Duke Basketball: Blue Devils in hunt again to nab nation’s top three recruits

The Duke basketball program has a legitimate chance to replicate its recruiting success from the 2018 class by once again attracting the top three prospects in the country to Durham in 2019.

The Chosen 25 at USA Today sees the top three players in the 2019 class differently than the ESPN 100 and the Top247. And if Duke basketball fans take a look at that publication’s latest rankings while referencing the Crystal Ball at 247 Sports, they will notice another historical achievement is certainly possible for the coaches in Durham.

The Blue Devils could build on a 2018 recruiting class that included the three best high school seniors — current Duke freshmen R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, and Cam Reddish topped the ESPN 100 — by repeating the same feat with its 2019 class (if using The Chosen 25’s rankings this time around).

Considering the feat had never been pulled off before Mike Krzyzewski’s staff did it last recruiting season, no research is required to find out if any school has ever done it back-to-back.

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It’s not anywhere close to a done deal, though. In fact, Duke has yet to receive its first commitment from a member of the 2019 class.

Combo guard Cole Anthony is No. 1 in The Chosen 25. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound son of former NBA player and UNLV great Greg Anthony currently has 12 schools on his list, but 60 percent of the experts used by the Crystal Ball project Duke as the favorite.

Anthony is best known for his clutch scoring ability against the highest levels of competition. He is not expected to make a final decision until the spring.

The No. 2 prospect on the list is Vernon Carey Jr., a 6-foot-10, 275-pound power forward who can shoot from behind the arc and handle the ball end-to-end during fastbreaks. Carey Jr.’s list is down to five schools, and the Crystal Ball is giving the Blue Devils a 50 percent chance to snag him.

Carey Jr. has scheduled an official visit to Duke for Oct. 19. The Florida native told Adam Zagoria that he would like to make a final decision by his birthday on Feb. 25.

Falling at No. 3 on The Chosen 25 is center Isaiah Stewart. The 6-foot-9, 245-pound New York native, who currently plays for La Lumiere School in Indiana, has a polished post game and shoulders that resemble those of former Duke center Shelden Williams.

Stewart may be the first of the three to commit to a school, as he has said in the past that he would like to have the recruiting process out of the way before his senior season starts. He currently has six schools remaining on his list, but 90 percent of the Crystal Ball’s experts predict that he will ultimately pick Duke.

If Anthony, Carey Jr., and Stewart all pick Duke, expect nearly all of the posts on the Kentucky recruiting message boards to spew jealous rants and accusations of cheating by the coaches in Durham.

Nevermind, someone at Ball Durham just checked a few of those boards; as it turns out, hating Duke is already an accurate way to summarize the bulk of their content.

And that must be thanks to the likes of Barrett, Williamson, Reddish, Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter Jr., Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles, Brandon Ingram, and other best-of-the-best talents who have continued to deliver great news to Coach K during the second half of this decade while leaving the second-tier guys for Wildcats coach John Calipari.

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