Duke basketball lands surprise first commitment of Jon Scheyer era

The Duke basketball program has landed the first commitment of the Jon Scheyer era. 

Late Thursday morning had a major surprise for the Duke basketball program and its fans as head coach-in-waiting Jon Scheyer landed his first commitment since the announcement of Mike Krzyzewski’s pending retirement.

Kyle Filipowski announced his commitment to the Blue Devils after a short, but intense, recruitment from the five-time National Champions.

https://twitter.com/kylefilipowski/status/1420761459387031569?s=20

Filipowski is ranked as a four-star center, standing at 6-foot-11, 230 pounds, from Wilbraham, Massachusetts, and stars at Wilbraham & Monson Academy.

The 247Sports Composite Rankings pins the versatile center as the No. 33 recruit in the class of 2022, No. 6 center, and No. 1 player in the state of Massachusetts, as his rankings soared after an impressive start to the AAU circuit this summer.

However, Filipowski had a disappointing end to his Peach Jam Tournament this month as he had to be removed from his team, the NY Rens, after testing positive for COVID-19.

Kyle Filipowski originally gave the timeline that he was hoping to have a decision on his future prior to the start of his senior season. But he opted for a quick and unplanned decision rather than a long, grueling, and stressful process.

The highly coveted recruit had just picked up offers from Kentucky and North Carolina and committed to Duke over schools like Syracuse, Ohio State, and Indiana.

ALSO READ: Duke sees familiar rival make strong push for coveted prospect

“I joined The Brotherhood and committed to Duke because at the end of the day it checked all the boxes for me,” Filipowski told Joe Tipton of Tipton Edits.

Filipowski took an official visit to Durham on June 28, when he received his offer from the Blue Devils, and it only seemed like a matter of time before a commitment was near following the visit.

“National level team, high academics, family atmosphere, and I know that by the time I graduate from Duke, I will have grown into the best person and player I can be because of who I am surrounded by at Duke,” Filipowski added.

Now, it’s probably some wishful thinking that Filipowski will graduate in four consecutive years from Duke given the trajectory of his game and career on the court, but the imprint the Blue Devil coaching staff left on the four-star prospect is clearly seen.

Duke basketball hoping to strike while the iron is hot on the recruiting trail

This weekend brings high anticipation in Durham, none of which revolved around Kyle Filipowski.

Five-star forward and Monteverde Academy (Fla.) star Dariq Whitehead is planning to announce his college decision on Sunday, August 1, and the No. 6 overall prospect in the Class of 2022 is expected to commit to the Blue Devils.

Whitehead was anticipated to be the first recruit to commit to Duke under Scheyer, but now he could be the second building block to an overly impressive class for the coach-in-waiting.

ALSO READ: Jon Scheyer faces a lot of pressure over next few weeks

Nonetheless, Jon Scheyer seems to have transitioned perfectly from the lead recruiter role to recruiting as a head coach at Duke.

“I have all my faith in Coach Scheyer and his vision for not only myself but my class, and I want to help him get that vision started and help bring along guys to fit that vision and ultimately win a National Championship,” Filipowski concluded.