Where Duke basketball stands with its remaining 2022 targets

Duke basketball is undoubtedly sitting pretty on the 2022 recruiting trail.

There are still Duke basketball needs to be met. Namely, the staff is probably hoping to snag another big man along with another versatile piece or two in preparation for another potential mass NBA exodus following the upcoming season.

But there’s no denying that the Duke Blue Devils enjoy an enviable headstart to their 2022 haul. They already have three talented commits in tow:

• Montverde (Fla.) five-star small forward Dariq Whitehead
• Wilbraham & Monson (Mass.) five-star power forward Kyle Filipowski
• Yorkville Christian (Ill.) four-star shooting guard Jaden Schutt

With the pledge from Schutt this week, the Duke class now ranks No. 3 overall on the 247Sports Team Rankings.

How insiders see the remaining Duke basketball recruiting races shaking out

The center of Duke’s radar appears to consist of four more high school seniors:

• Westtown (Pa.) five-star center Dereck Lively
• Sunrise Christian (Kan.) five-star small forward Mark Mitchell
• La Lumiere (Ind.) four-star point guard JJ Starling
• Duncanville (Texas) four-star combo guard Anthony Black

In June, Dereck Lively took an official visit to Durham. He since cut his suitors to seven: Duke, Florida State, Kentucky, Michigan, Penn State, Southern Cal, and UNC. Still, the remarkably agile 7-footer has expressed no desire to pick a winner before winter.

Right now, the 247Sports Crystal Ball and Rivals FutureCast for Lively contain one prediction apiece, all pointing to Kentucky coming out on top.

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Meanwhile, Mark Mitchell was also at Duke in late June. He since planned another trip to Blue Devil Land, coinciding with Countdown to Craziness in mid-October. Two weeks ago, he named four finalists: Duke, Kansas, Missouri, and UCLA. Like Lively, the 6-foot-8, 205-pound sensation has mentioned plans to wait until after November’s early signing period to make up his mind.

The lone expert predictions for Mitchell at 247Sports and Rivals are not in agreement, with the former favoring Duke and the latter favoring UCLA.

Moving on to the battle for JJ Starling, he has not named favorites but has scheduled September trips to Notre Dame, Syracuse, Northwestern, and Duke.

Starling has not confirmed a timeline. And neither the Crystal Ball nor FutureCast yet includes a forecast for the 6-foot-4, 180-pound New York native.

Finally, the Crystal Ball paints Gonzaga and Baylor as frontrunners for Anthony Black. Although the 6-foot-7 confident playmaker is the only 2022 Duke basketball offer recipient who has not taken or scheduled an official visit with the Blue Devils, he mentioned them in an interview with Jason Jordan of SI.com this week.

Black also noted no rush in his final decision but is eyeing his first list.