Duke basketball: Five-star recruit mentions Blue Devils, updates rehab

A former Durham resident is still hearing from the Duke basketball coaches.

The Duke basketball recruiters have still not officially entered any 2022 races.

But whenever that day may come, Oak Hill (Va.) junior MJ Rice still looks like a leading candidate to be among the first wave of prospects in his class to land an offer from Mike Krzyzewski and his staff.

After all, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound wing, who ranks No. 22 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, attended several Blue Devil home games across the past few seasons before transferring from Durham Academy (N.C.). Plus, in his SI blog this week, Rice again listed Duke first as one of the schools keeping in touch, and he noted zero hurry to his recruitment:

“We’ve heard from Duke, Louisville, NC State, Providence, Florida State, Virginia, and a bunch of other schools…I’m not in any rush with anything.”

Fully healed or not, MJ Rice is likely to stay on the Duke basketball radar

Here’s the brief scouting report from Jason Jordan of SI that introduced Rice’s latest blog:

“MJ Rice is an elite shooting guard…combines elite athleticism, brute strength, and scoring ability on all three levels. Last season, Rice was pumping in 25 points, nine rebounds, and two assists a game…before tearing his ACL in December.”

As for the rehab from his injury, Rice himself explained that he is not quite 100 percent but is back on the court and does feel as if he is coming out much stronger on the other side:

“I would say I’m at about 90 percent right now…I’m getting my wind back and getting into basketball shape more and more…My knee is so much stronger and better than it was before, it’s scary. I see the differences and can feel it when I’m playing.”

Rice should also soon see a Duke basketball offer.

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