VIP guest to attend Duke basketball home opener
By Matt Giles
When the Duke basketball squad makes its official home debut, one recent pledge plans to be behind the bench.
The early signing period for the 2020 class is now only a week away (Nov. 13-21). Assuming none of the current Duke basketball commits get cold feet, the six signees — seven if DeMatha Catholic (Md.) center Hunter Dickinson was to join the group within the next week and a half — would destroy any previous program records for pre-Christmas signatures.
And considering Huntington Prep (W.Va.) power forward Jaemyn Brakefield verbally joined #TheBrotherhood on Oct. 4 despite having never before visited, his official visit beginning Friday — recruiting insider Jake Weingarten broke the news on Thursday — is obviously important.
Granted, the 6-foot-9, 215-pound four-star (No. 38 on the 247Sports 2020 Composite) was at Countdown to Craziness on Oct. 18 during an unofficial visit.
But not only should this trip help further seal the deal — not to imply it necessarily needs any sealing — but it will also allow the 18-year-old to see firsthand over the course of an entire weekend exactly what it is he is about to sign up for.
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As part of the inside tour of his future home, Brakefield will experience an actual game inside Cameron Indoor Stadium when No. 4 Duke faces Colorado State on Friday night at 7 p.m. EST (on the ACC Network). As a bonus, the experience coincides with the official season debut of the Cameron Crazies.
Plus, with the squad returning from a 68-66 win over No. 3 Kansas in the season opener inside Madison Square Garden from Tuesday night, Brakefield will feel what it sounds like when the Crazies welcome home winners who, barring a loss, should sit at No. 2 or No. 1 in the country by Monday.
What the student section can expect to see up close for the first time next year includes the versatile game of Brakefield, a Nike EYBL teammate of five-star small forward and fellow 2020 Duke commit Jalen Johnson.
At first glance, Brakefield’s play brings to mind former Duke basketball one-and-done Justise Winslow. To go along with his more-than-adequate strength and athleticism, the future Blue Devil can handle the ball and make shots from the perimeter in addition to contributing down low with his decent selection of back-to-the-basket moves and right-place-right-time rebounding instincts.
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As Duke was battling Kansas on Tuesday night, per Weingarten, Brakefield was putting his lack of a consensus fifth star into question by scoring 40 points from an insanely efficient 18-for-21 clip from the field during the second game of his senior season (he has scored 61 points across the two contests).
In addition to Brakefield and Johnson, the other freshmen who plan to delight the crowd in Durham next season are five-star point guard Jeremy Roach, five-star combo guard D.J. Steward, four-star power forward Henry Coleman, and four-star center Mark Williams.
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Dickinson — whose announcement should come any day now — is currently the only uncommitted 2020 prospect holding a Duke basketball offer.
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