Predicting the 2023 Duke basketball recruiting class
By Matt Giles
Predicted 2023 Duke basketball recruiting prize: Kwame Evans Jr.
In recent years, Duke basketball recruiters have enjoyed considerable success when chasing after top Montverde (Fla.) talents. The wins include RJ Barrett, who came in at No. 1 overall on the 247Sports 2018 Composite, and Dariq Whitehead, who sits No. 5 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite.
Now, keep in mind that there are no reports of an offer from the Blue Devils to Kwame Evans Jr. — also known as KJ Evans. Even so, the Montverde sensation, who ranks No. 2 overall on the 247Sports 2023 Composite and holds roughly two dozen offers altogether, is looking more and more like a potential Duke lean.
According to a 2019 tweet from Stock Risers national recruiting insider Jake Weingarten, the interest out of Durham popped up before Evans even began high school.
Then last week, Dushawn London of 247Sports reported that members of the Blue Devil staff traveled to Florida to visit with the 6-foot-9, 200-pound power forward. And soon after that, a 247Sports headline noted that Evans plans to take a visit to Duke.
It couldn’t hurt Jon Scheyer’s potential pursuit to have Whitehead as a behind-the-scenes recruiter while playing alongside Evans at Montverde this season.
Finally, factor in the Blue Devils’ unmatched popularity in combination with the new rules allowing NCAA athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness. Yes, it is the prediction here that KJ Evans will notice the moolah that guys like Paolo Banchero rake in under the limelight this season and then decide to become the next Montverde star to join “The Brotherhood.”
Besides, common sense says that Scheyer and his crew wouldn’t be showing so much interest in the versatile, lengthy showstopper right now if they didn’t have reason to like their chances.
Next. Ranking each Duke player in the Blue-White games. dark
In closing, there are three 2023 Duke basketball offer-holders we aren’t expecting — subject to change — to play their college ball in Durham. They are Kenwood (Ill.) five-star small forward JJ Taylor, Brewster (N.H.) five-star small forward Matas Buzelis, and Ridge View (S.C.) five-star power forward Gregory Jackson.