Duke basketball: Blue Devils to host impressively nimble 7-footer

Duke basketball recruiting efforts are escalating, as one giant may attest.

At this point, Westtown (Pa.) center Dereck Lively is looking more and more like a potential Tobacco Road college hoopster. If so, then the 7-foot-1, 220-pound four-star would likely end up either of the Duke basketball or UNC variety.

Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time a recruiting battle features those blueblood rivals. And it surely won’t be last.

Per a tweet this week from Stock Risers recruiting insider Jake Weingarten, Lively has scheduled only two official visits to date. The first is on tap for June 9-11 in Chapel Hill with the Tar Heels. Then from June 29 through July 1, the agile big man, who currently sits No. 35 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, will be in Durham to get a firsthand view of the Blue Devils.

Right now, Lively holds about 20 offers, including one from new UNC head coach Hubert Davis. Meanwhile, Mike Krzyzewski hasn’t fully entered the race for any 2022 recruits.

ALSO READ: Five-star Coach K fan plans official visit

So needless to say, Lively’s offer sheet doesn’t show Duke. Not yet, anyway. But considering the budding talent is one of only a few in his class who has been hearing from the Blue Devil staff for almost a year now, a full-on pursuit by Coach K & Co. might well take shape in the coming weeks and months.

Duke basketball recruiting prospect on the cusp of a rise in the rankings?

In recent weeks, as a member of the Team Final EYBL squad, Dereck Lively has stirred up “five-star in the making” talk from many onlookers and for a multitude of reasons. Rob Cassidy of Rivals appears to have been particularly impressed with the rising high school senior’s noticeable prowess in coexisting down low alongside a more highly touted post presence:

“Dereck Lively has certainly made a case [for a five-star rating] by managing to shine despite playing next to one of the top players in the country in current No. 2 overall Jalen Duren. Lively is as mobile as 7-footers come and showed off a full range of offensive skill while protecting the rim at MADE Hoops’ Midwest Mania recently.”

It’s worth pointing out that Lively has a relatively smooth outside jumper for a guy his size.

On Monday, Joe Tipton of Tipton Edits noted nine schools in contact with Dereck Lively the most these days: Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Southern Cal, and UNC.