Duke basketball: Cryptic tweet from Paolo Banchero?

Maybe Paolo Banchero is planning to be a 1.5-and-done Duke basketball star?

If nothing else, the latest message from O’Dea (Wash.) power forward Paolo Banchero confirms the 6-foot-9, 235-pound five-star’s eagerness when thinking about his Duke basketball future. However, folks could interpret it to mean that the program’s most recent pledge, who ranks No. 3 overall on the 247Sports 2021 Composite, intends to arrive in Durham one semester early.

On Tuesday, when retweeting one of his new mixtapes, Banchero left some wondering if the following words are his way of hinting that he could land at Duke as soon as January: “I’m trying to get to Durham already!!!”

Hmm. Admittedly, though a chunk of Duke basketball fans might subscribe to such a spellbinding notion of Banchero joining a loaded 2020-21 roster that appears to only lack a game-changing big man — not to mention the thought of the Seattle native being a Blue Devil for 1.5 seasons rather than just the one that most expect — we’re probably way overanalyzing the tweet here.

Besides, at this point, the only evidence that Banchero might be able to graduate by the end of this semester is the uber-athletic bruiser 1) turns 18 in November and 2) fell in the category of “reclass candidate” early on in his junior year (he eventually had to squash those rumors on several occasions).

Plus, there’s no guarantee that Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski would fully welcome the idea. After all, judging from Banchero’s Grade A versatility and power, his addition could seriously ding the minutes of some promising underclassmen already in town — Matthew Hurt, Jaemyn Brakefield, Henry Coleman, and Mark Williams — in addition to grad transfer Patrick Tape.

Picture the 2020-21 Duke basketball starting five with Paolo Banchero

Look, there’s no rule against Duke basketball enthusiasts enjoying such a dream when its realization could result in a starting five full of former five-stars. Just imagine Jeremy Roach at the point, DJ Steward (or Wendell Moore) at the two-spot, Jalen Johnson at small forward, Matthew Hurt as the stretch-four, and then Paolo Banchero manning the paint.

Yikes.

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Also, if Banchero did in fact manage to earn his diploma by December but wasn’t permitted to lace ’em up for the Blue Devils in games, then what’s to say he couldn’t enroll early at Duke anyway to get a headstart on college life? And what’s to say he couldn’t begin practicing with the current squad come January in an effort to better challenge both his own game and his fellow Dukies?

Well, going back to Banchero’s tweet, it sure does suggest that he’d be fine missing out on the last season of his high school career if it meant he was able “to get to Durham already” (bear in mind, preps might not have much of a season in light of current world conditions). Moreover, there’s no denying that Banchero is already more than ready for the college ranks, if not the NBA.

Wishful thinking, right? That’s OK. We’re all entitled to feed our futile hopes from time to time these days.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on prized recruit Paolo Banchero plus other Duke basketball news and views.