The Duke basketball program is gearing up to host No. 15 Florida on Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the third annual ACC/SEC Challenge. Now, the stakes just got a lot higher, as it was reported that Duke basketball 5-star target Jordan Smith Jr. will be in attendance for the matchup. Smith has been on Jon Scheyer and Co.'s radar for quite some time, and he's been heavily connected to the Blue Devils since his official visit to Countdown to Craziness. Duke has three commitments sealed so far in the class of 2026, including two from 5-star recruits, but Scheyer and his staff have yet to land an elite guard for the future.
All three of Duke's 2026 commits so far are frontcourt players. The program has landed pledges from 5-star forwards Cameron Williams and Bryson Howard, along with Canadian seven-footer Maxime Meyer. Smith would be a critical add for the Blue Devils' future backcourt, especially considering that Duke's top two guards could very well could both be on the way out at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
2026 5-star Duke basketball target Jordan Smith Jr. to be in attendance for Duke vs. Florida at Cameron Indoor Stadium
Smith is the No. 2 overall player, No. 1 combo guard, and No. 1 player out of the state of Virginia according to the 247Sports 2026 Composite Rankings. The 6'2", 200-pound product cut his list of schools back in August to Duke, Arkansas, Georgetown, Syracuse, Indiana, and Kentucky. However, the Blue Devils seem to be the frontrunner.
5⭐️ Jordan Smith Jr. will be in attendance for Duke's matchup against Florida tonight, source told @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) December 2, 2025
The 6-2 guard is one of the Blue Devils' top targets.https://t.co/xZ3noFoXk3 https://t.co/2PO7TpRa1c pic.twitter.com/wklaU8lSNk
Smith was in attendance at Countdown to Craziness along with Williams, a current Duke commit. Just a few days after his official visit to Durham, the elite guard received a crystal ball prediction to land with the Blue Devils.
Additionally, Duke has a bit of an edge over the other schools still in contention for Smith's services, as two of Smith's former high school teammates at Paul VI Catholic (VA) are current members of Duke's team, in Darren Harris and Pat Ngongba. Former Blue Devils Trevor Keels and Jeremy Roach also attended PVI.
There is no official timeline for Smith's ultimate commitment, but Duke continues to be viewed as the leader. Duke currently sits with the No. 5 overall recruiting class per 247Sports.