Tag: duke basketball recruiting

Duke basketball makes the top four for four-star 2025 combo guard

Four-star 2025 guard Acaden Lewis revealed his top four on Saturday, and the Blue Devils need to beat UNC and two others for his commitment.

Duke basketball and the North Carolina Tar Heels won’t play each other on the court for a few months yet, but Jon Scheyer and Hubert Davis remain locked in competition on the recruiting trail.

Acaden Lewis, a four-star combo guard and a top-40 player in the Class of 2025, revealed his top four schools on Saturday. The Blue Devils and the Tar Heels made his final list alongside two-time defending national champion Connecticut and the Kentucky Wildcats.

Lewis, a 6-foot-2 and 170-pound guard, plays for the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC. According to MaxPreps, he averaged 14.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game as a junior in 2023-24. He’s currently No. 32 on the 247Sports Rankings.

Lewis took an unofficial visit with the Blue Devils in early August, sharing some photos of himself in a Duke uniform on his social media page.

While the Huskies remain a threat for any elite talent thanks to their sales pitch of consecutive national championships, Lewis’s proximity to North Carolina means it shouldn’t surprise fans if this comes down to the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils.

There’s no potential timetable for a decision, however, so Lewis could end up at any of the four schools.

Five-star 2026 forward reportedly sets visit with Duke basketball

Miikka Muurinen, one of the top players in the Class of 2026, will reportedly take an official visit with the Duke Blue Devils this month.

According to a Thursday report from League Ready’s Sam Kayser, Duke basketball will host 2026 five-star forward Miika Muurinen for an official visit later this month.

Kayser said on X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) that Muurinen would take an official visit with the Blue Devils on September 27th.

One of the fastest-rising players in his class, the Arizona native has moved all the way up to No. 6 on the 247Sports rankings. Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils first extended the 6-foot-10 forward an offer in July, and he’s presumed to be one of the staff’s top targets for the 2026 cycle.

According to Kayser’s report, Muurinen will also visit the Michigan Wolverines on September 14 and the Arkansas Razorbacks on September 21. He’s also received offers from the UCLA Bruins, Kentucky Wildcats, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Alabama Crimson Tide.

Scheyer visited another elite 2026 prospect, shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr., at school earlier this week. Smith played alongside new Blue Devils freshmen Darren Harris and Paul Ngongba II at Paul VI Catholic.

https://twitter.com/247HSHoops/status/1834258484646572394

Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer visits five-star 2026 guard

Jordan Smith Jr., a top-10 player from the Class of 2026, received an in-school visit from Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer on Tuesday.

Duke basketball coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] has his eyes firmly set on another St. Paul VI Catholic High School recruit.

According to a Wednesday report from MADE Hoops’ Colby Giacubeno, Scheyer took an in-school visit with five-star 2026 shooting guard Jordan Smith Jr. on Tuesday.

Smith, who sits in the No. 8 spot on 247Sports’ 2026 recruiting rankings, stands 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds. As a sophomore last season, he helped lead the Panthers to a 35-3 record and a trip to the Chipotle Nationals championship game alongside seniors Darren Harris and Pat Ngongba II, two members of Duke’s 2024 recruiting class.

That title game featured a third incoming Blue Devil on the other side with Montverde Academy star [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag], the top-ranked freshman in the country, leading his team to a 79-63 victory.

Smith amassed six points, four rebounds, and two assists against Montverde despite his young age. He ended the three-game run through the bracket averaging 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists, including a 15-point performance against IMG Academy in the quarterfinals.

Smith likely won’t make a decision in the near future with his junior year of high school just starting, but he’s a name for Duke basketball fans to keep circled for the future.

Duke basketball reportedly visits five-star 2025 forward Nate Ament

According to a Wednesday report from League Ready, the Blue Devils and seven other schools visited 2025 five-star Nate Ament.

The Duke basketball program tends to win over elite recruits, but head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] might have his hands full trying to land a commitment from five-star 2025 forward Nate Ament.

According to a report from League Ready’s Sam Kayser, the Blue Devils visited the Virginia native at school on Wednesday. However, so did seven other teams, including Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Virginia, Kansas State, Notre Dame, and Georgetown.

