Duke basketball: Newly minted five-star worth Blue Devils wait

The Duke basketball recruiters may have no option but to play the waiting game for a rising star they desperately need and are favorites to land.

Neither five-star point guard Jeremy Roach nor five-star small forward Jalen Johnson — Duke basketball’s 2020 class to date — is deadly from deep. And if the program loses Matthew Hurt to the NBA after the upcoming season, then Alex O’Connell and possibly Joey Baker would serve as the entire returning arsenal of first-class shooting.

Additionally, the Duke staff has only one offer out to an undecided 2020 backcourt prospect: Whitney Young (Ill.) combo guard D.J. Steward. (Duke’s offers at other positions are to five-star small forward Ziaire Williams, five-star center Walker Kessler, four-star center Mark Williams, and four-star power forward Henry Coleman.)

ALSO READ: Blue Devils in two-horse races for two 2020 targets

Fortunately, all six 247Sports Crystal Ball picks favor the Blue Devils to land Steward, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound native of Duke-hotbed Chicago who owns the necessary shooting form to carry a sizeable load from downtown for any squad.

Steward’s 247Sports 2020 Composite ranking — No. 25 and a newly minted five-star, as of Wednesday, after sitting outside the top 100 as late as May — is evidence the experts have now recognized he’s not just a spot-up option.

The 17-year-old has a knack for seamlessly shifting gears on his way to the rim, keeping defenders on their heels and subsequently creating space for his 3-point daggers (it’s not the quickest shot, but it is textbook and was good for a 38-for-97 clip across 16 Nike EYBL games this year).

Taking into account all of the above, it’s no wonder Mike Krzyzewski and all of his assistants showed up on Wednesday to watch and visit with Steward, who appears to perfectly fit the Duke basketball mold and would have the potential to become a centerpiece on the perimeter in Durham for multiple seasons.

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"“It was great,” Steward said to 247Sports’ Evan Daniels about talking to Coach K. “He brought in three other people from their staff just to show how big of a priority I was.“He said I was a big priority for the combo guard position for next year to come in and play alongside Jeremy Roach and Jalen Johnson. He was saying I could come in and score and fill it up right away because he knows Jeremy Roach is a great passer, Jalen Johnson is another great passer, and he says I’m very unselfish as well and a great teammate and we would fit together very well.”"

Steward, who admitted to being a fan of the Blue Devils after picking up an offer in July, obviously seems excited by all the attention. That being said, the Duke basketball coaches still have to beat out their peers from his other seven finalists: North Carolina, Texas, Louisville, DePaul, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa State. Texas is the only program to have either scheduled or hosted him for an official visit — last weekend — but most insiders point to Louisville as Duke’s top threat.

As for a timetable for a decision or more visits, it appears all his finalists may have to wait awhile — possibly until as late as spring.

"“I’m just trying to take it easy and taking in the recruiting process,” Steward explained to Daniels. “I am taking a closer look into the schools and just making sure wherever I go is a great fit for me, so right now I don’t have a timetable for when I will commit.”"

What the uncertainty potentially means for the Blue Devils is having to hold off on offering other heralded 2020 recruits at Steward’s position, thereby risking not hauling in a superb shooting guard at all (not to mention a worthy option at point guard for whenever Roach is on the bench).

ALSO READ: Duke’s options quickly shrinking for 2020 class

Understandably, though, Coach K and Co. must believe the growing prize Steward could provide is well worth the wait.

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