Continued Duke basketball success could hinge on Jon Scheyer’s first class.
A half dozen 2022 prospects hold Duke basketball offers. A handful more either are or have been somewhere on the program’s recruiting radar.
Naturally, the requisite size of the Blue Devil class depends on all the stay-or-go decisions among underclassmen following Mike Krzyzewski’s upcoming farewell season. That said, as estimated here at Ball Durham earlier this week, successor-in-waiting Jon Scheyer and his gang will likely need to reel in at least four 2022 pledges, perhaps in addition to a transfer or two.
True, roughly a third of the top 100 players on the 247Sports 2022 Composite have already made up their minds on a college destination. And with that in mind, some may find it a tad concerning that Duke is still without its first commitment, especially when considering that commit will represent the first to take a chance on Scheyer as the main man in Durham.
At the same time, though, none of the staff’s six 2022 targets have yet cut the Blue Devils from contention.
So on that positive note, let’s go ahead and forecast four fellas to ultimately comprise Scheyer’s symbolic, all-important first class as Duke basketball’s chief decision-maker. We’ll do so one at a time, from tallest to shortest…
Predicted 2022 Duke basketball commit: The sleek 7-footer
- No. 7 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite
- Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.)
Of the six Duke basketball targets in the class, Dereck Lively is the only one who has named finalists. That list, which the 7-foot-1, 220-pound five-star revealed in late June, consists of seven schools: Duke, Florida State, Kentucky, Michigan, Penn State, Southern Cal, and UNC.
Worth noting, Lively’s mom works at Penn State. In June, Lively took an official visit there as well as ones to Duke, Kentucky, and UNC. Therefore, the current consensus among recruiting insiders seems to be that the notably nimble center will either stay close to home as a Nittany Lion or wind up playing for one of the three bluest bluebloods in college hoops.
However, a decision might not arrive for many more months. In fact, Lively told 247Sports in late June that he intends to take several more official visits in the fall before naming a winner (note: these rising high school seniors may take five official visits apiece this summer plus five more after August 1 due to the pandemic-related recruiting restrictions spanning their junior year).
Why Duke basketball should come out on top for Dereck Lively
By this time next year, Dereck Lively could be looking at practically unlimited minutes manning the paint as a freshman in Durham. Fifth-year grad transfers Theo John and Bates Jones will have expired their eligibility. Chances are both Paolo Banchero and Mark Williams will be NBA-bound.
And that would leave no returning scholarship players taller than 6-foot-7. In other words, Lively must realize Scheyer is hoping to land his services — in addition to this next fella here — and would probably let him set the tone down low as a full-time starter for the new-era Blue Devils.
Predicted 2022 Duke basketball commit: The smooth stretch-four
- No. 33 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite
- Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Wilbraham, Mass.)
Kyle Filipowski’s playing style is by no means identical to that of 2020-21 All-ACC First Team performer Matthew Hurt. Yet the 6-foot-11, 230-pound four-star does possess sufficient traits to fit that general mold of a Duke basketball stretch-four: knockdown shooter, creative post scorer, quick trigger, keen passer, solid rebounder, etc.
On top of his trip to Durham about two weeks ago, Filipowski took official visits in June to Ohio State, Syracuse, and Indiana. He now holds more than two dozen offers, including a handful or two from ACC schools, and has neither named finalists nor specified an exact decision timeline.
Why Duke basketball should come out on top for Kyle Filipowski
Because of the Polish surname alone, one could argue that it’d only make sense to have Kyle Filipowski in town for the first few seasons after Mike Krzyzewski retires.
And with the prospect of plentiful playing time — as previously noted here for the Dereck Lively race — one would think the Blue Devils are at least among the favorites to reel in the budding big man.
Speaking to that perception, the 247Sports Crystal Ball has shown Jon Scheyer & Co. as the unquestioned leader in Filipowski’s recruitment ever since his return home from Duke with an offer in hand. All four of the picks that flooded in are of the “high confidence” variety, suggesting something said by someone with intel about the coveted prospect’s feelings at the moment.
Predicted 2022 Duke basketball commit: The star of the show
- No. 6 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite
- Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)
Dariq Whitehead has not named finalists. Nevertheless, last week, after wrapping up his June visits to Duke, Florida State, and Kansas, the 6-foot-8, 205-pound small forward from New Jersey set a decision date for Aug. 1.
Whichever program is fortunate enough to snag the heralded five-star will surely enjoy his elite levels of athleticism, confidence, and versatility. Of course, given Whitehead’s lofty ranking and countless NBA features, it’s doubtful he’ll stick around in college for more than a year before potentially becoming a lottery pick.
Why Duke basketball should come out on top for Dariq Whitehead
On several occasions, Dariq Whitehead has himself alluded to his longtime Duke basketball fandom. And this week, 247Sports recruiting insider Eric Bossi basically described the battle as the Blue Devils’ to lose:
"“Ever since Dariq Whitehead finished up an official visit to Duke, there has been buzz that he’ll ultimately be the first big-time player to commit to coach-in-waiting Jon Scheyer. Florida State has been in there deep for some time, and Whitehead had a good visit to Kansas…We are going to learn over the next few weeks how much of a shot Leonard Hamilton and Bill Self feel they have…”"
As it stands, between the 247Sports Crystal Ball and Rivals FutureCast, all eight experts who have entered picks see Whitehead donning Blue Devil gear on announcement day.
Predicted 2022 Duke basketball commit: The speedy sharpshooter
- No. 38 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite
- La Lumiere School (La Porte, Ind.)
Surprisingly enough, bluebloods have yet to pile up in the recruitment of JJ Starling. Rather, at least for the moment, Duke is the only program with multiple national championships that has extended an offer to the 6-foot-3, 170-pound four-star guard.
Actually, according to both 247Sports and Rivals, Starling’s offer sheet is still in the single digits; his only official visit thus far was to Maryland the first week of June.
Evidently, many college coaches — maybe some recruiting analysts as well — haven’t yet seen enough of the New York native in action. Or perhaps they are just somehow underestimating the utter lethality of Starling’s oh-so-pure shooting stroke, not to mention his impassioned defense, breakneck speed, and creativity in transition.
Why Duke basketball should come out on top for JJ Starling
Yes, JJ Starling’s first name in combination with his most eye-popping skill obviously brings to mind Duke’s all-time scoring leader and 3-point legend, JJ Redick. However, despite that possible omen on top of the limited number of powerhouses in the mix, neither the 247Sports Crystal Ball nor Rivals FutureCast project the Blue Devils to win the Starling sweepstakes.
On the other hand, there are no Starling predictions, period, at either site. Meanwhile, his reaction to 247Sports after receiving his Duke offer in June ought to be somewhat encouraging to Blue Devil ears:
"“That was unreal, to be honest. We did a Zoom, and they were planning on waiting to offer me. They were waiting to see me play some more at Peach Jam…But yeah, they ended up calling me right back after the Zoom. And they ended up offering me, which was just so crazy to me because it was like a really big school that’s looking at me now.”"
No matter what, Starling owns the distinction as the first guard to ever receive an offer from Jon Scheyer, who was the point guard for the 2010 Blue Devil national champs.
Now, Coppell (Texas) five-star combo guard Anthony Black is also on that list. At this juncture, though, the prediction here at Ball Durham is Black will take his talents to somewhere other than Durham. And the same goes for one more 2022 recruit with a Duke offer, Sunrise Christian (Kan.) five-star small forward Mark Mitchell.