Duke basketball: Insider predicts five-star recruit to Blue Devils

Is a refined sniper on the verge of becoming another Duke basketball prize?

With gumption and youth on his side, college student Jake Weingarten of Stock Risers has built countless relationships with coveted prep prospects and thereby become one of the top recruiting insiders in the game these days. With that in mind, his latest prediction for the Duke basketball program might be meaningful.

On the other hand, the player Weingarten forecasted to land in Durham, five-star shooting guard Trevor Keels, has remained noticeably mum in regards to his recruitment. Heck, the five-star sharpshooter, who ranks No. 16 overall on the 247Sports 2021 Composite and is down to three finalists in Duke, Villanova, and Virginia, doesn’t even have his own Twitter account.

With few hints available, it’s still unclear when Keels will reveal his decision, yet many folks in the industry suspect the news could come in time for the Nov. 11-18 early signing period. And based on his secretive style, the announcement is likely to come without much advance notice.

ALSO READ: Predicting the next recruit to commit to Duke

Despite the lack of clear intel, Weingarten’s pick for Keels on Wednesday does align with all three picks currently inside the 247Sports Crystal Ball, and he noted a few possible advantages for the Blue Devils.

One is Duke freshman point guard Jeremy Roach, who played alongside Keels at Paul VI (Va.). Also, per Weingarten, it should help that the two Blue Devil pledges in five-star forwards Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin, who rank No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, have been actively recruiting the 17-year-old along with the No. 1 prospect in five-star small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr.:

“My current favorite: Duke. You’ve already got his high school teammate, you’ve got the major push from Banchero and Griffin, and then you’ve also got Pat Baldwin who would possibly join you.”

Of course, as seems to be the case with every insider at the moment, Weingarten wasn’t exactly 100 percent confident with his Keels prediction:

“It could really be anyone’s ballgame at this point.”

What the Duke basketball target has to offer

Weingarten also added that the scouting report on Keels, who was already known as a guy who should be able to play either backcourt position and even small forward as a collegian, has changed due to the noticeable growth over the summer to both his frame and game:

“I’ve got people raving about the offseason development of five-star senior Trevor Keels. It makes me even more excited to watch him this upcoming season because he was one of my favorite prospects to watch last season. The 6-foot-5/6-foot-6 prospect has apparently gotten much stronger than he already was and has developed his game tons.”

Weingarten continued dishing out praise for Keels, who has held a Duke basketball offer for almost a year now and was inside Cameron Indoor Stadium in early March to watch the Blue Devils defeat rival North Carolina on Senior Night:

“I think Keels is one of those diamond-in-the-rough types of players. I think regardless of which program he chooses, he will be an instant impact and surefire one-and-done.”

Assuming Weingarten’s assessment of Keels is correct, there is no doubt Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski and his assistants have considerably more experience than either of the other finalists when it comes to nurturing one-and-done talents.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Trevor Keels plus other Duke basketball recruiting news and views.