Duke basketball: Three 2023 recruits who should land Blue Devil offers

There are three top candidates to end up on the 2023 Duke basketball radar.

Two years ago, Duke basketball prioritized a 2021 phenom in Hamilton (Wis.) small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. Now, from the looks of the 247Sports Crystal Ball, the longtime pursuit of the No. 1 prospect has a high probability of soon paying off.

But the early recruitment of Baldwin Jr. isn’t the norm.

Heck, in terms of 2022 efforts, Mike Krzyzewski and his cohorts have been in no rush whatsoever. They’ve yet to hand out a single offer despite that class now being in its junior year. One explanation is the closed recruiting trail. Another is Duke’s focus on completing its 2021 haul.

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Therefore, another year or so might pass before the Blue Devils zoom in on any 2023 targets. On the other hand, it’s not out of the question that Coach K has noticed the recent trend of early commits across the country and intends to soon officially enter the race for one or more current sophomores who have expressed some Duke interest.

So with that in mind, and in light of 247Sports dropping its first 2023 rankings this week, let’s take a look, one at a time, at three such names. Let’s do so in order of their rankings, from lowest to highest, beginning with the most recognized one of the bunch (a fourth recruit, who’s a wildcard pick here, comes at the end)…