Key Duke basketball recruiting target tallies second triple-double this week

A smooth recruit continues to deliver as Duke basketball awaits his choice.

Somehow, despite obvious signs of growth to his frame and fine-tuning to his game, Paul VI (Va.) senior shooting guard Trevor Keels has been trickling down the 247Sports 2021 Composite Rankings as of late. After peaking at No. 15 in July, the prime Duke basketball five-star target has dropped an average of about one spot per month and now sits at No. 20 overall.

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Well, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound sturdy sniper’s two triple-doubles this week suggest his recent moves in the rankings have been in the opposite direction of where he should be heading.

Per the Paul VI boys’ basketball Twitter account, in a 104-73 home win over Bishop McNamara (Md.) on Wednesday night, Keels totaled 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Then on Saturday, in his team’s 114-79 home win over St. Mary’s Ryken (Md.), the multifaceted backcourt weapon finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists to go along with five steals.

Duke basketball playing waiting game

Trevor Keels, a former teammate to current Blue Devil freshman point guard Jeremy Roach, has been down to a final three of Duke, Virginia, and Villanova ever since September.

Though Mike Krzyzewski and his staff in Durham are currently the frontrunners in the eyes of both the 247Sports Crystal Ball and Rivals FutureCast, the 17-year-old Keels made clear to Eric Bossi of 247Sports last week that he remains undecided on both a college destination and the timeframe for his eventual announcement.

Nevertheless, it seems in recent weeks that most recruiting insiders now suspect Keels is most likely to hold off until April in order to see who all stays and goes from his finalists’ 2020-21 rosters.

Plus, Duke still remains in the race for two more five-star 2021 talents in Hamilton (Wis.) small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. and IMG (Fla.) center Charles Bediako. The Blue Devils are seen as one of the favorites for Baldwin, who ranks No. 4 and also probably won’t decide until the spring, but a longshot for Bediako, who ranks No. 26 and plans to pick a school by the end of February.

Meanwhile, two five-star early signees are already in the bag for Coach K and his gang. Both rank among the top 10 in the class: O’Dea (Wash.) power forward Paolo Banchero at No. 3 and Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) small forward AJ Griffin at No. 7.

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