Duke basketball recruiting target enters ‘decision mode’
By Matt Giles
A guard on the Duke basketball recruiting radar is nearing an announcement.
The Duke basketball coaches could find out the result of the JJ Starling race any day now. This week, the La Lumiere (Ind.) four-star — a 6-foot-4 combo guard who ranks No. 33 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite — noted in an interview with SI.com recruiting insider Jason Jordan that he is “fully in decision mode right now.”
And Starling has a relatively short timeframe in mind given that he remains in the process of making up his mind on a destination:
“I honestly don’t know where I’m leaning, but I’m planning to make my decision in the next two weeks in order to get it done before my season starts.”
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In early September, Starling revealed five finalists: Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Stanford, and Syracuse. He’s since visited Notre Dame, Syracuse, Northwestern, and most recently, Duke. Currently, the Crystal Ball contains only one prediction, which points to the New York native joining the Fighting Irish.
A mixed bag when it comes to Duke basketball’s chances
In JJ Starling’s eyes, the Duke Blue Devils may be a tough sell due to the potential abundance of players at or near his position for the 2022-23 season.
After all, it’s possible Trevor Keels, Jaylen Blakes, and Jeremy Roach will all return to Durham following the upcoming campaign. Plus, Duke has already snagged one 2022 backcourt pledge in four-star shooting guard Jaden Schutt as well as a trio of five-star talents: small forward Dariq Whitehead, power forward Kyle Filipowski, and center Dereck Lively.
On the other hand, during his chat with Jason Jordan, Starling gave a shoutout to the recruiting efforts from every member of the Blue Devil haul:
“They definitely come at me the hardest. Dereck [Lively], Dariq [Whitehead], K Flip [Kyle Filipowski], all of them. They just keep coming too.”
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Duke is also awaiting decisions from two more high school seniors: four-star combo guard Anthony Black and five-star small forward Mark Mitchell.