One of the consensus 10 best players in his class, Ament currently sits seventh on 247Sports’ 2025 rankings. The Highland School product has been on the Blue Devils’ radar for quite a while, and he took an unofficial visit with the program back in September.

Duke may have gotten a bonus last month when Ament attended the Nike Academy, where former Blue Devil [autotag]Dereck Lively II[/autotag] worked out with some of the country’s best players. However, with no timetable or finalists announced, who knows how long Scheyer will need to wait before finding out if Ament will play at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

https://twitter.com/247HSHoops/status/1831502969998602573

The Ament news came the same day as a separate report that Duke traveled to Riviera Preparatory School in Miami for some in-person scouting. The Blue Devils also hosted Cameron and Cayden Boozer, the twin sons of Duke legend Carlos Boozer and two top 2025 prospects, for a visit this weekend.

Duke basketball reportedly scouting at a Miami high school

According to a Wednesday report from Relentless Hoops’s Trent Markwith, the Blue Devils spent the day scouting at Riviera Preparatory School.

Just one month before the Countdown to Craziness unofficially kicks off the 2024-25 Duke basketball season, the Blue Devils staff remains in search of future talent.

According to a Wednesday report from Relentless Hoops’s Trent Markwith, Duke and two other schools spent the day at Riviera Preparatory School scouting the men’s basketball team.

The Bulldogs have a handful of intriguing prospects spread out over the next three recruiting classes. 7-foot center Gustavo Guimaraes, a member of the Class of 2025, isn’t ranked by 247Sports but he averaged 9.0 points and 10.8 rebounds per game last season. Riviera Prep finished with a 25-8 record.

Jeremy Jenkins, a 2027 forward who already stands 6-foot-7, showed promise when he averaged 9.8 points and 6.3 rebounds as a freshman in 2023-24.

The real find at Riviera Prep, however, comes in the form of the Fuentes brothers.

Mason led the team with 6.5 assists as a sophomore, adding 9.7 points and 1.6 steals. Myles, a 2027 classmate of Jenkins, outscored his older brother with 10.9 points in his freshman season while tacking on 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.3 steals.

https://twitter.com/TMarkwith14/status/1831392827835916463

Markwith reported that local schools Miami and FIU joined the Blue Devils for their day of scouting.

Five-star freshman Khaman Maluach explains why he chose Duke basketball

Khaman Maluach, the five-star seven-footer from South Sudan, explained why he chose the Duke Blue Devils on The Brotherhood Podcast on Tuesday.

It’d be easy to assume that [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag], the five-star center from South Sudan, chose the Blue Devils in part because of his relationship with Luol Deng.

Deng, the president of the South Sudanese Basketball Federation, played his college ball with the Blue Devils in 2003-04. Maluach played for South Sudan, and by extension Deng, at the most recent Olympic Games in France this summer.

However, despite having a good relationship with Deng, Maluach said on a Tuesday episode of The Brotherhood Podcast that the former Duke star isn’t why he ended up in Durham.

“I wouldn’t say he played a big role,” Maluach said. “I really came to Duke because I love this place and I wanted to tell my story at Duke. That’s one of the main reasons I came here.”

Maluach said he did ask Deng some questions about his Duke experience during the recruiting process, mostly about the environment and his time with the team. Deng, of course, had nothing but rave reviews.

“He really told me, ‘It’s a real brotherhood,’ and then I came here and I saw it myself when I visited,” Malauch said. “I really loved Duke.”

Maluach, a projected lottery pick in the 2025 NBA draft, is expected to be one of the best defensive players in the country this season. He’ll make his Blue Devils debut on October 4 at the Countdown to Craziness.

Carlos Boozer’s twin sons, Cayden and Cameron Boozer, set unofficial Duke basketball visit

Cameron and Cayden Boozer, twin sons of Duke basketball legend Carlos Boozer, will unofficially visit the Blue Devils this weekend, per report.

The Boozer family legacy could continue on basketball courts in Durham soon.

