Duke Basketball: Blue Devils, Tar Heels in battle for 2019 CG Boogie Ellis

Despite being the last to extend an offer to Boogie Ellis, the Duke basketball coaches may still have a chance to steer the four-star 2019 guard away from Chapel Hill (and others) in favor of Durham.

Former Duke basketball player and first-year assistant Chris Carrawell is batting 1.000 when leading the recruitment of 2019 prospects. Although his sample size couldn’t be any smaller — 1-for-1 after securing a commitment from five-star forward Wendell Moore on Monday — his early success rate makes him the top Blue Devils assistant in the recruiting game for the moment.

And if Carrawell’s mark is any indication of his skills as a recruiter, another commitment could soon be in store from four-star 2019 prospect Boogie Ellis (the second on Carrawell’s list of recruits who he has been tasked with the lead role).

On Monday, head coach Mike Krzyzewski pitched in on Carrawell’s latest effort by visiting Ellis at his Mission Bay High School in San Diego, Calif., on the same day as North Carolina head coach Roy Williams. While Coach K was there, according to Jacob Polacheck of ZagsBlog.com, he convinced the 6-foot-2, 165-pound combo guard to reserve his fifth and final official visit for Duke starting Oct. 27.

Ellis — ranked No. 35 overall and No. 7 at his position on the 247Sports Composite — has planned his fourth official visit for this weekend in Chapel Hill (coinciding with the Tar Heels’ Late Night with Roy on Friday). From the end of August through September, he took official visits to Southern Cal, Oregon, and Arizona.

Known for his potency as a scorer, Ellis gets his buckets with a combination of his quick, smooth shooting stroke and strong crossover. He also possesses the court awareness of a skilled point guard.

Currently, the Crystal Ball at 247Sports favors both USC and UNC over Duke. However, only four experts have entered predictions — three for the Trojans and one for the Tar Heels — suggesting a high level of uncertainty still surrounds his decision. Ellis had trimmed his list to eight schools in August before receiving offers from UNC on Sept. 2 and Duke on Sept. 18.

Considering that Ellis is wrapping up his official visits before the fall signing period begins in November, expect him to announce a decision shortly after he returns from Duke.

And if Ellis does announce that he is becoming a Blue Devil, expect Coach K to increase Carrawell’s workload on the recruiting trail in the near future.

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