Duke basketball’s magnetism regularly attracts recruits from the other side of the country, but the word on the recruiting trail is one coveted Californian strongly values closeness to home.
Glass-half-full Duke basketball fans will find pleasure from speculation that North Carolina is on the wrong coast to snag a five-star who has both the Tar Heels and Blue Devils among his seven finalists.
Of course, pessimistic Dukies will quickly point out Mike Krzyzewski and his staff face the same 2,500 miles of problems in the recruitment of Sierra Canyon (Los Angeles) small forward Ziaire Williams.
According to Rivals recruiting insider Eric Bossi, the other five programs still in the hunt — Stanford, UCLA, Arizona, Southern Cal, and Oregon — hold what may prove an insurmountable West Coast advantage.
"“At the end of the summer, I heard a lot of talk that Williams will be really tough to pull off the West Coast,” Bossi wrote, “and not to sleep on Arizona.”"
On the other hand, Bossi suggested that even though he currently sees Stanford as the ultimate winner, either the consistent recruitment from UNC or the potency of the Duke basketball brand could force the 6-foot-8, 190-pound Slim Jim to forget about the distance from home.
"“During the winter, it seemed to be cut and dry that Williams would end up at either Stanford or UNC,” Bossi explained, “but things have gotten much more complicated…UNC still has a great chance, and the Duke offer could change things. I’m still going give a slight edge to Stanford because of the early relationship it built, but it is in for a major fight.”"
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Closely reflecting Bossi’s thinking is the 247Sports Crystal Ball: UNC and Stanford each boast 43 percent of the experts’ picks while Duke accounts for the remaining 14 percent. The experts’ current predictions make sense considering Williams, who ranks No. 5 on the 247Sports Composite, took official visits to only UNC and Stanford last season and has not yet scheduled any for the fall — suggesting he’s not rushing the recruiting process.
If Coach K — a late entry to the race with his offer to Williams in July — does manage to pull off the come-from-behind upset, then he would be the beneficiary of a polished piece of basketball artwork.
Williams, who attends the same prep powerhouse as former Duke basketball stud Marvin Bagley III and current Blue Devils freshman Cassius Stanley, has all the makings of a future lottery pick: long limbs, advanced footwork, elite handles, clear court vision, a quick bounce, a silky pull-up jumper extending beyond the arc, and ample fuel to impact both ends of the floor.
A gem.
The list of 2020 Duke basketball commits already consists of two five-star gems: point guard Jeremy Roach and small forward Jalen Johnson. And besides Williams, the 2020 prospects remaining at the center of the staff’s radar are five-star center Walker Kessler, four-star center Mark Williams, four-star power forward Henry Coleman, and four-star combo guard D.J. Steward.
ALSO READ: Five signs Walker Kessler commits to Duke
Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting updates, analyses, opinions, and predictions.