Many people have pegged as the Duke basketball team as the favorite for 5-star high school prospect Nate Ament but things in the world of recruiting change quickly and the Blue Devils have lost its lead.
With a commitment expected any day from Ament, 247Sports college basketball insider Travis Branham has logged a Crystal Ball prediction for the Virginia native to land at Tennessee.
Branham hinted at the SEC program on the verge of overtaking the Blue Devils earlier in the week on The College Basketball Show.
“There’s been some movement over the last couple of weeks,” Branham explained.
He noted that Duke, Tennessee, and Kentucky emerged as the three main contenders for his services after Louisville and Arkansas have bowed out of the race, but it is really between the Blue Devils and the Volunteers.
“Tennessee is a school that I’m keeping a close eye on,” he continued. “They continue to pick up more and more buzz. They’ve gained traction in this recruitment, nipping at the heels of Duke to ultimately land Nate Ament.”
The No. 4 player in the 247Sports rankings was expected to announce his decision during the McDonald’s All-American Game festivities but postponed his commitment, primarily to see how things unfolded with the transfer portal and player retention on the current roster for his contenders.
He is expected to play in the Jordan Brand Classic on Friday in Washington D.C.
However, the change in his recruitment could be a good sign for Duke in its pursuit of keeping Isaiah Evans on its roster for next season. Evans, expected to be a starter if he’s still with the program next year, is the biggest decision that the Blue Devils are waiting for this offseason.
Kon Knueppel has already declared for the NBA Draft with Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach expected to do the same shortly while Caleb Foster announced on Thursday that he will be remaining with the program for his junior season.
Jon Scheyer wanted to put an emphasis on roster retention and the idea of losing Ament to keep Evans might be the best decision for the potential success of Duke next season.
The Blue Devils, regardless of what Nate Ament decides to do, will have the top ranked high school recruiting class next season headlined by Cameron and Cayden Boozer along with Nikolas Khamenia and Shelton Henderson.