from Boston, Leona figured I was there for Flagg. She does not know him, but everyone here at least knows someone who does. Leona scrawled Barry Welch’s name and phone number on a piece of yellow paper and handed it to me.
Welch has been friends with three generations of Flaggs. They have had barbecues and gone hunting and ice fishing. In grade school, Kelly Flagg used to watch over Welch’s daughters, Tatum and Lindsey, on the school bus. As adults, they all played in a pickup basketball league at the Newport Community Center.
Tatum Welch became a teacher and girls’ basketball coach, and this season her players at Messalonskee High knew of her connection to the coolest guy in the state.
“They’d ask me, ‘What’s Cooper’s favorite food? Can you call him so we can say hi?’ ” Welch said, chuckling. “This year he sent a picture before one of our games wishing them luck, and it just made their day.”
The last time Flagg saw Tatum Welch’s daughters, Addyson, 15, and Aaliyah, 11, he hugged them, signed some sports cards, and said they had to hang onto them forever.
“It’s so funny, because he’s a superstar,” Tatum said. “He’s in everybody’s household here. Everybody’s talking about him. But to us, we still see that kid shooting hoops in his front yard.”
Nancy Harding worked with Cooper Flagg's mom, Kelly, at the middle school.
Nancy Harding worked with Cooper Flagg's mom, Kelly, at the middle school.Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe
‘It’s because he’s a Maine boy’
Cooper, his twin brother, Ace, and their older brother, Hunter, grew up in a modest two-story home with brown vinyl siding, a two-car garage, and a basketball hoop in the driveway. After Cooper and Ace led Nokomis to the state title, the need for better competition became clear.
So the family sold its home and moved to Orlando, where Cooper and Ace enrolled at Montverde Academy, a basketball factory that often plays games on national television.
At Cooper’s childhood home now, a bare basketball pole is the only visible remnant from his formative years. Judy Bowden, who has lived across the street since 1972 and whose son went to school with Kelly Flagg, is standing on her porch and looking that way.
She has not met the current owners, and the property appears mostly barren. Judy said that when the Flagg boys lived there, it was a hub of activity.
Like so many Newport residents, she proudly watched Duke games this past season and marveled at how the state wrapped its arms around its prodigal son.
“It’s because he’s a Maine boy,” she said. “You just don’t see a lot of that.”
A display of taxidermied animals sits above the entrance of the Sebasticook Valley Elementary School, formally the middle school, where Cooper Flagg attended 5th and 6th grade.
A display of taxidermied animals sits above the entrance of the Sebasticook Valley Elementary School, formally the middle school, where Cooper Flagg attended 5th and 6th grade.Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe
Maine has a proud basketball culture, and the towns that dot the coast or sit along small lakes are inextricably linked to their high school teams. People attend games even if they do not have a relative on the roster, and the state tournament is shown on local PBS affiliates. The sport provides a light during long, harsh winters.
“When the tournament starts it kind of aligns with school vacation, and towns basically shut down to support their teams,” said Andy Bedard, Flagg’s longtime travel team coach and one of the best high school players in state history. “It’s a big deal.”
Still, the obsession has not translated to stardom. The University of Maine is the state’s lone Division 1 program, and the men’s team has never reached the NCAA Tournament. No Mainer has been drafted into the NBA since the Nets selected Jeff Turner 17th in 1984. So it’s easy to see why Flagg’s improbable rise has overwhelmed people here.
“I thought maybe we’d see an NBA player in my lifetime, but I never thought it’d be a generational talent, a No. 1 pick, maybe the next LeBron,” said Lance Meader, owner of Rivalries sports bar in Falmouth and the son of Dick Meader, who coached college basketball in the state for more than 40 years. “Whether it works out, I don’t know. But he’s been the best player in the country at his age every step of the way. Why wouldn’t that continue?”
Cooper Flagg helped lead the Nokomis boy's basketball team to a Class A state championship in 2022.
Cooper Flagg helped lead the Nokomis boy's basketball team to a Class A state championship in 2022.Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe
‘He represents us with a lot of pride’
Nokomis High principal Mary Nadeau is in her office at a table covered with old trophies that she is cleaning and repurposing to give to staff members as thanks for their hard work.
“It’s kind of just a hobby of mine, something I like to do,” she says.
Bigger awards sit behind glass in a large case down the hall, including the Gold Ball trophy awarded when Flagg guided Nokomis to the state title. The net from that game is draped over its top.
Nadeau, who is retiring this summer, has known Flagg since he was a baby. She taught and coached Kelly Bowman Flagg, who was one of the best girls’ players in state history. The two became co-workers when Kelly started teaching at the middle school more than 25 years ago. Cooper, Nadeau said, was always tugging his way to a basketball court.
“Now, he’s like a global star,” Nadeau says, smiling and shaking her head. “It’s hard to wrap your head around that, because when he comes back and you see him, he’s just Cooper.”
This year it was common to see Nokomis students in Duke gear. When the Blue Devils faced Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament last March, the broadcast played throughout Nokomis High, echoing in hallways like it was a local pub.
