Wilt Chamberlain was the first Mr. Basketball USA selection in 1955. He and all but two Prep Honors since then have gone on to play in the NBA, with the exception of five-star forward Cameron Boozer, a 2025 Duke basketball recruiting target. continues to play. Although he is only a third year high school student, he achieved excellent results as a sophomore last year.
Related: Duke Target's Cameron Boozer hints at “one more visit” somewhere
This year's Mr. Basketball USA, presented by Ballislife.com on Friday, is incoming Blue Devil five-star forward Cooper Flagg. He becomes the fourth player in history to carry the Duke Award tag. However, he is the third player to do so since 2018 and the second in the Jon Scheyer era in Durham.
Of course, Duke's number could rise to five if Boozer, the son of 2001 Blue Devil national champion Carlos Boozer, ultimately commits to Scheyer and his crew.
But for now, the flags are Montverde Academy (Fla.) alums Darik Whitehead (2022) and RJ Barrett (2018), plus DeMartha Catholic (Md.) legend Danny Ferry. (1985) joins the Blue Devils' all-time Mr. Basketball USA award winners.
Eight of the 10 esteemed panelists voted for Cooper Flagg. Cooper Flagg is a 6-foot-9, 200-pound phenom who is ranked No. 1 overall in the 247Sports 2024 Composite Rankings and will be a mainstay for the Blue Devils in 2024-25. The other first-place vote went to Dylan Harper, a five-star guard from Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) who committed to Rutgers in 2024 and was a longtime Duke basketball target.
Also read: Prime UNC target Caleb Wilson says Blue Devils are still pushing hard
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