The projected 2021-22 Duke basketball players: AJ Griffin
- Peak composite ranking for AJ Griffin in high school: No. 6
- Current status: Verbally committed in November to the Blue Devils
- In 2021-22: Would be a Duke basketball freshman
- Date of birth: Aug. 25, 2003
Amazingly, yet telling of the Duke basketball staff’s unsurpassed recruiting magic in recent years, some fans almost seem to forget about the No. 6 overall prospect on the 247Sports 2021 Composite, Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) small forward AJ Griffin. In fact, it’s not out of the question that the 6-foot-7, 200-pound five-star will be the centerpiece of the 2021-22 Blue Devils.
Go-to option or not, though, Griffin’s armored-truck exterior and attack-mode playing style — not to mention his smooth handles, top-shelf vision, improving 3-point stroke, and hoops acumen as the namesake of Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin — should bode well for Duke, if only for one season before he turns pro. OK, time for the youngest piece of this predicted bunch…