Duke basketball continues scorching summer recruiting trail

Duke basketball fans can keep on basking in what feels like the program’s hottest recruiting summer on record.

About this time a year ago, rejections from Duke basketball targets were about to begin piling up. Never this decade have Mike Krzyzewski and his staff had to wait longer to snag their first pledge than they did with the 2019 class (Wendell Moore finally ended the worries when he committed last October).

From freezing one summer to sizzling the next…

Looking ahead to this October, the Blue Devils’ bag of 2020 recruits will already for sure include five-stars Jeremy Roach and Jalen Johnson; the point guard and small forward announced in early May and early July, respectively. And the duo’s behind-the-scenes work will likely lead to at least a couple of their peers also declaring allegiance to #TheBrotherhood in time for the fall signing period (more on their efforts to come).

One rising junior plans to visit, one other lands a Duke offer

Also not out of the question before winter arrives is an early commit from a rising junior.

After already extending 2021 offers to four five-star forwards — Patrick Baldwin Jr., A.J. Griffin, Paolo Banchero, and Jonathan Kuminga — this week, Coach K extended his first to a guard.

Before getting to that, though, it’s worth mentioning a positive tidbit from the Banchero camp. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound beast of a power forward, who ranks No. 4 on the 247Sports Composite, told recruiting insider Jake Weingarten this week that he “definitely” wants to take an official visit to Duke.

Now, back to the latest Blue Devil offer: Max Christie, a 6-foot-6, 175-pounder who hails from Rolling Meadows on the outskirts of Chicago and ranks No. 13 on the composite, has drawn Duke interest across the past year and took an unofficial visit to watch Zion and Co. last season.

So the offer to Christie on Monday evening came as no surprise.

And it wouldn’t be much of a shock if Christie soon becomes the first piece to Duke’s 2021 puzzle. All three Crystal Ball picks at the moment — two came in since the announcement of the offer — peg him as a future Blue Devil.

It also doesn’t hurt that Coach K is a Chicago native and has regularly hauled in top recruits from his home state over the years — including Jabari Parker and Jahlil Okafor this decade. Furthermore, associate head coach Jon Scheyer — one of the nation’s hottest recruiters of late — grew up within 30 minutes of the shooting guard’s home and is leading the Blue Devils’ pursuit.

By spending a little more time in the weight room and cafeteria, Christie, who now holds 15 offers but has not scheduled any official visits nor provided a decision timeline, could become a stud at the college level and an eventual lottery pick.

Christie’s forte is his textbook stroke from beyond the arc. He’s particularly deadly as a spot-up shooter on the corners, but he also has the handles, length, and instincts to create his own shot from any spot.

Another Chicagoan plans to put out his first list

D.J. Steward, a four-star 2020 combo guard out of Chicago who picked up a Duke basketball offer a few weeks ago, tweeted on Monday his intention to announce his top eight schools on Aug. 1.

Luckily for the Blue Devils, the 6-foot-3, 175-pounder, who boasts a No. 27 composite ranking with a complete skill set on the perimeter, has already hinted at taking an official visit to Duke; plus, his Crystal Ball suggests he’ll play his college ball in Durham (all six picks to date are in agreement).

Steward has not said when he will make his final decision; meanwhile, Roach and Johnson are telling him the answer is simple…

Duke’s two 2020 commits keep finding ways to chip in

If Roach and Johnson have their way, after the early signing period in November, the Duke coaches will have no work left to do in compiling a 2020 class that must be six-to-eight deep — in order to replace an expected mass exodus from Durham after next season.

First, Johnson provided CBSSports’ Gary Parrish with the names of the guys he’s working on the most:

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"“I’ve been recruiting D.J. Steward, Mark Williams, Walker Kessler…Those are the main three. There’s a lot of recruiting going on here.”"

In addition to those three, Duke basketball offers are still on the table to five-star point forward Cade Cunningham, five-star small forward Ziaire Williams, and four-star power forward Henry Coleman. (Five-star shooting guard B.J. Boston became the first 2020 recruit with a Duke offer to commit elsewhere, picking Kentucky on Saturday — though only after the Blue Devils had pushed the brakes).

Johnson and Roach are also apparently discovering the power of a method that has become all the rave in recent years: group-texting. Here’s what Parrish wrote about that:

"“In fact, I’m told, there’s a group-text featuring possible future Blue Devils that’s super-active and likely to help produce another monster class for Mike Krzyzewski.”"

Considering the hot start to the 2020 class and the long hours that the Duke basketball coaches have spent blazing along the recruiting trail this summer, anything other than the program’s fifth No. 1 class in seven years would be a bit of a surprise.

And if all goes to plan — i.e., group-texts emerge next year — 2021 could make it six of eight.

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