Three rising high school juniors warrant further Duke basketball attention.
Considering the uncertainty concerning a 2020-21 college hoops season, it’s still tough to project which positions will need filling in Durham before the start of the 2021-22 campaign, much less the year after that. Regardless, what we do know is that three key ingredients to any great Duke basketball recruiting class are strength, shooting, and speed.
Without heavy doses of each of those elements on his rosters, there’s no doubt Mike Krzyzewski would have compiled far fewer than five NCAA Tournament titles, 15 ACC Tournament crowns, and 1,084 total wins across his 40 seasons as head coach of the Blue Devils. Naturally, it’d be hard for the Duke staff to go wrong by stockpiling strong men, sharpshooters, and speedsters each and every recruiting cycle.
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And that brings us to the 2022 class. During the past five weeks since schools could start directly contacting prospects with two prep years remaining, roughly a dozen such players have heard from the Blue Devils. But the only one who has landed a Duke offer in this span is Montverde (Fla.) small forward Caleb Houstan, a five-star who announced earlier this week his reclass to 2021.
Among all the others, however, three stand out as the most tantalizing due to their standout strength, shooting, or speed. So let’s look at each, and let’s do so in ascending order of the intrigue their highlights produce…
Tantalizing 2022 talents receiving Duke basketball interest: Kijani Wright
Kijani Wright’s key attribute: STRENGTH
Broad shoulders. A high-octane motor in the paint. A smooth outside shot and top-notch mobility for a guy his size. Put it all together, and it’s no surprise Windward (Calif.) power forward Kijani Wright ranks No. 9 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite and was among the first in his class to hear from the Duke basketball staff in June.
To date, Wright’s offer sheet includes more than a dozen schools, but most of his suitors are on the West Coast, and Pitt remains the only ACC school on that list.
Yet seeing that the 6-foot-8, 220-pound five-star seems innately adept at using his brute strength to establish his position in the paint while also having a keen eye for rebounds, it’s likely Mike Krzyzewski plus several other head coaches from the conference will enter the Wright battle before too long.
After all, from all indications and as noted later on here in this article, Wright’s recruitment still appears wide open to anyone.
Tantalizing 2022 talents receiving Duke basketball interest: JJ Starling
JJ Starling’s key attribute: SHOOTING
Obviously, Baker (N.Y.) combo guard JJ Starling has the perfect first-name initials for a Duke basketball sharpshooter. And similar to the all-time leading scorer for the Blue Devils, JJ Redick, he has a knack for finding creases in the defense and curling off screens before pulling the trigger on a 3-point masterpiece.
For some odd reason, though, 247Sports does not even rank or rate Starling, who only holds a handful of offers so far, notably from Alabama, UConn, St. John’s, Syracuse, and Wake Forest. However, Rivals and ESPN are evidently well aware of the 6-foot-3, 170-pound talent, both tagging him a four-star and putting him inside the top 100 among his 2022 peers.
Plus, not only does Starling boast the type of sweet stroke and quick release that Duke basketball fans have grown to love — arguably the best shooter in the class — but he also seems smitten with the early attention he has received from the Blue Devils. Here’s what the light-footed 16-year-old said earlier this week during his appearance on The Season Ticket Hoops With Us podcast:
“A big school that came in contact with me is Duke. And I was surprised to get that [call]. Also, they said they are very interested.”
Tantalizing 2022 talents receiving Duke basketball interest: Jaden Bradley
Jaden Bradley’s key attribute: SPEED
Almost every five-star point guard over the years has come equipped with impressive wheels. That said, only a few exhibit both the acceleration and control in the open floor of a Kyrie Irving, who played 11 games as a one-and-done Blue Devil before becoming the No. 1 overall pick at the 2011 NBA Draft.
While IMG (Fla.) point guard Jaden Bradley might not quite match Irving in this regard, it’s easy to think of Irving when viewing the 6-foot-3, 170-pound five-star’s mixtapes:
Like Irving, besides just quickness and handles, Bradley possesses a silky outside jumper, a laser-like passing game, and an ability to pull off creative finishes in traffic. In short, highlights of the North Carolina native, who ranks No. 8 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, are just plain thrilling to watch.
Sure, many experts see North Carolina head coach Roy Williams as the early leader in the race for Bradley. On the other hand, as Rivals insider Corey Evans recently pointed out, he and another prospect on this list appear to be in no hurry to decide on a destination:
“For Kijani Wright and Jaden Bradley, they are actually enjoying the recruitment that an elite prospect should…I wouldn’t expect any movement from either of the two anytime soon.”
Other 2022 recruits who have recently heard from Duke are Brentwood (Tenn.) five-star combo guard Skyy Clark, Greenhill (Texas) three-star combo guard Noah Shelby, Richardson (Texas) four-star small forward Rylan Griffen, Oak Hill (Va.) five-star small forward MJ Rice, Bishop Miege (Kan.) five-star small forward Mark Mitchell, West Side (Ind.) five-star power forward Jalen Washington, North Dallas Adventist (Texas) five-star center Lee Dort, and Westtown (Pa.) four-star center Dereck Lively.
Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Kijani Wright, JJ Starling, and Jaden Bradley plus other Duke basketball recruiting news and views.