Duke basketball: Five-star reclass candidate receives Blue Devil attention

While the Duke basketball recruiters have yet to make much of a splash in the deep pool of 2022 prospects, they are now apparently in contact with a Canadian who could graduate a year early.

There’s a versatile five-star out of Mississauga, Canada, who now attends Montverde Academy in Florida. Sound familiar? It should. If this was 2018, all that would exactly describe RJ Barrett, who went on to average 22.6 points as a Duke basketball one-and-done before going No. 3 overall at the 2019 NBA Draft to the New York Knicks.

Per Rivals recruiting insider Corey Evans, the coaches in Durham are now eyeing the present-day high school sophomore who checks those boxes. Plus, small forward Caleb Houstan, who ranks No. 9 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, is reportedly considering a reclass up a grade level, which would give his journey yet another similarity to that of Barrett.

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The 6-foot-8, 200-pound sharpshooter already has offers from Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Seton Hall, Tennessee, Texas Tech, and Virginia. Evans outlined why the growing attention from high-major programs makes sense:

“Houstan is a reflection of all that one looks for in a new-age forward: he is a supreme jump shooter that can hit off of the spot-up, running off a variety of screens, and out of the mid-range pull-up. Thanks to his solid mental makeup and growing pedigree, Houstan’s offer list has nearly hit double figures.”

Evans also noted that Houstan, who turned 17 years old in January, will wait until after summer to further explore the possibility of making next season his last at the prep level.

Currently, no 2022 recruits hold Duke basketball offers, but according to 247Sports, the Blue Devils are “interested” in three five-star talents: center Jalen Duren, who recently announced his transfer to Montverde, plus Cannon School (N.C.) point guard Jaden Bradley and Durham Academy (N.C.) small forward MJ Rice.

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As for the 2021 class — should Caleb Houstan be serious about making the move — Duke landed a commitment from Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) five-star small forward AJ Griffin six months ago. Also, Mike Krzyzewski has extended offers to two others at the same position: Hamilton (Wis.) five-star Patrick Baldwin Jr. and The Patrick School (N.J.) five-star Jonathan Kuminga.

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