A Duke basketball target said he will be on hand to witness this season’s first round of the college game’s greatest rivalry.
Briarcrest Christian (Tenn.) point guard Kennedy Chandler, who received a Duke basketball offer last week, has already either taken or scheduled all five of his allotted official visits for his junior year (he’ll travel to Florida State and then Michigan in February after having traveled to Tennessee, Syracuse, and Ole Miss during the fall).
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And though the 6-foot-1, 165-pound five-star has not yet planned so much as an unofficial visit to Duke — which he tagged as his “dream school” to 247Sports — he informed Hoop Seen over the weekend of his intention to watch the Blue Devils when they head eight miles down Tobacco Road:
"“On February 8th, I’ll be at North Carolina for an unofficial visit in their game against Duke.”"
The Tar Heels officially entered the race for Chandler — he ranks No. 15 on the 247Sports 2021 Composite with a similar quickness and craftiness to Duke basketball alum Chris Duhon — a few weeks earlier than the Blue Devils. Unlike UNC head coach Roy Williams, who visited the Memphis native at his school last Thursday, Mike Krzyzewski has thus far only sent his assistants (Hoop Seen reported one was at his game on Friday).
As for the one coach the Blue Devils must always watch out for on the recruiting trail, Kentucky’s John Calipari hasn’t yet delivered an offer to Chandler but has visited him in person on multiple occasions, including Friday.
While the heralded floor general has neither named finalists nor hinted at a decision timeline — and has a Crystal Ball still void of picks — the top contenders are likely those that have or will host him for an official visit in addition to the blue-bloods.
Moreover, Chandler has been forthcoming about potentially teaming up in college with O’Dea (Wash.) five-star 2021 power forward Paolo Banchero, who took an official visit to Durham the weekend of Oct. 18 and attended Countdown to Craziness. Therefore, one could surmise his leading suitors are those among his buddy’s nine finalists: Duke, UNC, Tennessee, Memphis, and — should Calipari come off with an offer to Chandler — Kentucky.
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The Blue Devils boast the nation’s only five-star 2021 commit at the moment in Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) small forward A.J. Griffin. However, as he is Duke’s lone commit, the class currently ranks No. 3, per 247Sports, behind Wisconsin and Ohio State.
Other juniors holding Duke offers are Rolling Meadows (Ill.) five-star shooting guard Max Christie, Paul VI Catholic (Va.) four-star shooting guard Trevor Keels, The Patrick School (N.J.) five-star small forward Jonathan Kuminga, Hamilton (Wis.) five-star small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., and Andrews Osborne Academy (Ohio) four-star center Charles Bediako.
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Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting updates, analyses, opinions, and predictions.