Duke Basketball: Crystal Ball now favors Duke to nab Anthony Harris

Could the starting point guard for the 2019-20 Duke basketball season be a guy who most fans had never heard of until yesterday?

This is my present-day prediction: Five-star 2019 combo guard Cole Anthony will not become a Blue Devil. Neither will four-star point guard Boogie Ellis. And current Duke basketball freshman Tre Jones will bolt for the NBA after the upcoming season.

So, assuming the Blue Devils don’t have to resort to starting a walk-on at point guard for the 2019-20 season, there are two candidates — in my mind — for the job: Jordan Goldwire (will be a junior when that season starts) and four-star 2019 recruit Anthony Harris.

On Monday night, news came out of seemingly nowhere that Harris will be making an official visit to Duke this weekend. Although coach Mike Krzyzewski has yet to extend Harris an offer, it seems likely that he will.

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And according to a handful of changed predictions today at 247Sports’ Crystal Ball, it is likely Harris will choose Duke for his collegiate endeavors. Before Harris announced his upcoming visit, 100 percent of the experts predicted he would commit to Virginia Tech. Now, though, 80 percent (out of the10 experts who have entered predictions) see him as a future Blue Devil.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Fairfax, Va., native — who is listed as a combo guard but looks like a true point guard in my eyes — seems strikingly similar to former Blue Devils Sean Dockery and Tyler Thornton. In other words, he is a determined defender but lacks the skills, speed, and shooting stroke that a five-star guard typically possesses.

But maybe that’s not a bad thing. After all, the defensive effort in Durham has taken a hit in recent years as several one-and-done players — not the time to name names — have taken obvious breaks whenever they are not playing offense.

Maybe Harris could be a part of a rebranding process as the Blue Devils are forced to transition out of the one-and-done era as a result of no longer receiving commitments from one-and-done prospects. Maybe he will be a floor leader who will expect no less than extreme intensity from his teammates on defense.

First, though, the forecast of Harris landing at Duke has to become a reality.

But here’s how I see it going down: Harris will love the attention he receives from the coaches on campus this weekend, and the coaches will love Harris’ attitude; Krzyzewski will offer him a scholarship before he leaves town, and he will almost immediately accept — meaning he should be a Dukie by this time next week.

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