NBA scouts set to flock to Cooper Flagg-Tre Johnson showdown in Las Vegas

By ADAM ZAGORIA & DYLAN LUTEY

NBA scouts have been cleared to attend high school games this weekend during the NBA In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas, and they will be flocking to Friday’s game featuring Duke commit Cooper Flagg of Montverde (FL) Academy and Texas pledge Tre Johnson of Link Academy (MO).

As reported by ESPN, that game will air on ESPNU at 11 p.m. ET. According to one 2025 mock draft, the 6-foot-9 Flagg is the projected No. 1 pick in 2025 and the 6-6 Johnson is No. 4.

“The more exposure we have, the better we can determine their growth and potential,” one NBA scout told ZAGSBLOG.

ESPN recruiting director Paul Biancardi will broadcast the game between No. 1 Montverde and No. 3 Link in the Scholastic Showcase Games.

Nike recently teamed up with the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference to form a high school super-conference, Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic.

“It’s two top-3 teams in the country so there’s tons of star power,” Biancardi said by phone of Friday’s game. “That makes it an attractive game. There’s a handful plus of real stars in that game.

Week 3️⃣ of the ESPN High School Boys’ Basketball team rankings per @PaulBiancardi 🏀 pic.twitter.com/rygRwfk7cX

— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) December 4, 2023

“And I think for the NBA, because their league is so young and that first round is so important with picks that are young, picks that have a tremendous future in the game, they need to look at these guys more in their environment against players that are like-minded draft picks.

“So I think it’s great any time the NBA can lay eyes on these kids because there’s nothing that takes the place of live scouting.”

Here’s the full schedule of Nike high school games the NBA scouts are allowed into this weekend in Las Vegas including @MVABasketball vs @LinkHoops https://t.co/n5OmYu6X0b pic.twitter.com/CBfu677mZa

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) December 5, 2023

As ESPN reported, other events that NBA scouts will be permitted to go to include the Sunshine Prep Showcase at IMG Academy (Dec. 14-17 in Bradenton, Fla.), the Tarkanian Classic (Dec. 15 -21 in Las Vegas), the City of Palms Classic (Dec. 18-23 in Fort Myers, Fla.), the HoopHall Classic (Jan.11-15, Springfield, Mass.), the Throne National Championship (March 28-31 in New York City), and the High School Boys Basketball Nationals (April 4-6, Brownsburg, Ind.).

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