Believe it or not, Duke doesn't extend an offer to every single four-star or five-star prospect in the country, despite the Blue Devils seemingly having a monopoly over the best high school players.
Even with the No. 1 class of 2025 and a similar result expected in 2026, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer has been picky about offering prospects, only extending nine so far.
Gavin and Gallagher Placide are a perfect example of two four-star prospects that Scheyer decided not to offer, despite in-state rivals NC State and Wake Forest recruiting the brothers.
Even though the Blue Devils weren’t interested enough in the Placides, it was still pretty sweet as they got to watch the NC State Wolfpack swing and miss on their recruitment, the pair committing to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons instead.
Both Gavin and Gallagher play power forward, a position for which Scheyer has only extended three offers so far, including five-stars Cameron Williams, Christian Collins, and Christian Collins.
While the Demon Deacons are still an in-state opponent, they haven’t held the same weight that the Wolfpack has in recent seasons, making it oh so sweet when they landed the Placides over NC State.
NEWS: 2026 4⭐️ prospects Gavin and Gallagher Placide have committed to Wake Forest, sources told @LeagueRDY.
— Sam Kayser (@KayserHoops) September 18, 2025
Two huge additions for the Demon Deacons as they pickup two highly productive prospects with tremendous upside.
They chose Wake Forest over Kansas, Florida State, LSU,… pic.twitter.com/nQME9cKIQx
So far, Scheyer has offered just nine players in the class of 2026, including six five-star prospects. However, he and the Blue Devils have yet to receive a commitment. Meanwhile, programs like the Florida State Seminoles already lay claim to four commitments.
Don’t worry, it isn’t time to hit the panic button on the Duke head coach and his recruitment process. At this time last year, Scheyer had yet to land a commitment from the class of 2025, which quickly evolved into the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.
Also read: Duke looking at another set of twins to add alongside the Boozer Brothers
Duke’s most recent class included five-star brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer, five-star power forward Nikolas Khamenia, five-star shooting guard Dame Sarr, and four-star power forward Sebastian Wilkins.
Scheyer also earned a commitment from highly coveted center Ifeanyi Ufochukwu, who transferred to Duke after spending two years with the Rice Owls.