Duke Basketball: 2019 recruiting class needs spark plug to get started

The time to panic is not here, but it could be near if the Duke basketball coaches don’t receive their first 2019 commitment soon.

Before this year, every Duke basketball recruiting class since 2007 had already added its first commitment by September, which is starting to make one wonder: Is the program missing the recruiting expertise of former Blue Devils assistant Jeff Capel?

Just days after last season came to an end for Duke in the Elite Eight against Kansas, Capel took the head coaching job at Pitt. And many of the Blue Devils’ insiders worried that Capel was taking with him the recruiting ability that played an immeasurable role in landing so many of the nation’s top prospects from the past decade.

As Duke’s leading recruiter, Capel often relied on the help of the program’s first commitment each year to help spread the idea of building a dream class to his peers.

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Guys like Tre Jones, Alex O’Connell, Jayson Tatum, Luke Kennard, and Grayson Allen have acted as the pitchmen for Duke’s most recent classes.

And there have been so many top-notch recruiting classes in the past decade that it’s quickly becoming too difficult to keep count of them all or to try to even list them all in one article.

Basically, it happens every single season. And after every single season, players leave early — often in waves.

But before all of the members of each class ever decided to play for the Duke Blue Devils, there has always been that one player to give the coaches a kickstart to their recruiting effort by committing months before the start of his final high school season.

So where is that teenaged baller this year? When will he appear? Most importantly, though, who will it be and how many will follow?

Point guard Josiah James — ranked 13th overall in the 247 Sports Composite — would be an ideal pick to start it off. He is 6-foot-6, a tremendous defender with a long wingspan, the best true point guard in the class, and seems to be the likeliest Duke prospect to soon make a final decision after recently trimming his list of schools to four.

However, James is just one of six five-star recruits currently projected by 247 Sports’ Crystal Ball to choose Duke over the rest.

Although there are wildcards, such as guard Nico Mannion, the others who are most likely to end up in Durham include center Vernon Carey Jr. (ranked No. 2 overall), combo guard Cole Anthony (No. 3), center Isaiah Stewart (No. 5), shooting guard Bryan Antoine (No. 11), and small forward Wendell Moore (No. 24).

Sure, if all of these guys decide to become Blue Devils, then losing Capel to Pitt won’t seem like such a big deal. Yet as weeks continue to pass without any of the prospects making a move toward Duke, expect the speculation that Duke has lost its magical recruiting touch to intensify.

So although Duke basketball’s brand has grown in recent years among teens who are phenomenal basketball players, it is still counting on a player from the current crop of talented prospects to make it trendy to pick Duke this year. And it is a well-known fact that staying current with the youth is a never-ending process.

Is it possible that Capel was the one mostly responsible for making Duke a cool choice for stud recruits?

If that is the case, then head coach Mike Krzyzewski better make sure that Capel’s replacement as the primary recruiter, current associate head coach Jon Scheyer, has all of the necessary attributes and tools to replicate his predecessor’s success.

Maybe it’s still too early to worry. After all, current freshman forward Joey Baker would still be the first member of the 2019 class had he not reclassified to join this year’s team.

But nothing would better help to erase the fear that the Blue Devils’ recruiting prowess is beginning to disappear than to hear that another five-star talent will be in Durham next year for Duke basketball fans to cheer.

Because everyone should be aware of one near-certain prediction: current freshmen R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, and Tre Jones will no longer reside in Durham at this time next year.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting updates and analysis.