Duke basketball: Did Blue Devils avoid sudden cuts from 2020 center?

The Duke basketball coaches are counting on commitments from a couple of 2020 big men, and the tallest kid on their wishlist just made further cuts.

As a four-star closing in on a fifth star — and considering Duke basketball’s dire need to add post pieces to its 2020 class — IMG Academy (Fla.) center Mark Williams is one of the Blue Devils’ most important targets.

Fortunately for Mike Krzyzewski and his staff, following some sudden adjustments by Williams to what was a list of seven finalists, the Blue Devils are not only still in contention, but they are also overwhelming favorites. According to a tweet on Wednesday from ESPN’s Paul Biancardi, the 7-foot-1, 225-pound Virginia native’s father, Alex, said his son is now only considering five schools: Duke, UCLA, Ohio State, Michigan, and Stanford.

So a week after adding late-to-offer Michigan to his list, Williams — the younger brother of former Duke women’s basketball great Elizabeth Williams — has now apparently dropped Georgetown, N.C. State, and Virginia Tech.

By recently adding a dependable 15-footer and further proving he’s among the most elite shot-blockers in his class, Williams has steadily climbed to his current No. 34 ranking on the 247Sports Composite.

The Blue Devils are set to host Williams for an official visit starting on Nov. 1 — likely to be his last visit before announcing his college choice in time for the early signing period (Nov. 13-20). He visited UCLA last weekend and will be at Ohio State the weekend of Oct. 4 (he has no other planned visits at the moment).

Six of the seven experts to have entered predictions into the 247Sports Crystal Ball see Williams as a future Duke basketball player. The other pick favors Stanford. As of late, though, talk has been swirling about UCLA and Michigan serving as the top threats to the Blue Devils.

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Coach K and his cohorts currently hold 2020 commitments from five-star small forward Jalen Johnson, who will be recruiting Williams as his teammate at IMG Academy this season, and five-star point guard Jeremy Roach. They are still waiting on answers to their offers to Williams, five-star center Walker Kessler, five-star small forward Ziaire Williams, four-star power forward Henry Coleman, and four-star combo guard D.J. Steward.

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