Cooper Flagg's brother looks to be putting it all together for the Maine Black Bears

Cooper Flagg has been everything and more to the Dallas Mavericks since they took him first overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. The bruising and dynamic forward has elevated the hapless Mavericks into a competitive team, despite being without star point guard Kyrie Irving and defensive anchor Anthony Davis. While not a playoff team, they're hanging around the bottom of the Play-In and could somehow end up a playoff team. 

Flagg is making waves by dragging this team to respectability despite being one of the few genuine impact players on the roster. It's gotten the NBA and its fanbase salivating for more prospects like him, and luckily for those people, Flagg has a brother. A twin brother, Ace Flagg. 

To compare the two men would be disingenuous, as they play rather different styles. While Cooper is known for his bruising offense and top-shelf defense, Ace is more of a natural shooter. 

When Ace was recruited out of high school, he received interest from many top-tier colleges like Boston College, West Virigina and had some kind of interest from Duke, allegedly. Duke, of course, is where his brother went, but Ace instead opted to go home to Maine and is playing for the Maine Black Bears.

As a three-star recruit, it was seen as a huge get for the often-overlooked school. So big that he likely was going to get far more playing time right off the bat than he would've elsewhere as a freshman. While he carried a big name, he was just a freshman, and they don't always play a lot off the jump or play well.

Something Ace found out. He's played significant minutes through his first 21 games and not always well. The 5-17 Black Bears have had issues, and up until recently, Ace struggled to produce. He only posted two 10+ point performances in his first 19 games, and shot just 38.3% from the floor and 21.4% from three.

But college is all about growth and development, and it looks like Ace may be taking the next step in his. 

Over his last two games, he's not only seen his percentages jump, but now he's shooting 40.2% from the floor, 30.3% from three. Over the last two games, he's set collegiate career highs in points (12) and tied his career high in rebounds (8), and assists (4) over the last two games as well. Both victories. 

In fact, in the four games where he's broken double digits, the Black Bears are 3-1. 

He isn't the same prospect as his brother is, and his path to the NBA is going to be harder and with more obstacles to overcome, as he's not a vaunted prospect like Cooper. That doesn't mean he can't make it to the Association. If this current stretch of success he's on is an indication of what's to come, it's very possible that Ace joins his brother Cooper in the NBA.

It may be as a second-rounder or as an undrafted free agent, but his recent progress seems to suggest that we're watching Ace become more polished in real time.