If one prognosticator’s recent visions play out in a similar way to most of his others, then the Duke basketball program should surpass Kentucky within the next few weeks for the nation’s top 2020 class.
Final predictions from Evan Daniels, who is batting 25-for-25 inside the 2020 Crystal Ball, almost always signal an announcement is close at hand. Therefore, the 247Sports recruiting insider’s latest two picks for Duke basketball targets point to a booming class on the horizon in Durham.
At the beginning of September, a couple of days after Trinity Episcopal School (Va.) power forward Henry Coleman returned from his official visit to Duke, Daniels put his chips on the Blue Devils to land the 6-foot-7, 220-pound four-star.
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On Monday, Coleman set an announcement date: Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m. EST from his high school. Now, all 12 Crystal Ball picks peg Duke to beat out fellow finalists Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Michigan, and Ohio State for the 247Sports 2020 Composite’s No. 40 prospect — whose game and frame fit the same mold as former Duke basketball stalwarts Brian Davis, Nate James, and Amile Jefferson.
On Tuesday, Daniels whetted Blue Devil appetites once again by stamping his name on Duke to be the college choice for Whitney Young (Ill.) combo guard D.J. Steward, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound five-star who ranks No. 26 with his sweet stroke from downtown and a trustworthy skillset that brings to mind Duke basketball alum Daniel Ewing.
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Minutes after Daniels officially made his selection for the Chicago native, national recruiting analyst Josh Gershon also picked the Blue Devils, the ninth such pick. No 247Sports experts see Steward, who took an official visit to Duke last weekend, choosing any of his other finalists: North Carolina, DePaul, Louisville, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, and Texas. No more official visits are on his calendar, so an announcement may come any day now.
By the end of this month, if both Coleman and Steward have joined #TheBrotherhood while Kentucky has not added any more pieces to the nation’s current No. 1 class, Duke should once again sit atop the 247Sports 2020 Team Rankings.
Factoring in the individual rankings of Coleman, Steward, and the two commits to date — five-star small forward Jalen Johnson (No. 6) and five-star point guard Jeremy Roach (No. 20) — what would be the Blue Devils’ four-deep class would have an average ranking of 23.0, compared to 23.5 for Kentucky’s four commits.
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Additionally, the Crystal Ball shows the Blue Devils hauling in their two offered 2020 centers, five-star Walker Kessler and four-star Mark Williams, who both are looking to announce sometime between now and the early signing period in November (Kessler was in Durham for an official visit two weekends ago, and Williams is set to begin his Duke visit on Nov. 1).
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The only other senior holding a Duke basketball offer is five-star small forward Ziaire Williams, who will likely sign in the spring. By that time, the Blue Devils should only require the finishing touches to what could become the fifth No. 1 class since 2014 to flood Durham.
Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting updates, analyses, opinions, and predictions.