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Duke Basketball Recruiting: Blue Devils host two elite 2026 recruits for Countdown to Craziness

These two elite recruits were in attendance for Countdown to Craziness
Hugh Straine
Hugh Straine

Ball Durham

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The Duke basketball program held Countdown to Craziness on Friday, the team's preseason hype event. Along with all the Cameron Crazies, two elite class of 2026 recruits were in attendance on official visits to Duke. Jon Scheyer and his staff have begun to close in on the class of 2026 and the recruits that they want to go after. The two 5-star prospects in attendance for Countdown to Craziness were Jordan Smith Jr. and Cameron Williams, two recruits who have been heavily on the Blue Devils' radar for some time now. Scheyer has cemented the No. 1 overall recruiting class in three of his four recruiting cycles as the head man for Duke, and he's looking to seal his first top talents in the class of 2026.

Two 5-star 2026 recruits in attendance for Countdown to Craziness

Jordan Smith Jr.

Jordan Smith is the No. 2 overall recruit and No. 1 overall combo guard per the 247Sports 2026 Composite Rankings. The Paul VI Catholic (VA) product was teammates with current Duke players Darren Harris and Patrick Ngongba in high school. Former Blue Devils Jeremy Roach and Trevor Keels also attended PVI. This summer, Smith announced the final six schools in contention for his services: Duke, Arkansas, Georgetown, Kentucky, Indiana, and Syracuse. This past weekend was Smith's second visit to Durham, as he had also been on campus in November 2024. Scheyer recently took an at-home visit with the recruit, and he seems like one of the top priorities for Scheyer and his staff as the 2026 recruiting cycle heats up. The 6'2" guard has recently taken an official visit to Arkansas and has one slated with Kentucky this coming weekend.

Cameron Williams

Cameron Williams, the other top recruit in attendance at Countdown to Craziness, is the No. 4 overall player and No. 1 power forward per the 247Sports 2026 Composite Rankings. The 6'11 forward out of St. Mary's (AZ) has been one of the biggest risers of the entire 2026 recruiting class. Williams has yet to cut his list of potential suitors, but holds over 12 high-major offers. The big man has taken official visits to Texas, Purdue, SMU, Kentucky, and Duke, and has visits scheduled to both USC and Arizona over the next two weeks.

Hugh Straine

Hugh Straine

Hugh Straine is a contributor at Section 215 and has also been the Site Expert at Balldurham.com, FanSided's site covering Duke University sports, since September of 2024. Hugh is an aspiring sports journalist and has been covering basketball at both the college and NBA levels for since 2020. Hugh is a senior at Bucknell University, where he is the color commentator for Bucknell University women's basketball on ESPN+. Hugh is a massive Duke basketball fan and loves all things Philadelphia sports.