For the second year in a row, hundreds of young basketball players from across Maine are getting an opportunity to learn from Ace and Cooper Flagg.
And like last year, the next generation of Maine basketball players and their families are thrilled about the chance to attend a camp led by the twin brothers from Newport, Maine.
More than 700 kids are piling into the gym at the University of Maine over the course of the two-day camp this weekend, and the sold-out event already had participants buzzing to start the morning on Saturday.
“I’m really excited,” said 7-year-old Oaklee Putnam, who has been playing basketball since pre-K.
The statewide excitement has soared to new heights this year, with Cooper Flagg’s arrival in the NBA and Ace Flagg’s return home to play at the University of Maine.
And youth players from around the state are flocking to Orono this weekend for a chance to meet the Flaggs and grow their games in the process.
Eleven-year-old Colin Morey of Hampden was hoping to improve his shooting form and dribbling at the camp as he prepares for a season of sixth grade basketball. Like so many other kids from Maine, he draws inspiration from seeing Cooper Flagg make it all the way from Newport to the NBA.
“It makes me want to do what he’s doing,” said Morey, whose favorite part of Cooper Flagg’s game is his dunking.
Like last year, the camp is open to kids in first through sixth grades. The Flaggs’ longtime player development coach, Matt MacKenzie, said earlier this week that more than 700 kids were attending the sold-out camp.
Brothers Brayden and Jakoby Rockwell were both looking to work on their shooting while at the event, and like the Flagg brothers growing up, like to compete against each other on the court.
The Rockwells got up at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday to drive down from Houlton with their father, making them one of the many Maine families willing to travel quite a ways to see and learn from the Flaggs.
Many small-town kids from across the Pine Tree State, and their families, have been captivated by the Flaggs’ journey.
“I think it’s huge for them,” Corey Lyford of Lagrange said as his grandson Chase prepared for the Saturday morning session of the two-day camp. “I think if Cooper can make it, it gives all the rest of them hope.”
Ace Flagg’s start as a Black Bear is also resonating across the state.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Lyford said about his return to Maine. “I think it’s good for the kids.”
Chase Lyford, along with many of Saturday’s participants, was most excited about the chance to interact with Cooper and Ace Flagg. The same was true for Jayce Clockedile of Mars Hill and Grace Zimmerman of Dixmont.
“We just think it’s a great opportunity for young kids to be able to meet someone that’s going to be on their TV screens,” said Abby Clockedile, Jayce’s mother. “It gives them hope.”
Hope and hard work were common refrains from Maine families in Orono on Saturday morning.
Zimmerman’s mother Jenni pointed to the effort that helped propel Cooper Flagg to the NBA.
“He’s proof, right?” Jenni Zimmerman said. “If you practice a lot, you can do great things.”
