Popular Duke basketball recruiting target could bypass college

A popular Duke basketball recruiting target may not be trending toward college. 

LeBron ‘Bronny’ James Jr. might be the most popular name on the recruiting scene and has been gathering interest from the Duke basketball program since he could dribble a basketball.

All eyes have been on James Jr. at Peach Jam this week and the 6-foot-3 guard has showcased his developed game and turning heads into a legitimate prospect at the high school level.

However, those heads might not certainly be college coaches, according to Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports.

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Finkelstein updated the recruitment of Bronny James on the 247Sports YouTube channel and things already seem to be trending in a certain direction with the son of the eventual Hall of Famer.

“I think he’s trending in the right direction. I think he can see his ranking rise. He’s earned it. He’s earned it based on the caliber of his play,” Finkelstein said.

James Jr. is currently ranked as a four-star recruit in the 247Sports Composite Rankings and the No. 46 player in the Class of 2023, No. 7 shooting guard in his class, and No. 12 player in the state of California.

LeBron James Jr. could be long shot to land with Duke basketball program

Bronny James has yet to field an offer from a program but has interest from the four blue-bloods in Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky but that interest might not develop any further, according to the recruiting expert.

“I don’t know that anybody’s really recruiting Bronny James. I think the perception is that Bronny James is not going to play college basketball,” Finkelstein explained.

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“That is not fact by any stretch. But as you sit in a college coaches’ section and you just kind of hear what coaches are saying about this, I haven’t heard anyone who’s said, ‘Yeah, we’re making a hard push for Bronny.'”

Duke already has the top ranked recruiting class in 2023 with five-star forward Mackenzie Mgbacko, five-star guard Caleb Foster, five-star forward Sean Stewart, and four-star guard Jared McCain.

The Blue Devils also remain involved with four-star center JP Estrella, four-star forward Xavier Booker, and hot rising four-star forward TJ Power.