Cooper grew up with this year’s senior class, but was less familiar to the freshmen. Nadeau recalled two students struggling to identify Flagg during that Georgia Tech game, then gasping with excitement when they saw Kelly Flagg, their former teacher, in the crowd.
“When Cooper has those thunderous dunks, uh, yeah, we yell a lot and think that’s amazing,” Nadeau said. “But what we love is just who he is. He represents us with a lot of pride.”
Cooper Flagg (top left) posed for a photo with his Nokomis High School teammates.
Cooper Flagg (top left) posed for a photo with his Nokomis High School teammates.Kendra Hartsgrove
Kelly and Ralph Flagg contacted the school last month about Cooper and Ace attending the Nokomis graduation, and everyone agreed to keep the visit quiet. School officials did not want Cooper to be swarmed, and the Flaggs did not want attention taken from the graduating seniors.
So the family went up to a broadcast studio above the gym, with a window that looks down on the court. Nadeau was briefly tempted to blow the cover when she saw a math teacher’s grandson wearing a Cooper Flagg Duke shirt, however.
Broadcasting teacher Matt Brown also is the golf coach, so when Cooper walked into the room and saw the sign-up list for next fall’s team on a large dry-erase board, he grabbed a marker and added his name.
As a joke during a recent visit to his old high school, Cooper Flagg signed up for next year's golf team.
As a joke during a recent visit to his old high school, Cooper Flagg signed up for next year's golf team.Adam Himmelsbach
When he saw athletic director Simon Elias, he did not mention his basketball accomplishments, but he bragged that he was finally able to grow a goatee. Brown said it was refreshing to hear Cooper and Ace reminisce about simpler times.
About a half-hour after graduation, when the gym had mostly cleared, Cooper went to the court and took pictures with old friends. The basketball hoops had been raised to the ceiling for the event, but Cooper looked up and mimicked a few jump shots anyway.
The rest of his stay was leisurely. He visited with his grandparents, who still live in Newport, completed basketball workouts, and played golf.
There were rounds at the Fogg Brook golf course, where dogs can walk with their owners. Flagg was on the driving range one night when the ladies golf league was teeing off. He signed autographs and posed for pictures with women who never expected to see the town’s biggest star.
Tom Nyce, who played basketball with Cooper Flagg growing up, played with his baseball teammates after the Nokomis Regional High team's end-of-year banquet.
Tom Nyce, who played basketball with Cooper Flagg growing up, played with his baseball teammates after the Nokomis Regional High team's end-of-year banquet.Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe
It takes ‘The Village’
Kelly and Ralph Flagg have a close-knit group of friends they refer to as “The Village.” There are four couples and nine children, with each parent on standby to care for another’s child when needed.
When Duke faced Illinois at Madison Square Garden last February, for example, Ralph and Kelly could not attend because Ace was playing in his state championship game at his North Carolina prep school. So the rest of The Village traveled to New York to support Cooper.
Members of The Village will be among 60 friends and family members from Maine at the Barclays Center for Wednesday’s draft. The celebration will be even bigger back in Newport.
There are at least four parties, and a local company made about 100 custom Cooper Flagg Maine T-shirts for the events. When I ran through the locations with Barry Welch, he quipped: “You just named every public thing we have in Newport.”
Amanda Chretien kept a signed t-shirt from when Flagg and her son Cody won the 2022 state basketball championship.
Amanda Chretien kept a signed t-shirt from when Flagg and her son Cody won the 2022 state basketball championship.Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe
There will be one at The Grove, a wedding venue owned by Kendra and Scott Hartsgrove, whose family has camped with the Flaggs and whose son, Grady, was Cooper’s teammate at Nokomis. Kendra said it feels like yesterday that she was hosting team dinners at her house.
There will be another party at the local marina on Sebasticook Lake that includes food trucks, seaplane rides, and fireworks. Two weeks ago, with waves gently lapping up against the docks, workers were putting up new siding on the main building so it would be pristine for the big night.
“We’re just not used to this here, somebody this big,” said marina owner Matt Grindle. “Cooper’s going on the Maine Mount Rushmore at this point. It’s Stephen King, Dana White, and Cooper Flagg.”
Foggy’s Pub, which overlooks the Fogg Brook golf course, will host a draft party, too. General manager Kait Gallagher said the bar became a popular viewing spot for Duke games this past season, often staying open past close for the final buzzer.
Flagg has an endorsement deal with New Balance, the Boston-based sneaker company that has a factory about 30 minutes from Newport. The company donated sports equipment to Nokomis High, and this week it is sponsoring a draft party there for students and staff members, too.
Beyond all of these bashes, there will surely be celebrations in front of glowing televisions across the state Wednesday night.
“Cooper’s a sweet kid that just happens to be maybe one of the best basketball players on the planet,” said Bedard, his longtime coach. “So the fact that he’s from Maine, we’re following every step that he’s taken and taking them with him. He’s got the whole basketball world here at the tip of his fingers.”
The gym at Nokomis High.
The gym at Nokomis High.Brett Phelps for The Boston Globe
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.