Duke basketball staff may get the axe from five-star

Another 2021 Duke basketball target is prepared to trim his list this week.

According to a tweet on Monday evening from Tipton Edits, IMG (Fla.) center Charles Bediako will be one of two Duke basketball offer-holders to cut some suitors from contention in the coming days. And despite the success of Mike Krzyzewski and his assistants in high-profile battles across recent years, it’s conceivable neither new list will include the Blue Devils.

First, Montverde (Fla.) small forward Caleb Houstan plans to unveil a top four on Wednesday. Now, it’s possible the five-star sniper will keep the Blue Devils in the mix. However, it’s perhaps equally possible he won’t, due to Duke’s focus on other 2021 five-stars with somewhat similar games in Hamilton (Wis.) small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Paul VI (Va.) shooting guard Trevor Keels.

As for Bediako, the 6-foot-11, 220-pound Canadian big man is now set to reduce his list to five on Saturday, per Tipton Edits. The No. 23 overall prospect on the 247Sports 2021 Composite is currently sitting on a top 10, which he named in early July: Alabama, Baylor, Duke, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan, Ohio State, Southern Cal, Tennessee, and Texas.

ALSO READ: Alabama trying to snag half of Duke’s remaining 2021 targets

Months back, the Blue Devils were seen as frontrunners for Bediako — who transferred from Andrews Osborne Academy in Ohio to IMG for his senior year — alongside the longtime 247Sports Crystal Ball leader Crimson Tide.

Yet considering the last known contact between the Duke basketball staff and the improving post prospect was the week before his top 10 came out, there’s certainly a chance the Blue Devils won’t be a contender for the 18-year-old Bediako beyond this weekend.

Duke basketball regularly ends up on lists of all varieties

Remember, it’s rare for the Blue Devils to fall off any target’s list nowadays, even after a pursuit has appeared to fizzle. One reason, of course, is the added publicity that the program, a social media giant, brings to any recruitment; heck, Coach K and his gang sometimes make the final stage for a race they never even officially entered in the first place.

So whether the Blue Devils land on both, one, or neither of the lists from Charles Bediako and Caleb Houstan this week, no one should be shocked. But for now, while neither heralded recruit has put forth an exact timeline for a final decision, it’d be rather surprising to ultimately see Duke come out victorious in either race.

Currently, the Blue Devils boast commitments from two 2021 five-stars in O’Dea (Wash.) power forward Paolo Banchero and Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) small forward AJ Griffin. The only offers remaining on the table are to Bediako, Houstan, Baldwin Jr., and Keels.

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