Duke basketball: The absolute absurdity of updated class rankings

A pair of top 10 stars barely puts the Duke basketball class in the top 10?

To those who pay zero attention to recruiting site’s class rankings, smart move. Why? Well, all it requires is one look at the updated ones for the 2021 cycle to recognize that some nonsensical formulas are fouling up the comparisons between the nation’s current top hauls. Take, for instance, the Duke basketball staff’s downright silly current rankings of No. 10 and No. 3, respectively, per 247Sports and Rivals.

Need we remind the formula-makers that Duke now owns the top two pledges thus far among rising seniors, the only two in the top 10 yet off the board? Does their math have something against power forward Paolo Banchero for his sudden commitment to the Blue Devils on Thursday? Or does the math still hold a grudge over small forward AJ Griffin’s accepted membership into #TheBrotherhood back in November?

ALSO READ: Coach K compares new commit to Blue Devil legend

Whatever the case, by the 247Sports logic, No. 9 Maryland’s three-deep crop with individual composite rankings of No. 75, No. 103, and No. 151 is somehow better than No. 10 Duke’s collection of No. 3 Banchero and No. 6 Griffin. Excuse me? Huh?

No offense to the Terrapins, but since the equation doesn’t factor in projected lengths of stay for recruits, there’s no excuse in claiming that two lower-echelon four-stars and one three-star form a superior group to two top-of-the-line five-stars, aka two bonafide freshman-year Naismith candidates. Sorry, but it doesn’t add up.

Now, to be fair to Rivals, its mathematicians may not have fallen quite as far off their rockers as their 247Sports counterparts. Still, though, their number-crunching needs some fixing if Duke’s 6-foot-9, 235-pound refined bruiser (Banchero) and 6-foot-7, 200-pound solid-steel slasher (Griffin) are inferior to the two handfuls of No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Villanova, who have yet to even combine to reel in a single top 20 player (nor even a single five-star by the Rivals ratings).

What’ll it take for Duke basketball to land a fifth No. 1 class since 2014?

Recent recruiting success — hello to Zion Williamson and friends — suggests Duke is likely to soon turn the class rankings’ flawed formulas into a moot point. They should be able to do so by picking up a commitment or two, or perhaps even three or four, from their four remaining five-star offer-holders: center Charles Bediako (No. 20 on composite rankings), shooting guard Trevor Keels (No. 16), small forward Caleb Houstan (No. 8), and small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. (No. 1).

OK, it should be safe to say that Baldwin Jr. alone — the Crystal Ball has favored the Blue Devils for the 6-foot-10 sharpshooting phenom since Day One — would now be enough for the recruiting masterminds in Durham to again “achieve” a No. 1 class ranking, right? Right, Rivals? Right, 247Sports?

Just checking. Because if not, then we’d all be wise to just ignore the silliness altogether. Right?

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting news and views.