GREENSBORO, N.C. — From learning how to play basketball to playing on the high school court together, twin brothers Ace and Cooper Flagg have always been attached to the hip.
The earliest memories I have were playing together out in the driveway and it would end in a fist fight, that happened many times," Ace joked. "We always got past it and were able to keep playing together with love."
That is until this year.
"It's strange," Ace said. "When you have a player like him, it just makes the game easier."
Cooper is already becoming a house hold name to college basketball fans across the country as a freshman at Duke. While the 17 year old is making his name known on the college basketball stage in Durham, his twin brother Ace, is closing out his high school basketball career at Greensboro Day School.
This summer, the 6-foot-7 power forward transferred from Monteverde Academy in Florida to Greensboro Day.
"I didn't really play much there, so senior year looking for a spot where, I was going to be able to play a little bit more," Ace said. "We started looking around this area to keep the family together with Cooper at Duke and we got a couple of recommendations. The top one was here. They all they said was that if we're looking for basketball, this was the place to go."
Creating an identity separate from Cooper, especially on the court is important to Ace.
"It's also nice to be challenged a little bit," Ace said, "When you're playing with him, you can always say, Cooper's kind of a crutch, but it makes you better not playing with him because you're going to have to do a little more on your own."
Ace joins a program led by Freddy Johnson, the 5th all-time winningest coach in American High School Basketball history.
"We're excited," said Johnson. "He's a very high IQ player, a great teammate and he makes everyone on the court better. When I first saw him play this summer, I was so impressed how he was such a great team leader."
"There's so much to learn from him," said Ace. "He's just been teaching us how to play the game the right way. Everything he he tells you, you need to really listen because he knows what he's talking about."
Although it's Ace's final year playing high school basketball, he's hoping his unique skillset will bring Greensboro Day another state championship.
"I'm more of a unconventional big man," said Ace. "I'm working on extending my range beyond the three point line, being able to play outside as a guard and keep developing my game. I'm just looking here to make all these guys better, help them out and they're gonna make me better. I'm trying to win a state championship."
