Duke basketball: Towering talent to cut list then visit Durham in August

Positive Duke basketball recruiting news continues to roll in as the Blue Devils figure to make a big man’s list of finalists later this month — a wise bet considering he plans to visit the Durham campus next month.

A finisher on one end and flyswatter on the other, four-star Duke basketball target Mark Williams may pick up the elusive fifth star before the end of his upcoming senior year.

Possibly preventing the 2020 center from further climbing the ranks in his class — he currently sits at No. 37 on the 247Sports Composite — are his limited hops, strength, and offensive weapons.

But there’s no questioning his passion as a player, his maturity as a person, his instincts in the paint on defense, his quick decisions with the ball on offense, and his 7-foot, 225-pound frame with a 7-foot-4 wingspan (for fans who have followed Duke for at least 20 years, imagine a more polished version of former Blue Devil big man Casey Sanders).

These qualities and measurements, along with the Blue Devils’ dire need for post-presence commitments in preparation for an expected exodus of bigs after next season, led to coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff showing decided interest in the Norfolk, Va., native (Norfolk Academy). They extended him an offer on April 28 and followed up with an in-home visit less than a week later.

Now, as he told Stockriser’s Jake Weingarten this week, Williams plans to take an official visit to the Durham campus sometime in August.

First, though, the younger brother of former Duke women’s basketball great Elizabeth Williams will cut his phone’s workload by cutting some of his suitors from the battle for his services. He informed Weingarten of his intention to put out a list of finalists soon after next weekend’s Peach Jam.

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Williams did not specify the expected length of the list (nor has he specified an exact time frame for making a final decision, but he has hinted at it coming either in the fall or winter).

Other than Duke — the overwhelming leader inside the Crystal Ball after 247Sports director of basketball scouting Jerry Meyer entered his pick on Friday — the top contenders to land on his list seem to be Stanford, N.C. State, UCLA, Ohio State, Virginia, and Georgetown.

As of Thursday, Duke’s 2020 class contains two commits: five-star small forward Jalen Johnson, who ranks No. 4, and five-star point guard Jeremy Roach, who ranks No. 18.

No other program has landed a single top-20 prospect to date.

ALSO READ: Jalen Johnson commits, echoes Dukies of yesteryear

Speaking of Johnson, the newest member of the Duke basketball family is already hard at work recruiting others to join him. According to Weingarten, “Johnson had an Instagram story [this week] where he tagged Williams and wrote, ‘You next.’”

The Blue Devils are also targeting five-star center Walker Kessler along with five-star point forward Cade Cunningham, five-star small forward Scottie Barnes, and five-star shooting guard B.J. Boston.

ALSO READ: Duke bags five-stars with bags of family promises

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