Duke sensation Cooper Flagg shares emotional story behind his #32 jersey number tied to Donovan Clingan 

Duke Blue Devils commit Cooper Flagg has distinguished himself as the standout player in the class of 2024 and is one of the contenders to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, according to ESPN. He has not played a single minute of college basketball but is already receiving plenty of attention.

During an appearance on "The Brotherhood Podcast," Flagg revealed the emotional reason behind his No. 32 jersey in high school.

“My mom had worn it in high school and then her teammate in college, Donovan Clingan’s mom, had also worn it and she had passed away,” Flagg said (8:00).

“So I think I started wearing it because (my mom) wore it originally. Then going forward, having heard that story and learned that, it gave me more of a reason to want to wear it. Just having that reason of my mom’s teammate and wearing that number, it kind of just made me feel good about it. I just fell in love with the number.”

The No. 32 has been associated with Cooper Flagg and his family friend, former UConn Huskies star Donovan Clingan, who was drafted No. 7 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers after winning two consecutive national championships.

Clingan's mother, Stacy Clingan, who played basketball for the University of Maine, wore the No. 32 throughout her career. She died from breast cancer in 2018 and her son has continued to wear the number in her honor. She was also the teammate of Flagg's mother, which is how the two families became family friends.

However, Flagg will have to choose a new number for his Duke Blue Devils career because the program retired that number, which was worn by Christian Laettner, who won the national championship in 1992.

Cooper Flagg turned down UConn despite Donovan Clingan's influence

Cooper Flagg was widely recruited by all elite programs in the country and of course, the reigning national champions, the UConn Huskies, led by coach Dan Hurley, were at the front of that line.

Despite his ties to Donovan Clingan, Flagg resisted the advances of the Huskies and instead chose to join Duke coach Jon Scheyer. During an appearance on "The Brotherhood" podcast, he explained why.

“It was something coach Scheyer had stressed to me a lot going through the whole process was about the feel,” Flagg said. “Like I would know when I got the feeling of where I wanted to be. I think it really came down to when I came on my visit, I was able to meet all the guys on our team last year, interact with the coaches a bunch more.

"Once I kind’ve felt that, I kind’ve had the feeling like, this is where I wanted to be. And that’s kind’ve what helped to propel my decision."

College basketball fans will be watching to see whether Cooper Flagg made the right decision to turn down coach Dan Hurley's project at UConn as the Huskies attempt to win an unprecedented three-peat of national championships.