Duke basketball: Three reasons No. 1 recruit may delay decision day
By Matt Giles
Why the top Duke basketball target might be waiting: VISIT RESTRICTIONS
In June, the NCAA extended the suspension of all in-person recruiting through August 31. And barring sudden improvement in current world conditions, it stands to reason the decision-makers could soon push that date back even further, potentially all the way through the end of the 2020-21 season (assuming there even is one).
Such a gloomy scenario, of course, wouldn’t bode well for those recruiters who excel at face-to-face sales — Mike Krzyzewski comes to mind — not to mention for the recruits who wish to visit as many campuses as possible before committing. Though Patrick Baldwin Jr. has already taken several unofficial trips, including to Duke, he didn’t use any official visits during his junior year and recently explained to The Chronicle how restrictions have impacted his thinking:
“Before the pandemic, there was definitely the timeline of committing before my senior year in high school, my senior season at least. But I think the pandemic’s kind of pushing my timeline back a little bit…”
Yet Baldwin Jr. then hinted the day may suddenly arrive sooner rather than later:
“But when I think I have the school in mind, I’ll have no problem pulling the trigger and just committing to the school. Because if, at the end of the day, I feel like that’s a great fit for me, and I feel like they’ve done a great job recruiting, and I feel like that’s a good spot for me, and my family agrees and it’s a great education for me, I’ll have no problem pulling the trigger and committing.”
Until then, whenever “then” is, all we can do is wait…
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Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Patrick Baldwin Jr. plus other Duke basketball recruiting news and views.