Duke basketball swooping in late for five-star UNC target?

The Duke basketball staff may give its rival new competition for a recruit.

At the moment, St. Mark’s (Texas) small forward Harrison Ingram has North Carolina as the only bonafide blueblood among his top 10, which also includes Arkansas, Baylor, Louisville, Memphis, Michigan, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. However, per Rivals insider Corey Evans, the five-star rising senior could soon make room for the Duke basketball program.

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Seeing that the 6-foot-7, 210-pound Dallas native named his finalists more than two months ago, Mike Krzyzewski and his assistants would be noticeably late to the game should they decide to extend an offer. On the other hand, the Blue Devils might like their chances if the tidbit about Ingram’s childhood fandom that Evans noted is genuine:

“While Duke is not even among Ingram’s final 10, the Blue Devils have begun to pick up interest in him in recent weeks. If an offer is handed out, the Blue Devils might instantly become the favorite. Duke was Ingram’s dream school growing up, and we should know fairly soon Duke’s intent…If the Blue Devils were to actually want him, an offer would then be handed out by the end of the month. If not, it would give his finalists a better chance.”

Interesting, indeed. Also, even without an official invite to join #TheBrotherhood on the table, Evans ranked Duke as the No. 5 contender in the race behind Stanford, Purdue, UNC, and Michigan. Meanwhile, the 247Sports Crystal Ball also shows the Cardinal as the frontrunner, though only one expert there has entered a prediction.

So what does the potential Duke basketball target have to offer?

Ingram — no relation to former Duke one-and-done Brandon Ingram — sits No. 15 overall on the 247Sports 2021 Composite and No. 1 among Texans. Here’s the recent scouting report on the no-flash-required bucket-getter via national recruiting analyst Brian Snow:

“A unique prospect with what many would describe as an ‘old man’ type of game…one of the most intelligent kids in the country, both on the court and off of it…kind of a point forward who uses savvy, skill, and intelligence to dominate games…can play on the ball or off of it, knows how to create space for himself by changing speeds, and is one of the better passers in the class…despite not being a fantastic athlete, Ingram is a very solid rebounder and competes on the defensive end.”

If Harrison Ingram is to soon land a Duke basketball offer, then he will join five other five-stars from his class who are still weighing the Durham route for college: point guard Kennedy Chandler, shooting guard Trevor Keels, small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., power forward Paolo Banchero, and center Charles Bediako.

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To date, five-star small forward AJ Griffin is the lone 2021 commit for the Blue Devils.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Harrison Ingram plus other Duke basketball recruiting news and views.