Cooper Flagg has not yet played a minute of college basketball, but he’s already been asked to participate with Team USA ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Flagg was one of 15 players named to the USA Select Team on Friday, a group that will help the national team prepare for the Olympics at a training camp in July in Las Vegas.
Many players named to the Select Team ultimately end up joining the national team down the line, including current players Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton.
Flagg, who is committed to play for Duke in 2024-25, becomes the first college player to play on the Select Team since 2013 when Doug McDermott (Creighton) and Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State) were on the squad – and at 17 he is far and away the youngest player on the roster.
The rest of the squad is made up primarily of players who just completed their rookie seasons, including Brandon Miller (Alabama), Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana) and Jaime Jaquez (UCLA).
Veterans on the roster include a handful of former college stars like Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga), Payton Pritchard (Oregon), Jabari Smith Jr (Auburn) and Keegan Murray (Iowa) among others.
Flagg is already projected to be among the best players in college basketball as a true freshman next season, and will likely be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Getting a chance to compete against players like LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, and Anthony Davis will only sharpen his game prior to the college season getting underway this November.
Fitnessnacks – #Cooper #Flagg #joins #USA #Select #Team #ahead #Olympic #Games
Courtesy : https://collegesportswire.usatoday.com/2024/07/01/cooper-flagg-duke-basketball-usa-select/