Duke basketball: Five-star’s class decision suits Blue Devils

A top prospect’s choice to stay put in his current class should appeal to the Duke basketball staff.

Natural court aptitude and a wealth of talent entitle Devin Askew to receive an offer from any blue-blood. However, adding the 6-foot-3, 195-pound 17-year-old to Duke basketball’s 2020 class would have potentially been problematic.

Although the crop of Blue Devils arriving in Durham the season after next needs to be deep, Mike Krzyzewski has already nabbed a commitment from his handpicked point guard: Jeremy Roach, a five-star who ranks No. 18 on the 247Sports Composite, will arrive in the fall of 2020 as the replacement for Tre Jones (assuming Jones is in the NBA by then).

No worries. The pledge from Roach, who has a legit shot to be a first-round pick after one college season, should no longer significantly impact whether a Duke offer goes out to Askew — a 2021 five-star who checks all the boxes for a pure point guard but still has “combo guard” next to his name on some sites.

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See, Askew no longer appears to be in any hurry to finish high school.

"“I talked to my parents, my coaches, my trainers, and I’m not [considering reclassing to 2020] anymore,” Askew told 247Sports’ Evan Daniels this week. “There’s no rush. Although I feel like I can go to the next level earlier and play, why not just use that year to develop and get better and mature a little bit?“I’m still a kid.”"

He’s a California kid (Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana) on most everyone’s radar. He’s a kid who figures to soon see a bump to his No. 16 ranking on the 2021 composite.

He’s a kid with offers flooding in — though the two biggest blue waves haven’t hit him just yet.

"“I want to say almost every school other than Duke or UNC has hit me,” Askew added. “I never knew; like as a kid, I thought I would get like [an offer from] Pepperdine, but seeing where I’m at now, it’s like the sky is the limit.”"

Can’t speak for the Tar Heels — only easily brainwashed folks can — but the Blue Devils don’t seem anywhere near their limit of 2021 offers; none of the four incoming Duke basketball freshmen are likely to still be in town for the 2021-22 season, and neither Roach nor fellow five-star 2020 commit Jalen Johnson figure to be either.

The list of invites from Coach K to rising high school juniors currently only consists of four of the most tantalizing five-star forwards: Jonathan Kuminga, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Paolo Banchero, and A.J. Griffin.

Speaking of tantalizing, though, Rivals’ Eric Bossi and Corey Evans tagged Askew as “The Competitor” of all the competitors at the USA Basketball camp in Colorado over the weekend. The recognition came after the kid led his makeshift team to a camp championship.

Here’s how the expert duo described his play:

"“You’re not going to see more fire from a prospect than what you get with Devin Askew. Quickly becoming one of the most targeted prospects nationally, Askew is not just a complete playmaker but also one of the most competitive and tough guards that you’ll come across. He is vocal, engaged and involved on each and every possession and it clearly shows on the scoreboard…”"

Also catching experts’ eyes are Askew’s splashes from deep, which he put on full display over the past few months via a 41-for-99 clip across his 20 Nike EYBL games (he averaged 16.3 points for his TeamWhyNot at Peach Jam earlier this month).

And the Duke basketball staff was in Colorado Springs with an eye on Askew for at least part of last weekend, per recruiting insider Andrew Slater.

But will Askew’s increasingly impressive outings be enough to eventually land his name on Coach K’s offer sheet?

Tough to see why they wouldn’t be.

Askew’s latest offer came from Kentucky on Saturday. He has only scheduled one visit: to Louisville in September (the 247Sports Crystal Ball has the Cardinals leading the race, but only one expert has entered a pick).

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