Both on the court and off, it feels like Jon Scheyer and Duke are in constant competition with Todd Golden and Florida.
The Blue Devils and the Gators are the consensus No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country heading into the 2026-27 season. There appears to be a clear separation between those two and the rest of the contenders.
Golden has built Florida into a consistent contender, capturing a National Championship in 2025 and leading the Gators to back-to-back No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Now, Florida is beginning to become a thorn in Scheyer's side on the recruiting trail.
Two of the top prospects in high school basketball right now are 5-stars Beckham Black (2027) and Colton Hiller (2028). They also happen to be two of Duke's top targets over the next two recruiting cycles.
Both will be in Gainesville this weekend to visit Florida:
Sources: A pair of five-star prospects --- Beckham Black (2027) and Colton Hiller (2028) --- will both officially visit Florida this weekend.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) September 1, 2026
A significant couple of days in Gainesville for the Gators, who have been a number 1 seed in each of the past two NCAA Tournaments.
Top Duke targets Beckham Black and Colton Hiller will visit Florida this weekend
This certainly won't give Duke fans the warm fuzzies.
Black is arguably Duke's top overall target in the 2027 cycle. Scheyer has begun putting the full-court press on him after seeing him up close during the Nike EYBL circuit. Black is the younger brother of former Arkansas and current Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Black is the No. 2 overall player in the composite rankings and will have his pick of colleges to attend. He's already taken an official visit to Georgetown, and he'll see both Florida and Texas in the coming weeks. Scheyer will keep pushing to try to get Black to Durham for an official visit in the next month or two before the early signing period starts in November.
As for Hiller, he's the new No. 1 prospect in the 2028 class after AJ Williams reclassified into 2027. Duke has been looked at as a strong favorite for Hiller for quite some time, but the Gators pose a serious threat.
His brother, Maxwell Hiller, is a 5-star offensive line recruit in the 2027 football recruiting class and is currently committed to Florida. The draw of going to college with his brother in Gainesville is undoubtedly alluring.
There's still a long way to go in Hiller's recruitment, but it could shape up to be a Duke vs. Florida battle for the 5-star forward from Pennsylvania. Others will try to get in the mix, but Scheyer and Golden seemingly have a significant advantage over the rest of the field.
As uneasy as Black and Hiller visiting Florida this weekend is, Scheyer and Duke should still get their own in-person opportunity with each player soon enough.
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