New Duke basketball offer comes with giant implication

A Canadian post prospect now officially has the option to become the final piece to the next wave of Duke basketball freshmen.

Andrews Osborne Academy (Ohio) junior center Charles Bediako announced via tweet late Monday evening his scholarship offer from Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Then, per Rivals’ Corey Evans, the 6-foot-11, 220-pound four-star confirmed that the invite to become a Blue Devil is valid for either 2020 or 2021.

The fact that Bediako, who ranks No. 39 on the 247Sports 2021 Composite, turns 18 in March suggests a reclass to 2020 is probable. Age aside, though, the Greater Toronto Area native pointed out to Phenom Hoops Report in November the primary factor in his future decision:

"“Some schools have been asking me if I am going to reclass to 2020 or stay in 2021, and I just simply tell them I kind of want to wait until after the season. And depending on how the season goes, I should probably know my answer from there.”"

Bediako could be the answer to Krzyzewski’s apparent need for one more big man to join his current 2020 signees: point guard Jeremy Roach, combo guard D.J. Steward, small forward Jalen Johnson, power forward Henry Coleman, power forward Jaemyn Brakefield, and center Mark Williams.

ALSO READ: Stacking up Duke’s six 2020 signees

Also, the decision by Krzyzewski and his assistants — Jon Scheyer led the scouting effort — to publicly enter the race for Bediako at this juncture implies they now see no chance of landing four-star 2020 giant Hunter Dickinson.

After all, considering Dickinson plans to choose between finalists Duke, Michigan, Florida State, and Notre Dame before the new year, if the Duke coaches were still holding out hope, then they likely wouldn’t have risked scaring off the 7-foot-2, 260-pound four-star beforehand by extending an offer to Bediako.

So what would Bediako potentially bring to Durham next season should he decide to reclass and commit to the Blue Devils? Well, here’s how his high school coach, Dave Briski, described the budding talent to Cleveland.com back in October:

"“He’s a special talent because Charles learns quickly and gets better every day. And that’s really, really hard to do. It’s hard to give a player a teaching point and then for them to immediately put it into practice. And he’s able to do that…His trajectory is scary.”"

And here’s what teammate Meechie Johnson added about Bediako’s game:

"“Every college coach that has come in here [has said] that he will be an NBA player. And that’s not just me saying that. I’m talking about Duke, Florida…a lot of schools have been in here, and they see the potential in him. He can block shots, he runs the floor, he has a crazy motor. He controls his own destiny.”"

The Crystal Ball for Bediako, who holds less than a dozen offers, consists of two picks for Alabama and now one for Duke. Finally, here’s what he said to ZAGSBLOG’s Ryan McMullen after his chat with Coach K on Monday:

"“I know that Duke has a great basketball program. A lot of great players came from there. I like the tradition about how each player is in it for the team.”"

With no scheduled official visits and seemingly no hurry to end the recruiting process, Bediako likely won’t decide before spring whether or not he will join next year’s Duke basketball team.

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