Dave O’Brien says Duke’s Cooper Flagg is comparable in some ways to, well, Larry Bird

By Chad Finn, The Boston Globe Dave OBrien was a high schooler in Keene, N.H., during the beginnings of the Celtics 1980s heyday, so he is well aware its borderline blasphemous to compare any young basketball player to Larry Bird and perhaps the word borderline isnt even necessary.

So OBrien, the voice of NESNs Red Sox broadcasts who in the baseball offseason calls college basketball games for ESPN and the ACC Network, proceeds with proper caution when asked if Duke freshman sensation Cooper Flagg reminds him of anyone he has seen before.

Well, you cant compare anyone, really, to Larry Bird, said OBrien, who has called a half-dozen Duke games this season, and has several more on the docket.

Larry stands alone for a lot of reasons, and its not fair to compare any young player, no matter how promising, to him.

Lets make that clear.

But ...

OBrien laughs.

But, so much of Coopers game really is comparable.

Hes a great passer, he scores, he rebounds, hes unselfish but he takes over games when the moment calls for it.

Hes looking to make the pass first and foremost every time or the skip pass that leads to an assist.

Hes great at that too, great at just seeing the game.

There are differences, of course, some significant ones, but its that selfless approach more than anything else thats similar.

What watching Cooper really does is make you wonder what Larry must have looked like as an 18-year-old player.

Flagg, the Newport, Maine native and projected No.

1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft (keep an eye on the manipulations of that crafty Ainge fella in Utah), has lived up to the advance notice and then some during his freshman season.

Heading into Saturday nights matchup with rival North Carolina, Duke ranked No.

2 in the nation with a 17-2 record, including 14 consecutive victories.

Flagg, who turned 18 in January, has been the Blue Devils engine, averaging team-highs of 19.9 points, 8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while playing relentless defense.

OBrien has called most of Flaggs biggest moments, including a hellacious dunk against Pitt that went viral and an ACC freshman-record 42-point performance against Notre Dame.

That might have been the dunk of the year in college basketball, said OBrien, and then he follows it up the next game with 42.

That was the week he really exploded.

Hed had such a good year to that point, but that week it was almost like, Im even better than Ive shown so far, and Im about to show you why.

I think it was that week where people who maybe werent that familiar with him yet realized, Oh, boy, its all true.

Weve got a generational player on our hands.

OBrien called Dukes 88-63 win at Boston College on Jan.

18, and said hed never seen an atmosphere quite like that at Conte Forum.

Half of the state of Maine was there.

It was the hottest ticket in the city, said OBrien.

A scene like that might have been overwhelming for some young players.

You know, the whole world is here to see me.

These are the people I grew up with.

But not for Cooper.

He goes for 28 points and is the whole show.

Hes at his best in those situations.

And let me tell you, I think the BC fans realized that chanting overrated! at him probably wasnt their best strategy.

That ended up being fuel for him.

It was remarkable to see.

OBrien will be back at his summer job soon enough.

This will be his 19th season calling Red Sox games overall and 10th on NESN.

NESN plans to announce its full broadcast roster in February, but as reported here previously, Lou Merloni is set to be the main analyst, bringing much-needed continuity with at least 100 games in the NESN booth.

Im really excited about doing a lot of games with Lou, said OBrien.

I think the time is right for him and the timing is great for him.

OBrien said he likes the improvements the Red Sox have made to their pitching staff with the additions of Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler, but believes the offense needs to add one more righthanded bat.

Im right there with everybody else on that, he said.

We need one.

Lets go get one.

Meaning Alex Bregman, the longtime Astros third baseman and Alex Cora favorite who is still on the market? Big time, said OBrien.

The fit isnt perfect, but he brings a lot that they could use, and I think hed be a great fit at Fenway.

Fox betting on Brady In advance of its Super Bowl LIX broadcast next Sunday, Fox has been ultra-aggressive in pushing the narrative that Raiders minority owner Tom Brady remains all-in as a broadcaster.

That included sending out plastic statues of a golden microphone to media members this week, equipped with a Brady voiceover talking about how eager he is to call the Super Bowl.

Two thoughts on Brady the broadcaster: 1.

Heres hoping he calls fewer than five players a stud during the Super Bowl.

That was his go-to word of praise over and over again during the NFC Championship game; 2.

No golden plastic microphone is going to convince me that Brady is staying with Fox as a broadcaster beyond this year.

How is he ever going to prepare when he has Mark Davis and Pete Carroll to deal with in his other job? Get the latest Boston sports news Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.

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