Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff are beginning to hone in on the prospects they are looking to land in the 2026 recruiting class. The staff recently had two elite 5-star recruits in attendance for Countdown to Craziness this past weekend, and the Blue Devils have now received a crystal ball prediction to land 5-star guard Jordan Smith Jr. Smith was in attendance for Countdown to Craziness along with fellow 5-star Cameron Williams. This weekend was Smith's second official visit to Durham, and Scheyer also recently took an in-home visit with the coveted combo guard out of Paul VI Catholic (VA).
Duke basketball receives crystal ball prediction to land 5-star Jordan Smith Jr.
Just a few days after Smith's time in Durham, Colby Giacubeno of InsideMDSports has logged a crystal ball prediction of medium confidence for Smith to land at Duke. Giacubeno is 12-of-12 on his predictions for the class of 2026 and has been correct in 89% of his predictions all-time.
Smith, the No. 2 overall player in the class of 2026 and No. 1 combo guard according to the 247Sports 2026 Composite Rankings, attends the same high school as current Blue Devils Darren Harris and Patrick Ngongba. Former Duke players Trevor Keels and Jeremy Roach also attended PVI.
The 6'2", 200-pound guard cut his list of potential suitors to six this summer: Duke, Georgetown, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, and Syracuse. Smith recently took an official visit to Arkansas and has one scheduled at Kentucky this coming weekend.
The Blue Devils have long been in hot pursuit of Smith and have been viewed as the likely favorite for some time. In an environment like Countdown to Craziness, an atmosphere that can't be recreated anywhere else, it's tough for a top recruit not to want to be playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
In a past interview with Rivals, here's what Smith had to say about head coach Jon Scheyer and the Duke program.
“They want me to come in here, help them win a national championship, help them reach my goals in any way possible. They want to build my character as a young man, develop me to how I want to be. I love Jon Scheyer, he’s a great recruiter. I have two teammates that speak very highly of him, so I’m just excited to see what they do this year, how he plays them.”
Smith is at the top of the priority list for Scheyer and his staff, and it looks like the Blue Devils are closing in.