A couple of future Duke basketball big men will do battle.
Two heralded 2022 Duke basketball signees are squaring off at 3:20 p.m. ET Sunday at the Empire Invitational in New York City. Dereck Lively II and his Westtown School (Pa.) team will face Kyle Filipowski and his Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Mass.) squad.
Plus, it just so happens that Ball Durham co-site expert and NFHS Network broadcaster Kevin Connelly will be on the call for the clash between future Blue Devils. Fans can tune in to watch a live stream of the game while listening to Connelly’s commentary on YouTube at this link.
A brief look at the Duke basketball recruiting prizes
Dereck Lively II is a 7-foot-2, 220-pound five-star center who ranks No. 1 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite. Assuming he doesn’t drop before he arrives at Duke in the summer, he would become the fourth Blue Devil since 2014 to boast a No. 1 composite ranking, joining RJ Barrett, Marvin Bagley III, and Jahlil Okafor in this regard.
Meanwhile, Kyle Filipowski is a 6-foot-11, 230-pound five-star power forward who recently climbed a notch to No. 7 among prep seniors. In late July, he became the first in his class to commit to the Blue Devils and the first recruit in history to pledge his allegiance to Duke head coach-in-waiting Jon Scheyer.
Lively and Filipowski are part of a six-deep Blue Devil haul that stands atop the 247Sports 2022 Team Rankings. The other four members are Yorkville Christian (Ill.) four-star shooting guard Jaden Schutt, Montverde (Fla.) five-star small forward Dariq Whitehead, Sunrise Christian (Kan.) five-star small forward Mark Mitchell, and Oak Hill (Va.) three-star center Christian Reeves.
Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more on Dereck Lively II, Kyle Filipowski, and the rest of the 2022 Duke basketball recruiting class.