“3 letters outweigh 4.” Really! Especially considering those 4 letters are Duke. Hard to believe that against the might of NIL, but, it was so. For those who don’t want to believe, well, get a grip on Cooper Flagg being the poster boy for New Balance, the 5-star phenom who many believed would be Nike’s next breakout star the moment he became a Blue Devil. Mainly when the 5x NCAA champs have the privilege of being a Nike school. Months later, this development still astonishes many. However, an esteemed college basketball analyst cared to jump in and provide a clearer picture behind the 17-year-old’s decision.

The new age of college athletics took center stage in ESPN’s latest debate concerning men’s college basketball. Joining Jeremy Schaap was eminent Sports Reporter John Fanta who minced no words when asked to shed light on Cooper Flagg’s shoe collab with New Balance.

“This is the climate of the sport”, he stated. “Cooper Flagg can go ahead and put himself out on the market. And rightly so, he deserves his money, he deserves his endorsement. He deserves it all. He should go out and get whatever it takes.” 

Taking advantage of the evolving NIL landscape, Flagg inked a multi-year deal with the $6.5 billion brand in August this year. While for many, the move reflected the fact that he grew up in Newport, Maine which is just 30 miles away from New Balance‘s domestic manufacturing facilities. Having said that, the Boston headquarters is not that far away either to endorse the $111b brand power of Nike.

As for the Big East Broadcaster Fanta, there is more than what meets the eye. “New Balance put out the very best offer for him,” he further added. “There is nothing that Duke can do to force him to abide by Nike regulations and rules. Because at the end of the day, right now in college sports, there are no rules. There are no regulations.”

Terming college basketball as an “auction sport”, Fanta opined that the absence of contractions relieves Flagg of any bindings imposed by Duke. Such is Cooper Flagg’s prowess that he remains a desirable catch for many. So much so that even traveling basketball programs are also in the hunt to associate themselves with the towering Duke No.2.

Cooper Flagg ditches RWE

Rod Wave Elite. The name does ring many bells for anyone who closely follows the elite roster it showcases which includes Rutger’s Dylan Harper, UNC’s Ian Jackson, and Syracuse’s latest commit Kiyan Anthony. That could have included Cooper Flagg as well if we were to believe its founder, Cam Wilder. Recently, he opened up about his failed attempts to lure the 2024 McDonald’s All-American.

Wilder went on and said, “Everybody asks why Coop never played. You don’t think we tried ladies and gentlemen? We tried,” Wilder said in an interview with Overtime. “I called Tyran (Stokes). They tried to hand Cooper the phone and then a Nike a– grabbed the phone. Then his dad or his mom, somebody took the phone and then somebody, another representative, took the phone.”

Wilder then breathed a sigh of relief when finally he got in touch with Flagg. Unfortunately, his excitement was short-lived. “I had to go through four different people just to talk to Coop. Then he finally got the phone. ‘Yeah, they’re not going to let me’. Okay. No, it was cooked. They wouldn’t let him play,” he concludes. 

A star in the making. That’s who Cooper Flagg is in the eyes of many. And his fans will believe that he can fulfill the hype and expectations surrounding his young career. Undeniably, much bigger things await him in the upcoming future.