Duke basketball recruiting: Predicting another 5-star commit

Duke basketball seems likely to receive more good recruiting news soon.

Centennial (Calif.) shooting guard Jared McCain, a 6-foot-2 smooth five-star who ranks No. 23 overall on the 247Sports 2023 Composite, plans to announce his college destination on Friday, per multiple sources. And most signs point to the Duke basketball recruiters coming out on top.

With five picks to date, the 247Sports Crystal Ball unanimously forecasts McCain to end up in Durham. Furthermore, perhaps the most trusted national recruiting insider, Andrew Slater of Pro Insight, tweeted a gif of Mike Krzyzewski on Tuesday to confirm his belief that the 18-year-old will choose Duke over Gonzaga and others.

McCain has not named finalists in his recruitment. However, his recent official visits to Duke and Gonzaga — not to mention repeated positive comments about both — suggest those are the two schools with a legit shot in the high-profile race.

Here’s what McCain recently told 247Sports about his trip to Blue Devil land in early February, which coincided with Duke’s 69-68 home loss against Virginia:

“That one was wild…Going to that game, though, was insane. I couldn’t have expected the fans to be like that, although that’s what I heard from everyone. [Early 2023 Duke pledge Caleb Foster] came to the game too and talked to me, and [associate head coach Jon Scheyer] talked about the freedom guards have on the team. He talked about guys like JJ Redick or someone like Seth Curry.”

Recruiting successes galore for the next Duke basketball head coach

Should the Blue Devils land Jared McCain this week, Jon Scheyer would boast his ninth recruiting prize since becoming the program’s head coach-in-waiting in June. Those prizes would include six of the five-star variety.

Six of Scheyer’s commits are from the 2022 class. Together, they constitute the No. 1 haul on the 247Sports Team Rankings.

Meanwhile, the other two — not yet counting McCain — are 2023 prospects and give the Blue Devils another top-ranked collection at the moment.

Final prediction: Jared McCain will be a Blue Devil.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Duke basketball recruiting news and views.