Predictions pour in for potential Duke basketball five-star recruits

Duke basketball coaches may wait to see where top 2022 talents are leaning.

As high school seasons begin to wrap up across the country, the loaded cast of available juniors could soon quickly dwindle. Yet despite the increased chatter concerning many premier players in the class, the Duke basketball staff is sitting idly by with no offers on the table.

ALSO READ: 7-footer ‘building a relationship’ with Blue Devils

Sure, commitments have thus far come in from only two of the 22 current five-stars on the 247Sports 2022 Composite: No. 1 Emoni Bates to Michigan State and No. 12 Skyy Clark to Kentucky.

However, predictions for a bunch of other 2022 five-stars have piled up this week inside the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

Four possible Duke basketball targets trending elsewhere

Within the past 24 hours alone, picks have appeared for four five-star prospects who have either garnered interest from the Blue Devils within the past year or at some point painted Duke as a dream school.

As of Wednesday, NC State owns the first four Crystal Ball picks for Oak Hill (Va.) junior MJ Rice. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound wing ranks No. 22 overall and attended several Duke basketball home games last season during unofficial visits. Plus, when he was a student at Durham Academy, one of his teammates was current Blue Devil walk-on Michael Savarino, grandson to Mike Krzyzewski.

Moving on, the “pro” route has received two Crystal Ball picks since Tuesday for iSchool of Lewisville (Texas) junior Keyonte George. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound guard ranks No. 10 and has labeled Duke his one “dream school” on several occasions.

Sticking with the pro theme, two Crystal Ball experts foresee Montverde (Fla.) junior Jalen Duren taking a G League path to the NBA after graduation. Both picks popped up on Wednesday for the 6-foot-10, 230-pound center, who ranks No. 2 in the class and has seen interest from the Blue Devils dating back at least to June 2020.

Another Montverde junior who was among the group the Duke recruiters eyed last summer is Dariq Whitehead. On Wednesday, 247Sports insiders Eric Bossi and Travis Branham entered Crystal Ball picks for the 6-foot-5, 190-pound forward (No. 9), suggesting Florida State is the frontrunner.

Now, the Blue Devils could snag some 2022 Crystal Ball picks in the near future. But they probably first have to enter some battles.

Bookmark Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting news and views.