“They are not that good”: Hoping to stop Cooper Flagg, AJ Dybantsa’s Utah Prep HC Ryan Bernardi reveals how he motivated his team

Cooper Flagg, a top player in the 2024 class and AJ Dybansta, the No. 1 player in the 2025 class, faced off in an episode of Dream Season. Ryan Bernardi, Prolific Prep coach who led the team against Flagg's team, revealed his approach to stop the Duke freshman.

In episode four of the series that dropped this weekend, it was a homecoming for AJ Dybansta as he returned to play for Prolific Prep.

Similarly, Cooper Flagg also reunited with his high school, Montverde Academy, where he led for two years before committing to Duke last November. He averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season for Montverde.

Ryan Bernardi admitted that his team went all out for a win.

"I wanted to make it very clear to our group with urgency in that timeout that we were not here just to play against Montverde, we are here to win this basketball game," he said in the video. [5:57 onwards]

It also featured a scene from a locker room where coach Bernardi motivated his players by convincing them that Flagg and Montverde are not as formidable as they seem.

"So now we have to counter at the start of this half, like, there could be no hang in the head or could-have-been, should-have-been," Ryan said. "We have to counter. We have to go counter-punch, that's all it is. Go counter-punch them. You see playing against them, they're not that good."

Although Prolific Prep was ahead with just two minutes to play in the clock, Cooper Flagg's Montverde bounced back to win the game 76-71.

Cooper Flagg makes a great start to his Blue Devils career

Freshman forward Cooper Flagg made his highly anticipated Blue Devils debut this month in an exhibition matchup against Lincoln.

In Duke's first game of the new season at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Flagg showed why he was the most coveted recruit in the nation. He scored 22 points and dished out six assists as Jon Scheyer's men recorded a 107-56 win.

The Blue Devils wrapped up its preseason games with a big 103-47 win over Arizona State in an exhibition match on Sunday. The Sun Devils, led by Bobby Hurley, a former national champion player at Duke, were outmatched by Blue Devils' talent.

Cooper Flagg started the game on Sunday but did not play the entire duration of it. He stayed on the court for 21 minutes and finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists.