Duke basketball: All signs point to Blue Devils adding guard depth

All signs are pointing to the Duke basketball program adding guard depth. 

It seems like a matter of if, not when, for the Duke basketball program landing Class of 2021 recruit Jaylen Blakes as the Blue Devils are well-positioned with their new target.

Upon head coach Mike Krzyzewski extending an offer on April 12, the five-time National Champions saw three 247 Sports Crystal Ball Predictions in the ensuing hours, and now two more forecasts have been cast in favor of the Blue Devils.

Blakes is listed as a 6-foot-2, 195-pound point guard who is ranked as a four-star prospect and the No. 102 player in the senior class, No. 16 point guard, and No. 3 player in the state of New Jersey, according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings.

The Blair Academy (NJ) standout also holds offers from Boston College, UConn, DePaul, Georgetown, Georgia, Illinois, Iona, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, St. John’s, Stanford, Virginia Tech, and Texas.

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Since extending an offer to the backcourt recruit, Duke has bolstered its frontcourt with the addition to Marquette standout Theo John and seldom-used Davidson forward Bates Jones.

The Blue Devils have seen guard Jordan Goldwire and DJ Steward depart the program this offseason as Goldwire is using his extra year of eligibility elsewhere and Steward has declared for the 2021 NBA Draft.

Matthew Hurt is also hanging up his Duke jersey for the NBA while Jaemyn Brakefield and Patrick Tape have entered the transfer portal.

Duke basketball a solid fit for the high school senior guard

Jaylen Blakes would be a tremendous addition to the Blue Devils as a multi-year reserve guard who would back up Jeremy Roach this season and presumably become the starting point guard in 2022-23 as a sophomore.

Duke is running out of options for a reserve guard as the Blue Devils did not make the Top-6 finalists for Top-30 prospect TyTy Washington after initially reaching out after his decommitment from Creighton.

ALSO READ: Duke sees another coaching staff change

The Blue Devils already have a Top-3 recruiting class of Paolo Banchero, Adrian Griffin Jr., and Trevor Keels.

After receiving his offer from the Duke coaching staff, Blakes told Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog that “a decision should be coming rather soon.”