Ace Flagg transfers to North Carolina high school basketball power: 'He seems like such a born leader'

Younger brother of Duke's Cooper Flagg poised to break out at Greensboro Day School?

Class of 2025 three-star forward Ace Flagg poses on Montverde Academy 2023-24 media day before the 2023-24 season. The versatile 6-foot-7 slasher will play his senior season at Greensboro Day School in North Carolina. / Photo by Matt Christopher, SBLive

More than two months passed between when high school basketball coaching legend Freddy Johnson learned Ace Flagg, the brother of incoming Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, had made plans to enroll at Greensboro Day School for 2024-25. 

That was more than enough time for the fifth winningest high school basketball coach of all time to get excited about the addition of the 6-foot-7 transfer from defending national champion Montverde Academy, whose move was made official on Monday.

“We knew we were getting a really good player,” Johnson said. “Thing that blew me away more than anything he seems like such a born leader around people. He does a great job of exuding such confidence in his abilities.”

The younger Flagg is a 3-star prospect (ESPN, Rivals) with offers from West Virginia, Boston College, Maine and Florida Gulf Coast, among others.

His best days are in front of him on the high school stage after two seasons buried on the nation's top program.

In 27 games last season, Flagg averaged 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds as Montverde went 35-0, won Chipotle Nationals and finished as SBLive/SI's de-facto National Champion.

The Flaggs’ move to North Carolina comes at the same time Cooper Flagg, the nation’s top prospect in 2024 and expected top pick in next June’s NBA Draft, readies for his freshman season at Duke in Durham — some 55 miles east of Greensboro.

"Greensboro was one of the places they were looking at moving to," Johnson said. "We were fortunate it was Greensboro."

Flagg brings size and a long frame to a team that already has some eight players listed at 6-foot-8-and above.

That includes junior forward Julian Adigun, who Johnson says is has grown "like nine inches in 15 months." He is now listed 6-foot-10 — three inches taller than his listed height last season.

Injuries befell the Bengals in 2023-24, as they went 24-13 and finished fourth (5-7) in the NCISAA Peidmont Conference. But 10 players return, including three starters headlined by 6-foot-6 wing Addison Newkirk.

Greensboro Day is no stranger to the national spotlight and could be among the nation's top high school teams in 2024-25 — especially with Flagg in the fold.

A Maine native, Flagg played for Nokomis High School in Newport as a freshman before transferring to Montverde for his sophomore and junior seasons.

Flagg has shined this spring and summer on the grassroots stage. He helped former NBA player Brian Scalabrine's Team White Mamba to an 8-0 record on the MADE Hoops circuit.

— Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveSports