Duke basketball: Coach K should look north for second 2022 offer

A lack of news involving Duke basketball and one burly recruit is puzzling.

Last week, Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his assistants handed out their first 2022 offer, officially joining the battle for Montverde (Fla.) small forward Caleb Houstan. As was the case with former one-and-done Blue Devil RJ Barrett, the five-star plays for Montverde (Fla.) and hails from Mississauga, Ont.; therefore, the staff in Durham might like its chances.

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But Houstan isn’t the only Canadian from the class who has received interest from Krzyzewski and his gang. And the other would seem to fill a more pressing potential need in the frontcourt considering the Blue Devils boast no commits from 2021 post prospects and are set to return one center at the most from the 2020-21 team.

That said, although George Harris (Mississauga) center Enoch Boakye started noticing attention from Duke months ago, no recruiting outlets have reported any recent contact between Coach K & Co. and the 6-foot-10, 240-pound bruiser.

That is noteworthy considering June 15 marked the date college programs could begin directly reaching out to rising juniors. Also worth mentioning, however, is that Houstan’s offer suddenly arrived despite his name not having been among the 11 who made insiders aware of calls from the Blue Devils that week. Plus, 247Sports still tags Boakye as a “high choice” target for Duke; in other words, news of a second 2022 offer from Coach K could come out of the blue.

After all, the manner in which Boakye faces up to beat defenders from the perimeter is a bit reminiscent of Vernon Carey Jr., who took home NABC National Freshman of the Year honors as a big man for the Blue Devils and is now likely to land in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft. Though still raw, the 17-year-old’s massive frame and solid footwork in the paint are also somewhat similar to Duke’s top rookie last season.

According to a take this week from Rivals analyst Eric Bossi, Boakye may not be getting the respect he deserves simply because he still plays north of the border:

“If Enoch Boakye was attending school in the States, he likely would be ranked somewhere in the top 50 range of our 2022 Rivals150. Still, we do have the Canadian as a four-star prospect and with good reason…Boakye is more put together like a rising college junior than high school junior. He plays physically in the post, has strong hands…doesn’t stray away from his sweet spot around the rim.”

Who the Duke basketball recruiters would face if they entered the race

Bossi also noted Boakye’s top suitors:

“Texas Tech and Wake Forest are his most recent offers while Arizona, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, UCLA, and others jumped into his recruitment during the winter.”

The 247Sports Crystal Ball for Boakye contains only one expert prediction, which sees him landing at Michigan State. Like Houstan, he has not ruled out the possibility of reclassifying to 2021.

Others on the 2022 Duke basketball radar are IMG (Fla.) guard Jaden Bradley, Baker (N.Y.) guard JJ Starling, Brentwood (Tenn.) guard Skyy Clark, Greenhill (Texas) guard Noah Shelby, Bishop Miege (Kan.) forward Mark Mitchell, Oak Hill (Va.) forward MJ Rice, Richardson (Texas) forward Rylan Griffen, West Side (Ind.) forward Jalen Washington, Windward (Calif.) forward Kijani Wright, Westtown (Pa.) center Dereck Lively, and Greenhill center Lee Dort.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting news and views.