Rather than fuel the speculation that recruiting insiders are always digging for, one potential Duke basketball star is fueling his own joy by embracing his final year(s) as a high schooler.
The Patrick School (N.J.) junior small forward Jonathan Kuminga comes across in his interviews as totally disinterested in answering questions about his future — even though the Duke basketball target already looks ready to rake in millions with his craft.
Kudos to Kuminga for this, for living in the present is what the most successful athletes typically point to as one of the primary keys to their successes.
The 6-foot-9, 220-pound five-star — who ranks No. 1 on the 247Sports 2021 Composite and picked up a Duke basketball offer after taking Peach Jam by storm in July — has neither named finalists nor scheduled any official visits. And as Kuminga has reiterated time and again, he’s still open to any program that chooses to pursue him.
"“Everybody’s still recruiting me,” the17-year-old told recruiting insider Adam Zagoria over the weekend. “I’m just going to wait until I make the right decision, I don’t know when.”"
And while some coaches and fanbases are hoping he will reclass — this would probably no longer work for Mike Krzyzewski and his assistants as they are already in position for a full 2020 class as it is — his current head coach implied this and all the other recruiting questions are the farthest thoughts from his mind right now.
"“He hasn’t given an inclination,” Chris Chavannes explained to Zagoria about his prized player’s answer to the reclass question. “He’s got the pressure of whether to reclass up and all this other stuff and he just wants to be a kid every day. That’s all he wants. He’s just taking it one day at a time.”"
Of course, as Zagoria points out, because Kuminga will turn 19 within the 2021 calendar year, he could potentially petition to be eligible for the 2021 NBA Draft and bypass college altogether (however, he’d likely have to prove that he had fulfilled all his high school credits by the end of this school year because the other requirement to entering the league is being one year removed from one’s high school graduation).
Taking all this into account — on top of the fact that Kentucky head coach John Calipari seems to be his most active suitor and visited his school again on Wednesday, per a tweet from Stock Risers’ Jake Weingarten — the chance of Duke reeling in Kuminga continues to look less and less likely.
ALSO READ: Duke losing ground to Kentucky for No. 1 recruit?
That being said, of the only two Crystal Ball picks that are in at the moment, one pegs Kuminga as a future Blue Devil (the other favors LSU). But keep in mind the predictions may be baseless considering the shortage of hints coming from the phenom’s camp.
If the Blue Devils were to somehow win the battle, though, then they would be receiving what appears to be the definition of a five-tool weapon (speed, shooting, defense, strength, and length). A sixth tool is his handles. A seventh is his vision. And the eighth, similar to Duke basketball legend Zion Williamson, is his supercharged motor on both ends of the floor.
ALSO READ: Where does Zion rank among 100 greatest to play for Coach K?
For those readers who have the time for one of the most spectacular prep shows, all the signs of a generational talent are within this 13-minute highlight reel:
The other 2021 prospects with Duke basketball offers at the moment are also all five-stars: small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., small forward A.J. Griffin, power forward Paolo Banchero, and shooting guard Max Christie. Both Griffin and Banchero were in attendance at Countdown to Craziness on Oct. 18, but no commitments from the class have yet to roll in for the Blue Devils.
ALSO READ: Five-star point guard still awaits dream offer from Duke
Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting updates, analyses, opinions, and predictions.