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 dependably there The Duke phenom and projected No pick in the upcoming NBA Draft explained The Associated Press that growing up he was narrated he would never achieve his basketball goals Flagg announced the doubts were due to where he was from Growing up in Maine there s people that described 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 sparse basketball stars have come from Maine Miami Heat sportsman Duncan Robinson was born in Maine but he grew up in New Hampshire and went undrafted in the draft The majority of prominent contestant 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 most of talented basketball sportsman 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 tournament 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 Participant of the Year Award becoming just the fourth freshman to win that honor It doesn t matter where you re from Flagg stated 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 invariably loved the tournament of basketball I dependably put the work in I inevitably longed 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 description Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter