Cooper Flagg

[Exp0sed]

he looks good and def a great prospect but he's far from what the early hype has suggested

from he's shown so far i'd be very hessitant to pick him at #1

yes he's just turned 18 and that's young for a freshman, yes he balled out in that scrimmage against team USA and in junior competition and there's alot to like, he can develop into many things and there's def a chance he'll turn out great but idk, so far he's not giving off that type of vibe. he might be young but he's big, he should be able to score more and more efficiently inside at the college level. so far that hasn't been the case..

fwiw, i'm a Euro who doesn't follow college, just seen some highlights of him and the raw stats ofc so no context really about his role in the team etc.

[Exp0sed]

delete plz

[Hair Jordan]

He’s a bigger version of Brent Barry. That’s his ceiling, a rich man’s Brent Barry.

[Duke4life831]

Kind of just to put into perspective of what Flagg is doing right now. Just going to compare him to Paolo.

Flagg is averaging more rebounds, assists, while turning it over less while scoring 16.9ppg vs Paolo’s 17.2. Now Paolo was a little more efficient overall on the season (55 TS% vs Flagg’s 52). But Paolo did average 17ppg on 52 TS% during conference play and Flagg’s out of conference play was much stronger than Paolo’s. So even his scoring isn’t that far behind Paolo’s, if it is at all.

Throw in the better rebounding, facilitating and a huge gap defensively. That is kind of where Flagg is at as a prospect.

Generational? I don’t think so. I have the LeBron’s and Wemby’s as generational level prospects. But I think he’s looking like he’s the tier right below that.

Again Paolo wasn’t viewed as a bad prospect for a #1 pick. Flagg is on a different tier than Paolo. Again not generational, but definitely tank worthy.

[Thaddy]

I don't have him as the number 1 pick, the offense isn't where it needs to be. It's obvious shooting is the Over Power skill in the league. You can't be a lead scorer without a good shot.

[HotRocks34]

Good game today based upon the stats but I haven't seen the highlights yet.

Two keys for his development seem to be to stay aggressive on offense and hit shots and he did that against SMU with 24 points on just 12 shots.

[akhan786]

He looked like Tatum today which is what I think his rough ceiling is offensively (Tatum a better shooter but Coop a better creator). That’s very good and I think he can be a #1 on a top team. But that’s not necessarily generational.

That doesn’t really matter if he still ends up a great player, but it means I personally am disappointed cause I want an American generational player soon lol

Read on Twitter

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[Braggins]

He looked like Tatum today which is what I think his rough ceiling is offensively (Tatum a better shooter but Coop a better creator). That’s very good and I think he can be a #1 on a top team.

The thing that makes him really special imo is that he has that kind of offensive potential while having 1st team all-NBA level defensive potential. This kid is a monster.

[wegotthabeet]

Kind of just to put into perspective of what Flagg is doing right now. Just going to compare him to Paolo.

Flagg is averaging more rebounds, assists, while turning it over less while scoring 16.9ppg vs Paolo’s 17.2. Now Paolo was a little more efficient overall on the season (55 TS% vs Flagg’s 52). But Paolo did average 17ppg on 52 TS% during conference play and Flagg’s out of conference play was much stronger than Paolo’s. So even his scoring isn’t that far behind Paolo’s, if it is at all.

Throw in the better rebounding, facilitating and a huge gap defensively. That is kind of where Flagg is at as a prospect.

Generational? I don’t think so. I have the LeBron’s and Wemby’s as generational level prospects. But I think he’s looking like he’s the tier right below that.

Again wasn’t viewed as a bad prospect for a #1 pick. Flagg is on a different tier than Paolo. Again not generational, but definitely tank worthy.

this.

Generational is a term that gets tossed around far too often. He's a consensus number 1 pick though. 0% chance he doesn't go 1st overall in my opinion.

[Braggins]

Flagg is averaging more rebounds, assists, while turning it over less while scoring 16.9ppg vs Paolo’s 17.2. Now Paolo was a little more efficient overall on the season (55 TS% vs Flagg’s 52). But Paolo did average 17ppg on 52 TS% during conference play and Flagg’s out of conference play was much stronger than Paolo’s. So even his scoring isn’t that far behind Paolo’s, if it is at all.

