Kevin Love on how Cooper Flagg’s game translates to the next level

Cooper Flagg caused a stir at the U.S. team’s practice earlier this week when video clips emerged of him hitting a turnaround jumper over Jrue Holiday and sinking a 3-pointer over Anthony Davis.

The 17-year-old Maine native has big expectations when he begins his freshman year of college at Duke University next fall. He is the top player in the country in his class and was named Gatorade’s Male Player of the Year on Thursday at the ESPY Awards.

Flagg received praise from Miami Heat forward Kevin Love, who won the award in 2007.

“Oh, he’s going to do it,” Love told CBS Sports. “He’s just playing against future Hall of Famers, some of the guys who are some of the best players of all time and the most decorated players of this generation and certainly the best. He’s very balanced for his age.”

“As far as his demeanor, he studies the game. You can tell he has great people around him, great teammates that he cares about and that help you and excel in every situation. That’s the beauty of this award, and it’s not just a basketball award. It’s something for the community that will only help him at Duke and beyond.”

Flagg demonstrated his ability to score points during the practice game against Team USA, but Love also stands out for his versatility on defense. The 6-foot-1 forward can also defend guards and bigs.

“For us, it was power forwards, small forwards and point guards,” Love said. “Now guys just switch from 1 to 5 and do everything and play every position. People like to say the word ‘unicorn,’ but it shows. The game is positionless, and we didn’t have that before. I think that’s a beautiful thing. It speaks to working on your skills. You’re never too good to not have to work on your skills and literally everything.

According to CBS Sports, Flagg will host a basketball camp at the University of Maine next month and he said it was important to him to give back to his home state.

“It means everything to me,” Flagg said. “I’m from a small town and I know everyone. I have a very close circle of friends. We call it our village back home. I’ve had this support system from a young age. The close bond and being close to all my people has helped my people a lot through this process, so I’m really excited to go home and do something for the younger generation and give back. I’m excited for the opportunity to be home for a while.”

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