The Duke basketball program is currently in the running for a few prospects in the class of 2025, including Italian guard Dame Sarr and high school forward Braydon Hawthorne. Duke is the front runner for Sarr's services, but an official commitment timeline is unknown. However, the former West Virginia commit has announced his commitment date.
Hawthorne will announce his commitment on May 20th at 7:00 pm EST live on the 247Sports YouTube channel. The top-35 recruit has visited Duke, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and Virginia Tech.
The West Virginia native was committed to the Mountaineers, but elected to reopen his recruitment once former WVU head coach Darian DeVries left this offseason to take over as head coach at Indiana. Hawthorne is still considering the Mountaineers, but has other blue blood programs looking for his services.
"Braydon Hawthorne is a unique player. A definite late-bloomer, someone who is already producing on the national stage, but his best basketball is still clearly in front of him," On3's Jamie Shaw said about the recruit's game. "Currently in the 6-foot-8, 6-foot-9 range, Hawthorne has true wing skills. He can put the ball on the floor in the half-court to self-create an opportunity. Athletically, he still needs to add strength. While he is fluid in his movements, he has average pop. However, what he does have is length and instincts, which he uses to an advantage."
After a big senior season at Huntington (WV), Hawthorne climbed all the way to the #33 overall player at the 247Sports rankings. He's the #101 overall player and the #24 small forward in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
He's a fairly raw prospect, but Jon Scheyer has done an incredible job throughout his tenure in Durham in terms of developing new talent. The Blue Devils could certainly use depth at the wing position next season, and Hawthorne will fit right in.
With Cedric Coward likely staying in the 2025 NBA Draft, next year's Blue Devils squad will certainly lack veteran contributions. If Scheyer can land both Sarr and Hawthorne, that would give the squad some much-needed scoring additions.
The program has also been in contact with USC transfer Desmond Claude, but not much news has broken with his talks with Duke as of late.