Duke basketball recruiting: Top target talks timeline

Duke basketball’s highest-ranked 2023 target appears in no rush whatsoever.

In his debut blog for SI.com on Monday, Duke basketball recruiting target Mackenzie Mgbako updated the status of his recruitment and his plans moving forward. All in all, it looks as if the 6-foot-8, 200-pound multifaceted five-star small forward out of Gill St. Bernard’s (N.J.) will be taking his time when it comes to both putting out a list of favorites and ultimately deciding on a winner.

At No. 3 overall on the 247Sports 2023 Composite, Mgbako remains the highest-ranked prospect in his class with an offer from the Duke Blue Devils.

Duke basketball target compiling info to find the perfect landing spot

Here’s what Mackenzie Mgbako noted about his recent chats with the Duke staff and other big-name suitors:

“My recruitment is going really well. I don’t have a list or anything like that, but I talk to the coaches all the time. I talk to [assistant Orlando Antigua] from Kentucky, [head coach-in-waiting Jon Scheyer] from Duke, [assistant Tony Skinn] from Ohio State, [head coach Penny Hardaway] from Memphis, and [head coach Juwan Howard] from Michigan just came to my scrimmage.”

As for trimming his list of suitors and then choosing a college destination, Mgbako advised folks not to expect any movement on those fronts for at least another six months or so:

“It’s been fun just getting to know the coaches, but I’m not really feeling any pressure to cut it down or make any big decisions. I visited Duke, Kentucky, Memphis, and Ohio State already. All of them were great…I feel like I’ll probably wait until around June to cut my list down, so I’ve got a lot of time to get information to make the best decision.”

Currently, all four predictions in the 247Sports Crystal Ball for Mackenzie Mgbako still favor the Duke basketball recruiting machine to come out on top in the end.

At this early stage on the 2023 recruiting trail, the Duke Blue Devils boast one pledge in five-star point guard Caleb Foster. He took an official visit to Durham alongside Mgbako in early September before committing less than two weeks later.

Mackenzie Mgbako is one of seven undecided prep juniors who still hold a Duke basketball recruiting offer. The other six are five-star shooting guard Jared Mccain, five-star small forward JJ Taylor, five-star small forward Matas Buzelis, five-star small forward Taylor Bowen, five-star power forward GG Jackson, and four-star power forward Sean Stewart.