UCLA Basketball: Top Forward Reclassifying To Enter College Pool One Year Earlier

Two-way prep school power forward Cooper Flagg is making major waves heading into what is now set to be his final high school season.

According to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, the 6'8" big man out of Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, is reclassifying to the high school class of 2024. Givony notes that Flagg is able to pull off this move thanks to a late December birthday, and anticipates that he still looks to be the best player in his high school class. He will now be eligible for the draft in 2025 instead of 2026.

Givony notes that Flagg, who transferred to Montverde last season after kicking off his initial high school career in Maine, boasts a high motor, is a terrific one-on-one defender, a versatile shooter and scorer.

Last season, your UCLA Bruins tendered a scholarship offer to Flagg. He has also received offers from Iowa, Duke, Connecticut, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan, Providence, UCF, Villanova and West Virginia, per 247Sports.

He'll certainly have his pick of programs as the year goes on. UCLA is in a unique position as a recruiting college. In part that's due to its history of Hall of Famers and in part it's a result of the program's NCAA men's basketball record of 11 championships (10 under John Wooden, one under Jim Harrick).

But location and access are key, too. Many NBA players hold offseason workouts in Los Angeles, which has been a popular destination for decades thanks to its other entertainment ties and unbeatable weather. The team under current head coach Mike Cronin has been pretty successful in recent seasons, too, finishing in the Sweet 16 during last spring's March Madness tournament run.