Duke basketball picks reclass candidate for first 2022 offer

What is technically a 2022 Duke basketball offer could instead be for 2021.

Surprisingly, across the 11 days since college coaches could begin directly contacting 2022 recruits, no outlets have reported any calls from the Duke basketball staff to Montverde Academy (Fla.) small forward Caleb Houstan. Evidently, though, Mike Krzyzewski and his assistants have been zeroing in on the 6-foot-8, 200-pound five-star all along.

On Friday, Rivals insider Corey Evans tweeted that Duke, Alabama, and Gonzaga all recently extended offers to Houstan. So unless any secret Blue Devil offers are out there, this news gives the No. 7 overall prospect on the 247Sports 2022 Composite the distinction as Coach K’s first bonafide target from his class.

However, as Evans noted in May, “Houstan could soon reclassify into the 2021 class, a decision that is expected to be made by the end of the summer.” The Canadian turned 17 in January, meaning he would be 20 by the middle of his potential one-and-done season should he opt to stay put in 2022. Granted, NBA-bound guard Cassius Stanley was that age for his entire 2019-20 freshman campaign at Duke.

Of course, Houstan’s advanced game suggests he’s ready to take on high-level NCAA competition as it is. Here’s some recent hype from Evans:

“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…solid mental makeup and growing pedigree.”

What a Caleb Houstan reclass could point to inside Duke basketball minds

If the recruiters in Durham do indeed foresee a reclass from Houstan, then that would imply — adding the recent interest in French prospect Ousmane Dieng — they aren’t as confident as they once seemed in their chances to snag some longtime 2021 targets on the wing. Three such five-stars on Duke’s radar are Hamilton (Wis.) small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., Paul VI Catholic (Va.) shooting guard Trevor Keels, and Rolling Meadow (Ill.) shooting guard Max Christie.

ALSO READ: Four 2021 recruits who look like future Blue Devils

Meanwhile, Houstan has neither named finalists nor scheduled any official visits. Plus, his 247Sports Crystal Ball remains void of any predictions. Other notable suitors include North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee, and Texas.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Caleb Houstan and other Duke basketball recruiting news and views.