Huge implications: Duke basketball pledge pondering reclass

A future Duke basketball player is on reclass watch.

According to a tweet from Rivals recruiting insider Rob Cassidy, Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer was in Orlando on Friday. The 34-year-old five-star magnet was there, in part, to watch his first of now-five 2023 prizes, five-star Caleb Foster, at an EYBL event.

Cassidy noted that Foster, a 6-foot-5 silky facilitator out of Oak Hill (Va.) who ranks No. 12 overall on the 247Sports 2023 Composite, is “still mulling a reclassification to 2022.”

Here’s what Cassidy wrote in March about that decision:

“The decision will ultimately hinge on NBA Draft decisions as well as transfer portal fallout, so Foster’s future won’t be set in stone until after the Blue Devils’ season.”

Of course, the season has now been over for a week. But none of the program’s potential returning players have announced stay-or-go intentions just yet.

What the Duke basketball commit has said about the decision

During his sitdown chat with Krysten Peek of Rivals in February, Caleb Foster specifically mentioned that the plans of Duke sophomore point guard Jeremy Roach and freshman shooting guard Trevor Keels are “a big part” of his decision. He also noted the all-important influence of conversations with his family and Jon Scheyer.

Roach, Keels, and junior small forward Wendell Moore Jr. were the 2021-22 Blue Devils’ primary ballhandlers. Outside of those three, there’s freshman point guard Jaylen Blakes, a former four-star recruit who rode the pine last season and likely would never be much of a threat to Foster when it comes to battling for minutes.

Also worth pointing out in this discussion, Scheyer and his crew reportedly have eyes on Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack, a 6-foot sizzling backcourt weapon who shined to the tune of First Team All-Big 12 honors last season as a sophomore.

On top of that, Duke is already preparing to welcome a six-deep, top-ranked 2022 class. It includes talents with floor-general abilities — most notably, five-star small forward Dariq Whitehead and four-star shooting guard Jaden Schutt.

Finally, one possible clue to what all is about to shake out is the announced Duke commitment on Thursday from NBA Global Academy (Australia) five-star point guard Tyrese Proctor, who ranks No. 17 on the 247Sports 2023 Composite. He has expressed no interest in a reclass of his own, perhaps implying he and Scheyer figure Caleb Foster ultimately will arrive in Durham this summer.

Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more Caleb Foster updates, plus other Duke basketball recruiting news and views.