Duke basketball: Paolo Banchero unsure about plans for early signing period

A Duke basketball pledge says the upcoming signing period slipped his mind.

O’Dea (Wash.) power forward Paolo Banchero verbally committed to the Duke basketball staff in August. But the program’s top 2021 prize — for now — hasn’t given much thought to the fact that the start of the Nov. 11-18 early signing period is roughly one week away.

Or at least that’s what Banchero told Jake Weingarten of Stock Risers this week. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound five-star, who ranks No. 3 overall on the 247Sports 2021 Composite, was responding to a question about his plans to ink his name with the Blue Devils later this month:

“I’m not sure yet, haven’t talked too much about it with my family…I didn’t realize how close we were until signing day.”

No worries, for Banchero assured Weingarten that his pledge to Duke still stands firm and isn’t budging:

“Yes, I’m 100 percent committed.”

Banchero also touched on his growing friendship with the other current high school senior set on joining #TheBrotherhood in Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) small forward AJ Griffin, a five-star who ranks No. 6 in the class and announced his school choice way back on Nov. 4, 2019 (also no confirmation yet as to whether Griffin will sign early).

And Banchero noted his excitement about lining up alongside the 6-foot-7, 200-pound versatile rock throughout the 2021-22 season (likely to be one-and-done campaigns for both of the seemingly NBA-ready talents):

“AJ is a freak of nature, but he’s not just a great athlete. He’s skilled up and can shoot from deep, which makes him a mismatch wherever you put him on the floor. He is also unselfish like me, so I know we will play well together…Our relationship is good. We met at the Countdown to Craziness last year, and we’ve kept in touch since then.”

Who else might sign early with Duke basketball?

Now, Duke basketball offers are still on the table to IMG (Fla.) five-star center Charles Bediako, who boasts a No. 23 composite ranking but is probably bound for Alabama, plus two five-stars whose 247Sports Crystal Ball picks all favor the Blue Devils: Paul VI (Va.) shooting guard Trevor Keels, who ranks No. 16, and Hamilton (Wis.) small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr., who ranks No. 1.

ALSO READ: Predicting the next recruit to commit to Duke

Fortunately for Mike Krzyzewski and his assistants in Durham, Banchero pointed out to Weingarten that he continues to chip in with the pursuits for Baldwin Jr. and Keels:

“Trevor Keels and Patrick Baldwin Jr. are the two main guys that I’m talking to.”

Based on recent intel, it’s plausible that both Keels and Baldwin Jr. could unveil their college destinations at some point before the end of the early signing period.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on the early signing period plus other Duke basketball recruiting news and views.