Another top ranked recruit has reveled the Duke basketball program as his ‘dream school’.
Things just keep turning up positive for Jon Scheyer and the Duke basketball program as another top recruit is gushing over the Blue Devils.
Naasir Cunningham, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2024 ranked by the 247Sports Composite Rankings, chatted with Joe Tipton of On3Sports at the USA Basketball U17 tryouts in Colorado Springs this weekend about his recruitment and potential destinations for where he will play in college.
Duke offered the 6-foot-7 small forward on January 22 and it was a huge milestone in the young career of the then Gil St. Bernard’s (NJ) superstar.
“Growing up, my dream school was Duke. I was a big Duke fan,” Cunningham told Tipton.
But the way in which the prized recruit became a Blue Devil fan was not the most traditional, he revealed.
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“Really, one of my friends in kindergarten put me on to college basketball…And he used to come in with the Duke jerseys and I would be like ‘what’s that?’ So I started watching college basketball and started watching Duke…so that’s really what stuck with me so I was always a Duke fan.”
Jon Scheyer and his coaching staff might have to give that friend a gift basket or free season tickets if the Blue Devils are able to land Naas Cunningham, who is making the leap from high school to Overtime Elite.
Cunningham is a trailblazer when it comes to Overtime Elite as he is maintaining his college eligibility and forgoing the salary offered by the newly created basketball league. Instead, the New Jersey native worked with the league, his parents, and the N CAA on a scholarship option where he can play in the league and maintain his future eligibility.
Duke basketball will have stiff competition for Naasir Cunningham
Naasir Cunningham also has offers from schools such as Arkansas, Creighton, Florida State, Kansas, Maryland, St. John’s, and UCLA while schools such as Kentucky, Texas, and Oregon have been in contact with him since June 15.
Cunningham has already taken unofficial visits to Rutgers, St. John’s, UConn, UCLA, and Duke but it hoping to set up an official visit to Durham in the fall or winter.
Duke landed a commitment from Class of 2023 stud Mackenzie Mgbacko, a teammate of Naas Cunningham when the two played at Gil St. Bernard’s last season.
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“ always reach out, and they constantly remind me that I’m their guy, they love me, and they want me at their school,” Cunningham added.
“It feels great knowing my dream school growing up is heavy on me.”
The Blue Devils do not have a commitment from a player in the Class of 2024 yet, but Jon Scheyer already has the top ranked recruiting classes in 2022 and 2023 since taking over as head coach of the program.