Kelly Flagg Expects Son Cooper Back for Duke ‘Very Soon’

Kelly Flagg expects to see her son Cooper back on the floor “very soon.” 

The matriarch of the basketball family spoke to Front Office Sports on Monday ahead of Duke’s first-round matchup against the winner of American and Mount St. Mary’s. She recently signed with Dr. Scholl’s to be part of the foot-care brand’s “Sole Support: Moms of Sports” campaign, in what is the first endorsement deal for the former science-teacher-turned-basketball-mom. 

Cooper is widely expected to be the top pick in June’s NBA draft and is currently out with an ankle sprain he suffered in the ACC tournament against Georgia Tech. Duke coach Jon Scheyer told ESPN, “our goal is for Friday” for Flagg to return to the court. 

Asked by FOS whether she expects her son to play this weekend, Kelly replied, “I will expect to see him–yes–very soon.”

Duke won the ACC tournament despite the absence of its top player and is a No. 1 seed in the Eastern Region for the NCAA tournament. 

What Cooper and his two siblings—including a twin brother, Ace, who is committed to Maine, where Kelly played—might not be expecting is for their mother to have an endorsement deal. Kelly told FOS she did not consult her children on the Dr. Scholl’s deal. 

“Everybody knows I’m the boss so that’s the way that goes,” she joked. “Actually, I don’t think they know that I’m doing this. So it’s great. They’ll be surprised.”

Kelly Flagg acknowledged the coincidence that she’s plugging foot support products right when her son is battling an ankle sprain. She said she used the insoles product when she was raising her kids in Maine as a way to substitute for having to buy new pairs of shoes. It’s similar to her son’s decision to sign with Boston-based New Balance, which he wore as a kid partially because of its New England roots.

“We may need to see what products we can help him out with,” Kelly said. “But he’s doing great in his healing process and I know he’s well taken care of.”

Sponsorships aren’t the only thing changing in the Flagg household this March. Kelly said she and her husband, Ralph, decided they won’t fill out a bracket or enter a tournament pool for the first time in over a decade. 

“We’re bowing out,” she said. “It doesn’t feel right. We know who’s going to win and I don’t want to take everyone’s money that easily.”