PALMYRA, Maine — Emily Smith used to tell a young Cooper Flagg not to run in the halls when she taught at his school. Now she’s watching him run around the court in the NCAA tournament.
It’s an almost unbelievable experience for plenty of people connected to the Newport area, as they continue to watch a local kid rise to the highest levels of college basketball.
“When they say, ‘Cooper Flagg from Newport, Maine,’ that’s when your heart just swells a little bit more when you think, ‘Hey, I know that kid,” Smith explained on Friday during Duke’s tournament opener against Mount St. Mary’s.
An excited crowd gathered at Somerset Pour House, just over the Newport town line in Palmyra, to see Flagg and the Blue Devils take care of business to start their March Madness action.
Duke comfortably beat the Mountaineers 93-49, and the Newport-area fans never seemed too worried about the outcome. Instead, they were full of excitement, pride and appreciation for the magnitude of the moment — and the way it is so directly connected to their community.
“It’s kind of surreal actually for me,” Jeri-Lynn Mcfarlin said. “You know to watch him, and you know him and his family. And then to actually see him do such great things.”
Mcfarlin and her husband Hank live in nearby Dixmont and have looked forward to every game that Flagg has played this year.
“We’re all supportive. We’re all local,” Hank Mcfarlin said about the experience watching Flagg. “It’s a small town and we love it.”
Dave Bowman lives in Newport and, like so many people around the area, knows the Flaggs.
“As a family, they’re just amazing people,” Bowman said. “Just to see that come out of a little rural area — town — how can you not be proud of anything he’s accomplished? He’s a hardworking guy. His family is great.”
Bowman added that, thanks to Flagg, “Maine has turned into a Duke community.”
Any Duke fans across the state had a fairly stress-free game to watch on Friday, with the Blue Devils coasting to its win over Mount St. Mary’s. Duke jumped out to a 13-2 lead and were never truly challenged. It seemed to provide a good opportunity for Flagg to get back into game action, having missed multiple games in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament after spraining his ankle last week. He had 14 points and seven rebounds in the win on Friday.
It’s not just the stats, but the way Flagg plays the game and carries himself off the court that has his hometown community so proud.
“It makes you feel good, you know, to see that a boy born in Newport, Maine, has grown up and developed his basketball skills — not just his basketball skills alone, I mean academically. He’s not just an athlete,” said Ed McKay of St. Albans, a former teacher from the area. “Just his overall personality, commitment and drive, it’s good to see an 18-year-old boy the way he composes himself. He just seems to stay on an even keel, on and off the floor.”
And as to whether Flagg has stayed true to his beginnings in the community?
“He knows his roots,” McKay said.
In the late 1970s, McKay was an assistant basketball coach at Nokomis, the regional high school where Flagg and brothers Ace and Hunter won a state championship a few years ago.
McKay called Flagg a “gifted” player and credited his all-around game. That all-around game helped Flagg lead Duke in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks this season — something that hadn’t been done for 25 years in the ACC.
“It’s nice to see the young man bring some notoriety to the state of Maine, and in particular to this area,” McKay added.
Mary McElroy and Alan Kurtz of Palmyra wouldn’t normally have been watching an opening round No. 1 vs. No. 16 matchup in March Madness. But this is not a normal year with Flagg in the tournament.
“I just think it’s incredible that someone local is getting that type of recognition and is that good,” Kurtz said. “You don’t expect someone from Newport, Maine, to be the top college basketball player in the country.”
McElroy said it’s fun to know that the community supports Flagg, and to hear him talk about Newport.
“He seems plenty proud of his hometown,” McElroy said. And that pride clearly goes both ways.
Somerset Pour House manager Zach Leal said earlier this week that about 50 percent of the conversations he hears around town right now are about Cooper Flagg.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Hank Mcfarlin said with a laugh when asked about that estimate on Friday. “The other 50 percent is the weather.”
A few things were clear as Duke began its March Madness campaign on Friday: Cooper Flagg looks right at home in the NCAA tournament so far. And his hometown fans are loving every minute of it.