Duke basketball adds national champ’s clone to recruiting wishlist

The latest Duke basketball target closely resembles a former four-year fixture in Durham.

After reaching out to Andrews Osborne Academy (Ohio) four-star center Charles Bediako on Monday and then to Briarcrest Christian (Tenn.) five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler on Tuesday, Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski extended a third offer in as many days on Wednesday.

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And this most recent 2021 offer recipient is nearly a spitting image of the most overlooked starter down the stretch for the squad that stood on the grandest stage in 2015. Yes, Paul VI Catholic (Va.) four-star shooting guard Trevor Keels — a teammate of five-star point guard and 2020 Duke signee Jeremy Roach — has Matt Jones written all over his game.

Exactly like Jones, Keels occupies a 6-foot-5, 210-pound sturdy frame. Almost exactly like Jones, who ranked No. 38 on the 247Sports 2013 Composite, Keels sits No. 35 in his class and therefore does not wear a one-and-done tag.

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As was the case for Jones in high school, Keels has a reputation as one of the most accurate shooters among his peers. Also, both their strokes are clean yet include low release points and drawn-out motions; as a result, both shots require space to launch.

Both play with more substance than flash. Both lack off-the-charts athleticism. Both possess trustworthy handles. Both have a tendency to hunch over as a means to protect the ball when driving to the basket. Defensively, like Jones, Keels appears to have a knack for anticipating and then picking off passes.

Here’s a tape of Keels:

Now, here’s one of Jones as a recruit:

Keels, who now holds roughly a dozen offers, has taken only one official visit: to Virginia in September. The 16-year-old has neither named finalists nor disclosed a timeline for choosing a college. His Crystal Ball remains blank.

In addition to Keels and the other two this week, Krzyzewski has 2021 offers on the table to five-star shooting guard Max Christie, five-star small forward Jonathan Kuminga, five-star small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., and five-star power forward Paolo Banchero. Plus, the Duke basketball recruiting machine has hauled in the nation’s lone five-star commit from the class to date in small forward A.J. Griffin.

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Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting updates, analyses, opinions, and predictions.