Tony Kornheiser draws parallels between Cooper Flagg and Caitlin Clark: "Because he's a white player, pressure on him will be enormous"

Duke Blue Devils commit Cooper Flagg became the first college player in a decade to be invited to a Team USA camp. He received the call to join the select team that would assist the main Olympic team prepare for the 2024 Paris showcase.

Flagg has been earning rave reviews since reclassifying from the class of 2025 to join Duke's No. 1 recruiting class a year early. On an episode of "Pardon the Interruption," basketball analyst Tony Kornheiser compared the media storm around Flagg to Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark who was drafted No. 1 in the 2024 WNBA Draft.

"Let’s get to the real facts of this. Because he (Flagg) is going to Duke and because he is a white player, assumptions are going to be made, statements are going to be thrown around,” Kornheiser said. “That is the nature of what are dealing with, as it is with Caitlin Clark. I hope he is a great player, but the pressure on him is going to be enormous."

---

Cooper Flagg gets high praise from Team USA select coach

Cooper Flagg might have been the youngest player at the Team USA camp but he has not been making up the numbers. He has more than held his own among the best players in the world during team practices.

In an interview with ESPN, Team USA select and Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley expressed his praise for Cooper Flagg.

"Well, I hadn't been around him, so just meeting him and talking to him the first day in practice the other day, you can just see the quiet confidence that he carries with himself," Mosley said. "His ability to know what he's capable of doing, but also the humility of knowing, 'OK, I'm still trying to figure some of these things out at this level,' but he's not afraid of it. And that's what, that's one thing you can tell right away.

"[He has a] high basketball IQ, tough, willing to learn," Mosley said. "He gets to the spots that he needs to for a shot a lot, able to get to the rim, great touch on his shot. I mean, he can play. There's no in-between. There's me saying, in many different forms, he can just flat-out play."

Cooper Flagg is already receiving praise for his talent and performances from industry insiders and he has more than held his own against the world's best players, showing just how high his ceiling is.