NEWPORT, Maine (WABI) - The hype around Cooper Flag being drafted to the NBA has not died down here in the basketball stars hometown. It’s still all everyone is talking about at Bears One stop.
In Newport, people expressed their excitement about Flagg joining the NBA.
“We are all very pleased. Proud of him. Obviously a small town boy doing good and again he’s a good kid from...good stock. The whole town is very proud of him. I hear it here every day.”
“But it’s really cool I think, especially since it’s such a small town that someone’s doing that, it’s really great.”
“This is amazing.”
“Very excited. And hope he goes big, very quickly.”
“Quite incredible that somebody from Newport, ME has gone that far and it’s great, great for the whole state.”
“We’re actually really excited. My son, who’s 9, looks up to him very much. He went to the camp last year, so it was kind of a surreal thing for him to see that.”
The local convenience store was like a museum showcasing a cardboard cutout of Flagg, news articles, and even displaying his sneakers for weeks. The store even had clever messages on their sign outside as well. With all the excitement, we asked customers and employees to give a message to their hometown superstar.
“And Coop, Cass and Dan say good luck and you go be you and you’re doing awesome. So proud of you.”
“Cooper, the town of Newport. Thank you. I thank you. Good job out there. And... be a winner.”
“I’m really proud of you. That’s doing great. Everybody’s really proud of you.”
“I’m very excited and wish him nothing but the best.”
“All I could say is congratulations from the Bartler family.”
“Just keep doing what you’re doing, like he’s a great kid. He’s very humble...And I mean, he doesn’t forget his hometown.”
Even after the draft, the excitement is still high here in Newport. There is no doubting the great support that Flagg has back home.
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