The pressure is mounting on the next Duke basketball head coach, Jon Scheyer.
After getting a late start with the Class of 2022, Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer is facing a lot of pressure over the next few months to land his first recruit as the next head coach of the Blue Devils.
Since Mike Krzyzewski announced his pending retirement, Scheyer has hit the recruiting trail hard, offering several top prospects in the rising senior class, including five-star center Dereck Lively, five-star small forward Mark Mitchell, five-star small forward Dariq Whitehead, four-star combo guard Anthony Black, four-star power forward Kyle Filipowski, four-star point guard JJ Starling, and three-star shooting guard Jaden Schutt.
Dariq Whitehead has announced his decision date of August 1, and Filipowski recently told 247Sports that he plans on announcing his college decision prior to the start of his final high school season.
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Both players have 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions to Duke, but that doesn’t lessen the pressure on Jon Scheyer to land his first two commitments.
Since former North Carolina head coach Roy Williams announced his retirement, effective immediately, on April 1 and Hubert Davis was named as the head coach of the Tar Heels, UNC has been scorching hot on the recruiting trail.
Davis has landed three transfers, Justin McKoy (Virginia), Brady Manek (Oklahoma), and Dawson Garcia (Marquette) as well as three Class of 2022 recruits, three-star Will Shaver, four-star Seth Trimble, and five-star Jalen Washington since taking over in Chapel Hill.
Who will be the first Duke basketball commit under Jon Scheyer?
Common sense says that Dariq Whitehead will become the first player to commit to Duke since Jon Scheyer was named the next head coach-in-waiting. His announcement comes in approximately two weeks, but Kyle Filipowski should not be far behind.
However, the true test of how recruiting at Duke will be impacted with the departure of Mike Krzyzewski will come on the decision of Derek Lively.
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Lively seems poised to make a run into the Top-5, perhaps Top-3, of the Class of 2022 rankings, but the competition is fierce for the five-star center after naming Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida State, Michigan, Penn State, and USC to his Top-7 finalists.
Hubert Davis is currently winning the battle on the recruiting trail of the new head coaches on Tobacco Road, and the pressure is on Jon Scheyer to try and catch up to his newly formed rival.