The wheels are churning in Durham, North Carolina as the Duke basketball offseason has finally kicked into gear. Kon Knuepple’s NBA Draft declaration and Caleb Foster’s announcement to remain with the program were the first two moves but there are a lot more coming.
Things started to unravel on Thursday afternoon when it became clear that Tennessee was the new favorite to land 5-star forward Nate Ament and on Thursday night a new high school recruiting development presented itself after Shelton Henderson scrubbed the Blue Devils from his social media.
Many speculated if Henderson would decommit from Duke following the hiring of Jai Lucas at Miami with his very close relationship to the former associate head coach as the two attending the same high school in Texas (Bellaire High School).
Lucas was the leader in the 5-star forward’s recruitment but talks of a decommitment quieted over the last few weeks until recently.
There was some chatter if Cameron and Cayden Boozer would also follow Lucas to Miami after he hired their high school coach to his staff with the Hurricanes, but that was shut down very quickly.
Shelton Henderson is listed as the No. 14 player in country by 247Sports. He committed to Duke in early November and signed his National Letter of Intent, which the Blue Devils would have to release him from in order to go to Miami.
Nothing has been made official yet, but everything is trending in the direction of the ‘Canes at the moment.
As for Duke, it appears to be another great sign that Isaiah Evans will return for his sophomore season after transfer portal rumors circled his name since the season ended. If the rookie were to play another season with the Blue Devils, he could command a lot of minutes at small forward and it would make less time for both Henderson and Ament on the floor.