Competitors could deem as an unfair advantage the Duke basketball staff’s behind-the-scenes recruiting hands this week.
Two words to describe the Duke basketball program’s uniquely advantageous position at Peach Jam starting Wednesday:
Just peachy.
As the granddaddy of Nike EYBL showcases, taking place in North Augusta, S.C., where many of the nation’s top four- and five-star rising juniors and seniors gather every summer, Peach Jam has become the site in recent years of commitments, shortened lists, and the likes.
It is a seedbed for players to further grow their names, recruiting gurus to further grow their rankings, and college coaches to further grow their recruiting classes.
As for what all this means for Duke — the only school at the moment with any commitments from any of the 2020 class’ 20 best prospects on the 247Sports Composite, and it has two — well, let’s just say Blue Devil fans should like the aftermath.
Here’s the reason: the existence of insider recruiting from a couple of friendly talents whom other talents seem to like the thought of playing alongside.
Jalen Johnson — a 6-foot-8, 215-pound small forward who boasts a No. 4 composite ranking and is the closest thing to Blue Devil legend Grant Hill since, well, Grant Hill — will be at the five-day event playing for Phenom University (Wisc.), fresh off his verbal commitment to Duke last week.
ALSO READ: Jalen Johnson commits, echoes Blue Devils of yesteryear
Another of Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski’s five-star hauls may also be present. However, solid-in-all-aspects point guard Jeremy Roach, who ranks No. 18 and gifted the Blue Devils with their first 2020 pledge in early May, is in the final stage of recovering from an ACL tear to his right knee last November and would only be there to support his Team Takeover (D.C.) teammates.
Of course, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Virginia native would also likely spend some time pitching in on Duke’s recruiting efforts by continuing to pitch an idea of joining forces with others to maximize the chance of winning a national championship as Blue Devils come the 2020-21 season.
More power to him, indeed.
According to past comments from both Roach and Johnson, last summer they began discussing the possibility of teaming up in college with one another as well as a couple of others on Coach K and Co.’s radar.
ALSO READ: Jalen Johnson admits package deal is possible
Luckily, those couple of others just so happen to be among the 10 best 2020 prospects in the country — shooting guard B.J. Boston (No. 10 composite ranking) and small forward Scottie Barnes (No. 6) — and have each expressed, via their lists of four and eight, respectively, a definite interest in joining #TheBrotherhood.
Based on the 247Sports Crystal Ball, the battle for Boston, a 6-foot-7, 185-pound gunner from Atlanta who resembles former one-and-done Dukie Brandon Ingram and will be playing for the AOT Running Rebels (Ga.), is a battle either Kentucky or Duke will win.
The advantage goes to Duke, per this Ball Durham writer, based on Johnson and Roach being Boston’s ideal complements. Both Johnson and Roach are known primarily as facilitators on offense; Boston, meanwhile, is straight buckets.
In other words, “Johnson out to Boston for three” or “Roach to a cutting Boston for the floater” are phrases Duke fans can hope to hear the season after next.
Also, the timing of Peach Jam is perfect as Boston could announce his college choice at any moment (it will likely come before summer’s end at the latest).
ALSO READ: Don’t count out Coach K to land B.J. Boston
Barnes, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound hoss of a forward playing for Nightrydas Elite (Fla.) this week, has said he has no intentions of committing to a school until next spring.
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If he does ultimately pick Duke, though, then his ability to muscle his way into the lane for layups would make the 1-2 punch of himself and an oft-driving Johnson intimidating to defenders. Speaking of defenders, Barnes is relentless on that end and would combine with a notably pesty Roach to wreak havoc on ACC offenses.
Only two Crystal Ball picks are in for Barnes, indicating nobody yet has a clue where he’ll end up.
The other 2020 recruits Johnson and Roach will likely strike up come-to-Duke conversations with are five-star point forward Cade Cunningham and four-star center Mark Williams, who each hold an offer from Krzyzewski & Sons.
Cunningham, the hottest name on the recruiting circuit at the moment who will lace up for Texas Titans this week as the No. 2 prospect in his class, recently listed Duke among his top 10 and will likely announce his final five later this month and his final decision in the fall. Though he likes to play point guard, he has said he would accept being a secondary ball-handler in college, potentially making him a suitable running mate for Roach.
Williams, a 7-foot shot-blocking post presence who ranks No. 37 and is a piece the Blue Devils desperately need to help fill a 2020-21 roster likely to lack any returning big men, has said he will soon announce his finalists and plans to take an official visit to Duke in August (he will likely make up his mind on a college in the fall but has said he may wait as far out as winter).
The brother to former Duke women’s basketball star Elizabeth Williams, the younger Williams sibling will play for Boo Williams (Va.) this week.
The only 2020 prospect holding a Duke offer who won’t be at Peach Jam is five-star center Walker Kessler, a 7-footer from Georgia who ranks No. 16 and has a far greater set of skills on offense than Williams but may not be quite the same level of a defender.
ALSO READ: Blue Devils closing in quick on Walker Kessler
But wait, the recruiting task at hand for Johnson and Roach doesn’t end there. There are a few early Duke targets in the 2021 class who will be at Peach Jam and should receive an earful from Johnson and Roach about the benefits of #TheBrotherhood.
And here they are…
2021 Duke targets at Peach Jam
Playing on the same team as Johnson is the No. 1 player from the 2021 class, small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., a gem who appears to have spent more time in the gym than any of his peers; plus, he has the athleticism and length to go along with his skills — a.k.a., a deadly combination.
The Crystal Ball’s two picks for the 6-foot-8, 190-pound Baldwin Jr., who last summer became the youngest prospect to ever receive an offer from Coach K, suggest Duke is the early leader.
ALSO READ: Top 2021 prospect could cap off Coach K’s career
Also holding an early Blue Devil offer is 6-foot-7, 200-pound five-star small forward A.J. Griffin, who looks to put his heady, polished game — known as an elite playmaking athlete who is also a strong, willing defender — on full display for the PSA Cardinals (N.Y.).
ALSO READ: Gifted 15-year-old treasures Duke offer, plans to visit
Finally, two others who could soon become the next 2021 five-stars to receive an open invitation to become Duke basketball players will be in North Augusta this week:
- Shooting guard Terrence Clarke, a 6-foot-7, 185-pounder who ranks No. 3 and whose length, creative array of moves, and high-energy motor allow him to shine for Expressions Elite (Mass.)
- Power forward Paolo Banchero, a 6-foot-9, 235-pounder who ranks No. 4 and whose basketball IQ, tenacity on both ends, and bullish-yet-refined post moves make him an asset for Seattle Rotary (Wash.)
Yes, whether all the programs taking a backseat to Duke in recruiting as of late like it or not, the unprecedented advantage of having two friendly five-star pledges fueling Duke’s recruiting efforts this week will almost certainly eventually lead to several more music-to-Blue-Devil-ears announcements from 2020 five-stars.
ALSO READ: Duke staff bags recruits with bags of family promises
And probably a few from 2021 studs down the road as well.
Just peachy.
Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting updates, analyses, opinions, and predictions.