Duke basketball shows signs of life in mega five-star recruiting battle

Duke basketball is not quitting in its pursuit of one West Coast sensation.

Mike Krzyzewski and his heralded Duke basketball recruiting team are not the perceived leaders for O’Dea (Wash.) power forward Paolo Banchero. Never have been. On the other hand, ever since the Blue Devils extended an offer to the 6-foot-9, 235-pound five-star last summer, they have at least stayed put in the discussion.

This spring, Duke ended up in the Seattle native’s final six alongside Arizona, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Washington. Right now, the Crystal Ball favors Washington — aka the hometown favorite and alma mater of Banchero’s parents — with Kentucky as the only other school registering picks.

But on Thursday, per a tweet from Stock Risers insider Jake Weingarten, the entire Duke staff held a full-fledged virtual visit via Zoom with the No. 3 overall prospect on the 247Sports 2021 Composite. And at this point, Coach K wouldn’t be wasting his time on Banchero if he wasn’t in it to win it.

Possibly helping Duke’s efforts in these restricted times is the fact Banchero has already taken an official visit to Durham, which came back in October and overlapped with Countdown to Craziness. At the very least, a tweet at the time from the coveted recruit with Italian roots was evidence that he noticed what Dukies embrace the most:

Recent interviews suggest a decision date may not arrive until March or April; however, considering a growing trend among Banchero’s peers in recent months, a sudden announcement this summer or fall wouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

If Banchero does choose Duke, then the Blue Devils would welcome a likely one-and-done with all the markings of yet another extremely potent force down low: point guard eyes, Carlos Boozer midrange weapons, Pogo Stick bounce, linebacker thighs, and a quarterback’s arm (as the highlights below show, he was on track to be an elite signal-caller before dumping the pigskin in favor of full-time hoops following his freshman year).

Granted, the chance of Banchero attending Duke seems less than the chance of him going elsewhere. At least, though, the chase from the Blue Devils still has a pulse for now.

The rest of the 2021 Duke basketball wishlist

The Blue Devils also remain in the mix — well, sort of — for Banchero’s buddy and potential college teammate in Sunrise Christian (Kan.) five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler. Others from the class remaining on the Duke basketball radar are also all five-stars: Paul VI (Va.) shooting guard Trevor Keels, Hamilton (Wis.) small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., Montverde (Fla.) small forward Caleb Houstan, and IMG (Fla.) center Charles Bediako.

Coach K and his assistants are likely looking to reel in four or more talents in all this cycle. They have already snagged one commit in Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) five-star small forward AJ Griffin, the nation’s highest-ranked rising high school senior off the board at No. 6 overall.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Paolo Banchero plus other Duke basketball recruiting news, views, and predictions.