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The 2025 NCAA Tournament is sadly winding down, and the Duke Blue Devils look primed to win a title for the first time in a decade.
Duke, which has played worthy of its No. 1 overall seed all tournament, is led by star true freshman Cooper Flagg.
During Duke's games during the tournament, the television broadcast has been showing Flagg's mom, Kelly, pretty consistently. His mother went viral earlier this month during a regular-season game against UNC.
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Who is Cooper Flagg's mom?
Flagg's mother is Kelly Bowman Flagg. His mom brings some serious basketball pedigree to the family— she played Division I basketball for the University of Maine from 1996-1999. The Black Bears made it to three straight NCAA Tournaments while she was there, playing under head coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie. Her team also upset Stanford in the tournament during her final season at Maine in 1999.
She grew up watching the Boston Celtics dominate in the 1980s. Via an ESPN profile on the Flagg family from November 2024:
Kelly was spellbound. They led the NBA in rebounding and 3-point field-goal percentage and ranked second in field goal percentage and assists. YouTube clips are devoted to their passing prowess — the ball rarely hitting the floor, players constantly giving up good shots for great shots.
"That was the most pure form of the game in my mind," Kelly said. And it framed her worldview about how to play it. Like her father, she attended Nokomis, where she became one of the state's best players. She then starred at the University of Maine, which upset Stanford in the 1999 NCAA tournament during her senior season.
Flagg's father is Ralph Flagg, and the two raised Flagg in Newport, Maine, where Kelly grew up. Ralph played college basketball at Eastern Maine Community College.
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What did Cooper Flagg's mom do?
During Duke's dominating 82-69 road win over rival UNC at the end of the regular season, Flagg's mom went viral. After a thundering dunk from Flagg, the cameras found Kelly, who was celebrating like crazy. It included some salty language:
Cooper Flagg’s mom really hit the “on his head” celebration 🤣🔥 pic.twitter.com/TcXw6WaNrg
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 9, 2025Flagg finished with 15 points, four blocks, nine rebounds and six assists during the victory.
After the game, his mom posted on Facebook addressing her viral moment and added that the animated celebration was in response to some "crude" UNC fans at the game:
Cooper Flagg's mom, Kelly, responds to her viral moment 😳😂 pic.twitter.com/VzNJrsP6Ta
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 10, 2025Given her viral history, the cameras will likely be waiting for Flagg's mom to have another reaction throughout the tournament.
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