Duke basketball: UNC enters fray for Blue Devil target

Once again, Duke basketball recruiters are battling their UNC counterparts.

Wilbraham & Monson (Mass.) power forward Kyle Filipowski announced via tweet on Saturday that he has received a UNC basketball offer. The 6-foot-11, 230-pound rising high school senior now holds more than two dozen offers, including the one he picked up from the Duke basketball staff during his official visit to Durham last week.

ALSO READ: Predictions pour in for Kyle Filipowski race

Filipowski, a multifaceted post prospect who is on the cusp of a five-star rating after recently rising from No. 47 to No. 33 on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, has also taken official visits within the past month to Syracuse, Ohio State, Indiana, and Iowa.

Not the first recruit to see Duke basketball and UNC suitors

It’s not an uncommon sight in any year to see Duke and UNC crossing paths on the recruiting trail.

And this cycle is by no means an exception to that.

In fact, now three names on the Blue Devils’ current six-deep 2022 wishlist also appear on the Tar Heels’ offer sheet. That trio consists of Filipowski plus Westtown (Pa.) five-star center Dereck Lively and Sunrise Christian (Kan.) five-star small forward Mark Mitchell.

Duke’s other three 2022 offers are to Montverde (Fla.) five-star small forward Dariq Whitehead, La Lumiere (Ind.) four-star point guard JJ Starling, and Coppell (Texas) four-star combo guard Anthony Black.

Of all the Blue Devil targets, only Dariq Whitehead has set an announcement date. As for Kyle Filipowski, he has yet to either name finalists or give an exact timeline for his final decision.

UNC has already picked up two pledges from the class in Menomonee Falls (Wis.) four-star point guard Seth Trimble and Oak Mountain (Ala.) three-star center Will Shaver. Meanwhile, Duke is still without a 2022 commitment.