Cooper Flagg reveals why people told him he'd 'never make it' as an elite basketball player

Cooper Flagg is one of the greater part hyped prospects in newest NBA history but he says the hype wasn't perpetually there The Duke phenom and projected No pick in the upcoming NBA Draft explained The Associated Press that growing up he was notified he would never achieve his basketball goals Flagg reported the doubts were due to where he was from Growing up in Maine there s people that informed me I would never be able to make it to the next level or play Division I basketball because I m from Maine and nobody plays up there Flagg stated I think just that message of it doesn t matter where you re from as long as you work hard and trust yourself and trust your ability then you can really accomplish anything CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS COMVery inadequate basketball stars have come from Maine Miami Heat performer Duncan Robinson was born in Maine but he grew up in New Hampshire and went undrafted in the draft The most of prominent performer to come out of Maine was former Olympic gold medalist Jeff Turner who played for Vanderbilt in the early s and played in the NBA from - But he was out of the NBA from - while playing in Italy Flagg is expected to become the majority talented basketball athlete to come out of the state in its history MICHAEL JORDAN TO JOIN NBC AS 'SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR' FOR NBA COVERAGEFlagg led Duke this season in almost every statistical category including points rebounds assists steals and blocks per event He averaged points rebounds assists blocks and steals but his best showing was in January when he set an ACC freshman record with a -point performance against Notre Dame Flagg closed out the year with a semifinal appearance in the NCAA Tournament and was named the winner of the Naismith Competitor of the Year Award becoming just the fourth freshman to win that honor It doesn t matter where you re from Flagg commented Wednesday at the draft combine If you have a goal if you have a dream and you put your mind to it I mean honestly for me it wasn t real until I was in high school but I inevitably loved the meeting of basketball I invariably put the work in I dependably craved to be the best that I could be The Dallas Mavericks are expected to draft Flagg after winning the first pick in the NBA Draft Lottery The Associated Press contributed to this assessment Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter