Duke basketball target Patrick Baldwin Jr. returns to where he belongs

Duke basketball eyes have always seen Patrick Baldwin Jr. as the top prize.

One way to look at the Wednesday evening news from five-star small forward Jonathan Kuminga is that the Duke basketball recruiters are suddenly the leaders for the No. 1 recruit in the 2021 class.

Kuminga, the former No. 1 who now sits No. 4 in 2020, did as expected by announcing his reclass and picking the G League’s roughly $500K incentive over finalists Auburn, Duke, Kentucky, and Texas Tech.

Now, taking Kuminga’s place atop the 247Sports 2021 Composite is Hamilton (Wis.) small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., who has held an offer from Mike Krzyzewski for two years. The 6-foot-10, 205-pound sharpshooter represents the make-or-break target for the Blue Devils’ 2021 bunch and has said he’s 99 percent certain to play at least one season in college.

ALSO READ: Patrick Baldwin Jr. says Duke rookie to have ‘huge impact’ on decision

But No. 1 is not new territory for Baldwin Jr., whose top 10 also includes Georgetown, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Northwestern, UCLA, Virginia, Wisconsin, and UW-Milwaukee. Besides, some would argue the Milwaukee native should have never left that position after occupying it up until his relatively cold hand at Peach Jam last summer, which coincided with Kuminga’s power-fueled emergence.

Though they technically play the same position, the differences between Baldwin Jr. and Kuminga are obvious. Baldwin Jr.’s mechanics are Tesla smooth. Kuminga, on the other hand, is a souped-up classic Mustang. Check out these highlights from Baldwin Jr.’s last game of his junior year:

In Duke basketball terms, Baldwin Jr., whose 247Sports Crystal Ball has forever clearly shown Durham in his future, exhibits glimmers of the grace of a young Grant Hill, the shot of a JJ Redick, and the intellect of a Shane Battier. Add all that to the fact he’s the son of an NCAA head coach, UW-Milwaukee’s Pat Baldwin, who does, however, appear to be the top competition to the Blue Devils for his 17-year-old phenom’s services.

What a Patrick Baldwin Jr. pledge would mean for Duke basketball recruiting

If Baldwin Jr. chooses Duke basketball over Dad — he recently told Evan Kolin of The Chronicle that he’ll pull the trigger on a college choice whenever it feels right — then the Blue Devils would undoubtedly boast the most enviable class in the country, even if not the deepest.

Already, even though it’s been more than eight months since Krzyzewski and his gang have landed a commit from any class, they still boast the highest-ranked 2021 prospect off the board thus far in Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) small forward AJ Griffin. The chiseled 6-foot-7 slasher — think Justise Winslow — now ranks No. 6 thanks to Kuminga’s move.

ALSO READ: Ranking all 36 Duke jersey numbers ever worn

True, Coach K and his assistants are not officially out of the races for four other five-star rising seniors: Sunrise Christian (Kan.) point guard Kennedy Chandler, now No. 10; Paul VI Catholic (Va.) shooting guard Trevor Keels, No. 15; O’Dea (Wash.) power forward Paolo Banchero, No. 3; and IMG Academy (Fla.) center Charles Bediako, No. 19. That said, the Blue Devils are not the Crystal Ball favorites for any of those names.

No worries — well, so long as Duke winds up with Baldwin Jr.

After all, any other necessary pieces, even if measly three-stars, would just need to be the sprinkles to the icing (Baldwin Jr.) on the cake (Griffin).

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Patrick Baldwin Jr. plus other Duke basketball recruiting news and views.