After factoring in todays game, hes at 17.4 ppg on 54.7% true shooting and 30% 3pt.

[Cavsfansince84]

He looked like Tatum today which is what I think his rough ceiling is offensively (Tatum a better shooter but Coop a better creator). That’s very good and I think he can be a #1 on a top team. But that’s not necessarily generational.

That doesn’t really matter if he still ends up a great player, but it means I personally am disappointed cause I want an American generational player soon lol

Read on Twitter

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I roughly agree but I his game is more forceful than Tatum's who loves to settle for 3's. Also the generational label means nothing anymore, Now every #1 pick the media will tout as generational just to hype them up and get clicks. A player can potentially become a 2x mvp, 9x all NBA 1st team and we don't need to say generational. It's just a buzz word.

[Himothy Duncan]

There’s nothing generational about this guy at all. He will be a solid pro, make a few all stars maybe, but that’s it.

[UcanUwill]

What are the chances he does not end up being first overall pick?

Honest question since I do not know anything about college prospects, I am not one of those hipsters who sayFlagg is not number one pick, when basically every media that covers the draft, mocks him to go number one, but that said, I believe Givony recently said that right now its a toss up between Flagg and Ace Bailey. I have no idea what kind of player Ace Bailey is, but could Ace or anyone else challenge Flagg for that number one spot? Flagg been touted to be top pick for a few years now, so it feels like we just accepted that he will be, but his offensive woes appear to be real, I still on camp that he is super young and he looks great, but I mean, Victor Wembanyama he aint, I can see him not going first if opposition is good. What are you thinking? Good thing with Flagg, that he is one of those prospects who seems like would be a great fit anywhere, but are there teams right now who would prefer someone else maybe?

[tmorgan]

It’s not Bailey that’s challenging him for the spot, it’s Harper.

[Ruma85]

It’s not Bailey that’s challenging him for the spot, it’s Harper.

Could you elaborate why you think that is?

[MMyhre]

There’s nothing generational about this guy at all. He will be a solid pro, make a few all stars maybe, but that’s it.

Odd timing to be selling low judging from his last few games, I hope you ain`t a GM somewhere.

[MMyhre]

He looked like Tatum today which is what I think his rough ceiling is offensively (Tatum a better shooter but Coop a better creator). That’s very good and I think he can be a #1 on a top team. But that’s not necessarily generational.

That doesn’t really matter if he still ends up a great player, but it means I personally am disappointed cause I want an American generational player soon lol

Read on Twitter

?s=46

I really like his touch in the midrange there, he has a nice looking midrange finishing touch on his jumpers there, smooth fingerwork. I think the three ball looks a little clunkier, so I wasnt too surprised seeing a lower shooting % from 3, I feel like there is too much going on there, and after some analyzing (its been a while since I did this so had to rewatch some greats shoot (Curry, Dirk, Durant), his gather is too low, catch and shoot form is too set and rigid, not a smooth movement, shooting elbow is too wide, his foot placement seems a bit inconsistent (likes lifting his right heel into shots sometimes).. I think all of this makes it harder to be accurate and smooth especially from distance and flowing into shots from different catches, off the dribble etc because the base form is so set and a bit clunky, it will not be able to transition easily into say a tough gather that you catch high and that needs to be transitioned into a shooting motion faster where you can`t waste time waiting for a low gather and having your body be aligned so slowly in that one way you are most comfortable because thats just not possible in every jump shot in the NBA with such great defense, you dont have time, the motion needs to be faster.

Shot mechanics are so tough, makes my brain work overtime since I dont do this anymore, but yeah, when I look at someone with a ridiculous wingspan which makes accuracy tougher (Durant), he gathers the ball higher and has a way easier time getting into a smoother movement pattern that he owns in less time with everything more coordinated (both feet inward, elbows in and a very precise and smooth shooting motion that just flows.

