Duke basketball has shot at outright national recruiting record

There’s no shortage of signs pointing out Duke basketball recruiting power.

Last season, Lincoln (Mich.) small forward Emoni Bates became the first sophomore to ever claim the honor as Gatorade National Player of the Year. In other words, assuming a healthy junior campaign from the Michigan State commit, who ranks No. 1 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, a future Duke basketball player will have a tough time taking top prize in 2021.

However, one could easily argue that both of Duke’s 2021 pledges to date in O’Dea (Wash.) power forward Paolo Banchero and Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) small forward AJ Griffin — No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, among rising seniors — are at least legit contenders for the hardware.

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Banchero, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound bruiser who pledged his allegiance to #TheBrotherhood earlier this month, basically reaffirmed his candidacy in AAU play this weekend (some highlights below). And Griffin, who gave his verbal back in November, must be in the running as well considering several 2022 mock drafts peg the 6-foot-7, 200-pound slasher as a high lottery pick.

But perhaps the best shot at a Blue Devil garnering recognition as the nation’s premier 2020-21 prep would be for Hamilton (Wis.) small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., 2021’s No. 1, to announce Duke as his pick. Where the 6-foot-10, 205-pound versatile sharpshooter winds up remains to be seen, but Mike Krzyzewski and his staff continue to lead in the eyes of the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

The outright national record at stake for Duke basketball

As FOX College Hoops tweeted last week, Duke and UCLA are tied atop the list with three Gatorade NPOY recipients apiece to their credit. Four schools — Kentucky, Michigan, LSU, and Georgia Tech — have each landed two since the award’s 1985-86 inception (JR Reid snagged the first trophy but remains North Carolina’s only winner).

Oddly enough, if not for Duke’s remarkable recent success at reeling in five-stars — the Blue Devils boast four of the nation’s past seven No. 1 recruiting classes while Banchero and Griffin are still the only two top 10 rising seniors yet off the board — then Coach K & Co. would still have never coached a Gatorade NPOY.

The three Blue Devils who have received the award are RJ Barrett as a senior in 2018, Jayson Tatum as a senior in 2016, and Jabari Parker as a junior in 2012. Factoring in this frequency across the past decade, Duke is about due for another.

Finally, so as to appease any Big Blue Nation trolls who may happen upon this Dukie site by accident, we should note that Brandon Knight was the NPOY as both a high school junior (2009) and senior (2010). Therefore, Kentucky’s crop, which also includes Karl-Anthony Towns (2014), is tied with Duke and UCLA in terms of the total number of Gatorade honors.

Of course, more losses like the one in the Banchero battle certainly won’t help Duke basketball’s recruiting rival in this regard moving forward.

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