Ace Flagg is excited to come home to Maine, and the feeling is mutual here in the Pine Tree State.
The basketball world may be waiting to hear for sure whether his twin brother, Cooper Flagg, will declare for the NBA draft or return to Duke University, but there is no guesswork involved when it comes to Ace Flagg’s next step.
Ace Flagg is on his way to the University of Maine next year, where his versatile game will be a welcome addition to a Black Bears team already riding a wave of momentum from its best season in more than two decades. He will bring his own unique style of play — which helped his teams win championships at all three stops during his high school career — to Orono next season.
And there’s already a buzz in Maine surrounding his return.
Many people across the state who were enjoying Cooper Flagg’s run in the NCAA tournament are also eagerly anticipating Ace Flagg’s arrival.
In the Flaggs’ hometown, fellow Newport native Matt Fraser said he is “absolutely” excited about Ace becoming a Black Bear and guaranteed that more people from the area would be traveling to Orono for games.
“It’s huge,” Fraser said recently while shopping at a local convenience and grocery store.
Newport Town Manager Jim Ricker might be one such fan making that trip to Orono, which would be a first for Ricker given that he’s “kind of a hockey guy” and hasn’t yet been to a UMaine basketball game.
“It will be great. Who knows, maybe I’ll go to a ballgame next year,” Ricker said.
The Ace Flagg excitement was palpable from several Bangor area business owners and managers during the America East conference tournament for UMaine and NCAA tournament for Duke.
Asa Marsh-Sachs, co-owner of Orono Brewing Company, is already thinking about hosting watch party events for next season.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am for next year with Ace Flagg up here, too,” Marsh-Sachs said when Orono Brewing held a watch party for UMaine’s America East conference final in March.
Quinn Paradis, who owns Hero’s Sports Grill and Entertainment Center in Bangor, said his business saw increased interest in college basketball this winter given the “local talent involved,” especially with Cooper Flagg excelling at the national level.
“And I think we’ll get a lot of excitement next year with his brother Ace coming to town, and seeing how that will do as well,” Paradis said.
Buffalo Wild Wing’s manager Randy Briggs similarly emphasized Ace Flagg’s arrival when discussing the excitement around Duke games at the start of March Madness. The sports bar had already been seeing crowds for UMaine men’s hockey and basketball games, and Briggs said they’re excited for Ace Flagg to add to that energy.
“I feel like him going there as well is also going to bring a little more hype around the local scene,” Briggs said.
And plenty of young Maine basketball players will be paying attention too as Flagg’s college career gets under way.
Khaelon Watkins, a rising star in 8th grade at King Middle School, was asked during March Madness about how Cooper and Ace Flagg have helped grow the game of basketball in the state even more.
“They’ve helped Maine basketball a lot,” Watkins said. “Not just Cooper, but Ace also.”
Watkins is also excited for Ace Flagg’s arrival in Orono.
“I’m going to a game for sure,” Watkins said.
Asked earlier in the year if he thinks about how his success can help inspire the next group of talented Maine players, Ace Flagg talked about breaking the narrative and getting more attention for the next generation of players.
“Maine high school basketball is often overlooked, so I found myself playing with a chip on my shoulder, feeling like an underdog,” Flagg told the Bangor Daily News in early March. “Knowing that I had a chance to break that narrative was very special to me. I was able to show the type of talent Maine has to offer and get eyes on the next generation of Maine hoopers.”
Matt MacKenzie, the Flaggs’ longtime player development coach, said previously that the brothers “have been instrumental in helping the younger generation of Maine basketball players over the last couple of years,” especially in interacting with the Team Maine club basketball squad that he directs. Watkins has also played on that team.
UMaine men’s basketball Chris Markwood, who played high school ball in South Portland and his final two years of college at UMaine, is well aware that Ace Flagg’s arrival will bring increased attention next season.
“I’m a Mainer, so I understand the hype that’s going to come with him being here,” Markwood said in late January, noting that Flagg has a “great head on his shoulders” along with a great support system from the people close to him.
At the center of that support system is Kelly Flagg, who is not only the Flagg brothers’ mom but also a prominent member of UMaine basketball history. Kelly was a key member of the only UMaine basketball team, women’s or men’s, to win an NCAA tournament game.
“He’s done such a great job of being his own person, being authentically who he is as a player, and developing in his own time,” Kelly Flagg told the BDN about Ace Flagg in March. “And we’re so excited to see him play at the University of Maine next year, and kind of follow in my footsteps with that program and Chris Markwood.”
