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Duke basketball recruiting class has 4 Gatorade State Players of the Year

The Blue Devils incoming freshmen are already taking center stage

By Kevin Connelly

Darren Harris, of Paul VI High School in Virginia, was the winner of the 3-point shootout tournament
Darren Harris, of Paul VI High School in Virginia, was the winner of the 3-point shootout tournament / Ricardo Rolon/USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA
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The incoming Duke basketball recruiting class was already special but those future Blue Devils are landing massive awards prior to their travels to Durham in the summer.

Four players were named as the Gatorade Player of the Year in their respective states, headlined by Cooper Flagg (Florida), who was also named as a Top-3 finalist for the Gatorade Player of the Year award alongside Ace Bailey and VJ Edgecombe.

The Blue Devils were a finalist for Edgecombe before he decided to play his next season of basketball for Baylor. Flagg also won the Naismith High School Player of the Year.

However, Isaiah Evans (North Carolina), Darren Harris (Virginia), and Kon Knueppel (Wisconsin) were all given the top honor to a boys high school basketball player in their states.

Only Patrick Ngongba II (Virginia), who is teammates with Harris and missed most of the year due to injury and the newest recruit, Khaman Maluach, did not get honored. It's obvious that Maluach could not win the award, given he is an international prospect and plays at the NBA Academy Africa.

All players, with the exception of Harris, are listed as 5-star prospects.

Evans and Flagg will also represent their future school as McDonald's All-Americans in April before Flagg and Montverde Academy look to win another National Championship at the newly sponsored Chipotle Nationals.

Cooper Flagg and Montverde are the No. 1 seed while Darren Harris and Paul VI are the No. 2 seed.

Other Blue Devil recruiting targets are in the event, such as Cameron and Cayden Boozer for Columbus High School (Fla.).

Duke has the consensus No. 1 recruiting class in the country for next season as Jon Scheyer and his coaching staff will look to quickly add talent to its 2025 class, which currently holds no verbal pledges from any of the players.

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