Duke basketball: Versatile prospect wants to visit Blue Devils

A long-limbed recruit remains squarely on the Duke basketball radar.

Brewster (N.H.) small forward Taylor Bowen, a 6-foot-9, 195-pound four-star who ranks No. 25 on the 247Sports 2023 Composite, has been on the Duke basketball recruiting wishlist for months. And according to his conversation this week with On3 insider Jamie Shaw, the Blue Devils remain among his most active pursuers:

“Right now, I am hearing the most from Providence, Duke, UConn, Arkansas, Marquette.”

Bowen, who describes himself as Mr. Versatility and holds almost 20 offers, then discussed his mindset regarding visits. That includes his hopes to take a trip to Durham in the future:

“I have been on unofficial visits to UConn and Providence, but I will start my official visit process soon. I will look to set an official with Providence. I would like to visit Duke as well.”

Currently, the 247Sports Crystal Ball for Bowen contains zero predictions. Meanwhile, the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, which factors in a wide variety of data, heavily favors Providence but gives Duke a fighting chance.

Potential Duke basketball package deal with Taylor Bowen and teammate

Another Duke basketball recruiting target on the Brewster roster is Matas Buzelis, a 6-foot-10, 190-pound five-star who sits No. 10 on the 247Sports 2023 Composite. He and Taylor Bowen received offers from the Blue Devils on the same day back in the fall.

Now, most recruiting sites list Bowen and Buzelis as small forwards, so one might think they’ll look to go their separate ways in finding a place to shine after high school.

However, their specialties are pretty different: Bowen being a go-go-gadget lockdown defender and Buzelis being a Euro-stepping smooth playmaker. With that in mind, it’s certainly not out of the question that the Blue Devils — or some other shared suitor — could land them both. In January, Bowen expressed as much to Joe Tipton of On3:

“[Matas and I] are close friends for sure. I think on the recruiting front, we could definitely be teammates one day. It could definitely happen. But it’s not something we spend a lot of time talking about.”

Duke already has two pledges from the 2023 class in Oak Hill (Va.) five-star point guard Caleb Foster and Windermere (Fla.) four-star power forward Sean Stewart. Also worth noting, the Crystal Ball projects the Blue Devils to add a third name to that list at 7 p.m. Friday when Centennial (Calif.) five-star shooting guard Jared McCain announces his decision.

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