Duke Basketball: Coaches paid a visit to 2021 phenom Patrick Baldwin Jr.

He is still two months away from his 16th birthday, but Patrick Baldwin Jr.’s talent level makes it not too early for Duke basketball fans to get to know his name.

Some fans may not yet know the name, but rest assured the Duke basketball coaches do. In July, Patrick Baldwin Jr. became one of the youngest players in history to receive an offer from the Blue Devils.

That makes sense considering the 6-foot-8, 190-pound sophomore forward from Sussex, Wisc., tops many lists of the top prospects in the 2021 class and leaves spectators in awe when they watch his ankle-breaking play.

Speaking of watching, according to a tweet from Mark Miller, the editor of the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook, Duke coaches were in the gym at Sussex Hamilton High School on Thursday night to see Baldwin Jr. in action.

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What they likely saw are the same jaw-dropping abilities that recruiting experts have been raving about since Baldwin Jr. was in the eighth grade. And what the Duke coaches were likely thinking is the same thing all of his audiences think: it shouldn’t be possible for a kid who isn’t even a licensed driver yet to show so much poise when driving to a basket.

Lots of guys have signature moves, though. What sets Baldwin Jr. apart from the rest is his ability to anticipate what defenders will do before they do it while making them look like fools as he makes movements they never expected.

It’s as if he has been receiving one-on-one coaching since his birth. Oh wait, maybe he has.

Patrick Baldwin Sr. was a point guard for Northwestern from 1990-94. And from 2013-17, the senior Baldwin was an assistant at his alma mater under former Duke basketball assistant and player Chris Collins. He is now the head coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

But do the Duke coaches stand a chance to snag the services of his son?

While it may be way too early to have much significance, it is definitely not a bad sign that the two experts at 247Sports’ Crystal Ball who have entered predictions for Baldwin’s future destination both picked Duke. And it probably doesn’t hurt that Baldwin Sr. built a relationship with a former Dukie (Collins).

There’s not much else to go on and it may still be two years until Baldwin Jr. announces his commitment. And by that time, the NBA may have done away with the one-and-done rule, meaning he could bypass college altogether.

That being said, it doesn’t hurt to go ahead and remember his name. Because if the coaches in Durham are lucky, the name might one day be printed on the back of a Duke basketball jersey.

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