O’Brien says Flagg is comparable, in some ways, to Bird

Dave O’Brien was a high schooler in Keene, N.H., during the beginnings of the Celtics’ 1980s heyday, so he is well aware it’s borderline blasphemous to compare any young basketball player to Larry Bird — and perhaps the word borderline isn’t even necessary.

So O’Brien, the voice of NESN’s 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 can’t compare anyone, really, to Larry Bird,’’ said O’Brien, 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 it’s not fair to compare any young player, no matter how promising, to him. Let’s make that clear.

“But …”

O’Brien laughs.

“But, so much of Cooper’s game really is comparable. He’s a great passer, he scores, he rebounds, he’s unselfish but he takes over games when the moment calls for it. He’s looking to make the pass first and foremost every time or the skip pass that leads to an assist. He’s great at that too, great at just seeing the game.

“There are differences, of course, some significant ones, but it’s that selfless approach more than anything else that’s 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 night’s 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.

O’Brien has called most of Flagg’s 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 O’Brien, “and then he follows it up the next game with 42. That was the week he really exploded.

“He’d had such a good year to that point, but that week it was almost like, ‘I’m even better than I’ve shown so far, and I’m about to show you why.’ I think it was that week where people who maybe weren’t that familiar with him yet realized, ‘Oh, boy, it’s all true. We’ve got a generational player on our hands.’”

O’Brien called Duke’s 88-63 win at Boston College on Jan. 18, and said he’d 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 O’Brien. “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. He’s at his best in those situations.

“And let me tell you, I think the BC fans realized that chanting ‘overrated!’ at him probably wasn’t their best strategy. That ended up being fuel for him. It was remarkable to see.”

O’Brien 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.

“I’m really excited about doing a lot of games with Lou,’’ said O’Brien. “I think the time is right for him and the timing is great for him.”

O’Brien 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.

“I’m right there with everybody else on that,’’ he said. “We need one. Let’s go get one.

Meaning Alex Bregman, the longtime Astros third baseman and Alex Cora favorite who is still on the market?

“Big time,’’ said O’Brien. “The fit isn’t perfect, but he brings a lot that they could use, and I think he’d 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. Here’s 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?