{"id":34940,"date":"2025-07-24T23:49:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T23:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/34940\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T23:49:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T23:49:16","slug":"ace-flagg-is-tough-as-nails-and-willing-to-do-whatever-it-takes-to-help-umaine-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/34940\/","title":{"rendered":"Ace Flagg is \u2018tough as nails\u2019 and willing to do whatever it takes to help UMaine win\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Maine to Florida to North Carolina, Ace Flagg made a habit of winning throughout his high school career. <\/p>\n

And now that the highly anticipated recruit is starting his freshman year at the University of Maine, the versatile Flagg is ready to play whatever role is needed to help the Black Bears win at the college level. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something I\u2019ve always prided myself on, is just doing the dirty work, doing whatever it takes to get the win,\u201d Flagg said Thursday before a summer practice as the UMaine team has started its preseason work.<\/p>\n

Flagg is one of several new arrivals on the UMaine team led by coach Chris Markwood. The Black Bears are coming off their best playoff run in over two decades<\/a>, falling one game short of an America East Conference championship last season. <\/p>\n

The team will look differently after losing some of its top performers to graduation and the transfer portal, but a slate of freshmen and new transfers like Flagg will bring new size and excitement to a program already riding a wave of momentum. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an everyday guy. So everybody\u2019s going to love him,\u201d Markwood said Thursday. \u201cHe\u2019s just a hardworking kid, tough as nails. And gonna do some great things here, I\u2019m excited to see where things go.\u201d <\/p>\n

While Flagg started his high school career as a low-post player for the state championship Nokomis team alongside his twin brother and recent NBA first pick Cooper Flagg<\/a>, the new arrival in Orono has developed more of an outside game while playing in Florida and North Carolina to close out high school. <\/p>\n

\u201cWherever coach Markwood wants to put me, I\u2019m just going to try and go out, give it my all, and be the best I can for the team,\u201d Ace Flagg said. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nLeft: Ace Flagg and the Black Bears gather before a practice in the Pit in Memorial Gymnasium at the University of Maine on Thursday. Right: Flagg practices in the Pit. Credit: Linda Coan O\u2019Kresik \/ BDN<\/p>\n

Markwood said Flagg\u2019s exact role, as with many of his teammates on a new-look Black Bears squad, is still to be determined. Markwood noted that it\u2019s still \u201cvery early\u201d for Flagg and the entire team in the first few weeks of summer practices, but noted that the freshman from Newport has been practicing hard and has been meshing well with his teammates. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s off to a great start. Really excited about what he brings to the table for us. He\u2019s shown that in the first couple of weeks here,\u201d Markwood said. \u201cThe kid\u2019s played against really high level basketball, so nothing\u2019s really going to faze him. If you\u2019re looking for a Maine kid that\u2019s ready to step in and be able to help right away, he\u2019s kind of got the pedigree.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

That pedigree as a winner is undeniable. Flagg won championships<\/a>\u00a0at all three stops in high school, adding a North Carolina championship at Greensboro Day School this past season. His coach at that private North Carolina school was effusive in his praise of Flagg as both a player and a teammate.<\/p>\n

Greensboro Day coach Freddy Johnson, like Flagg, is no stranger to winning. The most recent state title was his 13th championship, and even with that well-established culture of winning, he said Flagg took that to a new level in Greensboro.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows what you gotta do to win,\u201d Johnson said Thursday. \u201cHe knows what you gotta sacrifice to win, and he knows how to fit in to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flagg\u2019s ability and intensity on the defensive end of the floor helped Greensboro Day to lockdown opposing teams from the point guard to the center, Johnson said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI could play ace on the 6-10 guy or the 5-8 guy,\u201d he said about Flagg\u2019s defensive versatility. <\/p>\n

Johnson also credited Flagg for his passing, footwork and offensive ability both down low and on the perimeter \u2014 along with his patience, sense of humor and ability to connect with all of his teammates. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just try and act like everyone is part of my family,\u201d Flagg said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a really good leader on the team and his leadership was worth 10 points a game,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cHe made sacrifices to become the kind of teammate he needed to be to lead us to the state championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Flagg and his UMaine teammates will be working to continue the program\u2019s positive momentum, with the Black Bears still in search of the men\u2019s team\u2019s first-ever America East championship. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think all the guys on the team are really locked in, and we know we can do something special this year,\u201d Flagg said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ace Flagg practices in the Pit in Memorial Gymnasium at the University of Maine on Thursday. Credit: Linda Coan O\u2019Kresik \/ BDN<\/p>\n

UMaine also has special family ties for Flagg, with his mother, Kelly Flagg (then Bowman), a member of the only team in school history to win an NCAA tournament game. Ace Flagg said it means a lot to be able to suit up for the same school where his mom played. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were always coming here to watch the women\u2019s team growing up,\u201d Flagg said. \u201cShe would take us to games and stuff, so we grew to love the team and the school.\u201d <\/p>\n

After several years playing in Florida and North Carolina, Flagg is happy to be back in the Pine Tree State. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just couldn\u2019t wait to get back. Maine is my home,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s where all my friends and stuff are. So I was just ready to get back here and spend time with the people that I missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Markwood knows that Flagg\u2019s high profile arrival is sure to bring increased attention \u2014 and expectations \u2014 for both the freshman player and the entire program.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing here, coming back home, is going to put expectations on him,\u201d Markwood said. \u201cHe knew that when he signed up, and I think he\u2019s ready for that. I think he\u2019s excited about that, I think he\u2019s excited to be home, in his home state, and have a chance to wear those five letters across his chest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UMaine coach said Flagg has handled that pressure well so far at this early stage in the process. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf anybody\u2019s built for it, it\u2019s him,\u201d Markwood said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Maine to Florida to North Carolina, Ace Flagg made a habit of winning throughout his high school…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34941,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[28825,402,398,400,401,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-34940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-ace-flagg","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-ncaa","11":"tag-ncaa-basketball","12":"tag-ncaabasketball","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}