Duke basketball legend Paolo Banchero surprises Cooper Flagg with Player of the Year
The former Blue Devil had the ultimate surprise for the 5-star signee
It's becoming Duke basketball tradition that a former Blue Devil presents a future player with the Gatorade Player of the Year Award.
It happened in 2018 when Jayson Tatum presented RJ Barrett with the honor and now it's happened again.
On Tuesday, Paolo Banchero, the most recent No. 1 overall draft pick from Duke, surprised Cooper Flagg at Montverde Academy (Fla.) with the Gatorade Player of the Year.
Flagg becomes the first future Duke basketball player to win the award since Barrett and the fourth overall, joining Jabari Parker, Tatum, and Barrett. The No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2024 was named as a finalist for the award last week after being named as Florida's Player of the Year.
Here’s video from the moment it happened:
— Jason Beede (@therealBeede) March 27, 2024
“It's just been awesome following his journey and to present him with an award like this, it's dope for him and also myself,” #Magic’s Paolo Banchero told @orlandosentinel about Cooper Flagg.
More inside: https://t.co/6klwt8BzHw pic.twitter.com/oD6iFUpkc2
Future Blue Devil players such as Isaiah Evans (North Carolina), Darren Harris (Virginia), and Kon Knueppel (Wisconsin) were named as the Gatorade Player of the Year for their respective states.
Copper Flagg, however, has led Montverde to a 31-0 record and a spot in Chipotle High School Nationals while averaging 16.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. He has also been named as the Naismith Player of the Year and a McDonald's All-American.
“Gatorade Player of the Year winners have become synonymous with greatness, with many athletes going on to become some of the biggest names in sport,” Gatorade president and general
manager Michael Del Pozzo said in a statement.
Ace Bailey (Rutgers) and VJ Edgeombe (Baylor) were the other finalists for the award.
"[Cooper] Flagg is no different, and we look forward to seeing the impact he will make on and off the court.”
Patrick Ngongba II and Khaman Maluach are also in the 2024 Duke basketball recruiting class that combine to be the consensus top incoming group of freshmen in the country.