Shooting is just so tough to master, and with a longer wingspan you need to work more on creating a fast, yet smooth flowing and stable/as base movement pattern that can get into a release fast with a shooting motion that is the most comfortable and practiced for you. How he goes from there is up to him, a lot of good shooting coaches out there from the few times I check it out, and some that may not be as good, if he wants to be really great he will be. I dont think Curry and Dirk would be such natural shooters with longer wingspans, it would need longer time because the more movement you need to have with longer limbs the harder it is to create a simple, more accurate base with fewer variables and more motion involved which makes it harder to find that base movement pattern/rhythm that you need to develop over sooooo many thousands of hours. Probably not a coincidence that Durant took a bit longer to become a really great shooter, and Wemby is also gradually getting there. While the most accurate shooter list is mostly shorter wingspan guys (Curry, Allen, Klay, Miller, Korver, Bird, Dirk, Redick) and they just started out accurate, while the most accurate shooter longer wingspan guys (Durant, Kawhi, LeBron, Lillard) took more time to develop their accuracy and consistency because there is just more movement that needs to be aligned for them compared to someone with shorter limbs and often a shorter body as well.. you need more detailed work on every part of your shooting motion to make it as simplistic, easy to replicate and yet smooth as possible, with no clunkiness or awkward movement habits involved. Seems like there are things that Flagg has to work on in that department yet.

In the best 3pt % in NBA history list of all time you actually only find one guy in the top 20-25 ? with a long wingspan for his height, and that is non-confirmed Anthony Morrow at 6-5 with a supposed 6-10 wingspan, arms look long in a picture as well, the top 10 is dominated by white guys (which on average, genetically have much shorter wingspans than black people), or black guys with shorter wingspans, the exceptions being Morrow and Klay Thompson who is listed with a 3+ wingspan, so long but not crazy long wingspan, makes his accurate 3pt shooting more impressive, might explain a bit of his inconsistency at times).

This turned into a long post about shooting, sorry but its good to use the brain sometimes.

[MMyhre]

As for the non-shooting aspect of the game, without going too deep into details, I really like the overall look of his game. This is going to be a good NBA player, no doubt about it. The shooting is just going to be the big thing that dictates his ceiling as an offensive player, athleticism, defense, playmaking, driving, finishing at the rim etc, he looks great at the level he is at now. I do see some flaws though, he overuses the same two foot plant and is primarily a left foot leaper, which means he needs to work on adding more plant variety and improving his right foot plant for a more complete and smooth drive and finishing game. You don`t get the same space and time in the NBA, and defenders will stop you from getting into your comfort moves. You wont just outspeed and outjump NBA defenders so if you only have limited plants/jumping and movement patterns, you just wont get into space or be able to finish as well/get better looks if you only can drive or jump fast when you have access to your preferred jumping motion, which in his case is right side drive with a left foot leap for a right hand finish. Okay, now what happens when you are forced left, and denied that left foot leap and you need to take a right foot leap with enough power to get the same height and speed as the left foot leap and finish with your left hand into that space? Well, we will see if he finds that out in the future, but for now I will keep his ceiling a little lower than hyped, as he seems to have been too accustomed to abusing his physical gifts for easier "rewards" in the now, instead of working on and identifying some of his weaknesses and developing a more well rounded driving and finishing game that is needed for dominating in the NBA.

[doogie_hauser]

This whole 'generational' talent cliche needs to stop.

Joker, Lebron and now Wemby are the only generational talents in the NBA.

Steph Curry is borderline, but definitely deserves the label as greatest/most lethal shooter in history. Maybe he counts (as a generational talent too)

But as I say,, having the privilege to watch Wemby and what he is doing in his sophomore season, that is definitely a generational talent, aka a player who we have never seen quite like him, a once in a lifetime stud.

I remember a couple of years ago Raptors fans saying Scottie Barnes (lol) was a generational talent.

There is a significant gap/chasm between all star level/elite talent and generational talent.

[Wargreymon]

He looks generational to me. He reminds me of like Curry/Durant in that he fits on every single roster and team composition.