Cameron and Cayden Boozer, the twin sons of former Blue Devil Carlos Boozer, will reportedly take an unofficial visit to Duke basketball this weekend.

247Sports’ Travis Branham first reported the news on Wednesday, saying the Blue Devils will be the first of three schools on the brother’s schedule over the coming weeks.

Cameron, a 6-foot-9 power forward, is 247Sports’ second-ranked player in the Class of 2025. With the Blue Devils out of the running for top-ranked AJ Dybantsa, the taller Boozer brother figures to be the top target for head coach Jon Scheyer on the trail.

While Cayden, a 6-foot-4 point guard, hasn’t gained the same national attention as his twin brother, he’s 19th in the 247Sports Class of 2025 rankings in his own right.

The brothers play for Columbus High School in Miami, and the Explorers finished 29-6 in 2023-24. Cameron averaged a team-high 22.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, and Cayden paced the team with 7.6 assists per game while averaging 12.0 points.

Branham reported that the duo will also visit the Hurricanes and the Florida Gators from their home state.

Five-star 2025 forward sets official Duke basketball visit for September, per report

According to a Friday report from 247Sports’ Dushawn London, five-star 2025 forward Dwayne Aristode will visit Duke in late September.

The Duke basketball program will host a five-star 2025 prospect in late September, according to one Friday report.

247Sports’ Dushawn London wrote that Dwayne Aristode, the 19th-ranked player in 247Sports Composite rankings for the Class of 2025, will make an official visit with the Blue Devils from September 20-22.

Aristode, who plays for Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, measures out at 6-foot-7 and 205 pounds. He averaged 12.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game as a junior last season, and the Bobcats finished with a 27-7 record.

The small forward joins a lengthy list of 2025 targets for head coach Jon Scheyer. While the Blue Devils haven’t earned a commitment yet (and missed out on top-ranked recruit AJ Dybantsa), Duke has been connected to names like Cameron and Cayden Boozer, Nate Ament, and Shelton Henderson, all of whom are within the top 25 in the Composite rankings.

London also wrote that Aristode set up visits with Michigan State and USC. The five-star will visit the Spartans in late August and the Trojans just days before he heads to Durham.

Aristode has also fielded offers from Arizona, Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, and Connecticut.

Five-star 2026 basketball prospect reportedly set for unofficial Duke visit

According to a Wednesday report from League Ready, 2026 five-star Jordan Smith Jr. will take an unofficial visit to Duke in September.

Duke basketball head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] remains years ahead on the recruiting trail.

According to a Wednesday report from League Ready’s Sam Kayser, five-star prospect Jordan Smith Jr. from the Class of 2026 will take an unofficial visit to Durham on September 28th.

Smith, who is currently 247Sports’ eighth-ranked player in the class, plays for Paul VI Catholic High School in Virginia. Duke basketball fans who keep a keen eye on incoming talent should recognize the school as home to four-star forward Patrick Ngongba II and four-star guard Darren Harris, two members of the Blue Devils’ 2024 recruiting class.

Harris, Ngongba, and Smith led Paul VI to the championship game at Chipotle Nationals this year, falling to fellow Blue Devil [autotag]Cooper Flagg[/autotag] and Montverde Academy.

Smith averaged 10.0 points per game over the final three rounds of the tournament, including a 15-point performance in the quarterfinals against IMG Academy. Harris, notably, scored 36 points in that same game.

Only time will tell if Scheyer can land a third Paul VI star in three cycles, but the Blue Devils remain key players in Smith’s recruitment.

Duke basketball makes the final five schools for four-star 2025 forward

Nikolas Khamenia, a four-star forward and a top-30 prospect in the 2025 class, included the Blue Devils in his final five schools on Friday.

Four-star forward Nikolas Khamenia revealed his top five schools on Friday, confirming that Jon Scheyer and the Duke Blue Devils remain very much in play for his talents.

Duke made the cutoff alongside North Carolina, Arizona, Gonzaga, and UCLA.

Khamenia, a 6-foot-8 California product, is 247Sports’ No. 27 player in the Class of 2025. He plays for Harvard Westlake, a team that finished last season with a 33-3 record, and he’s risen quickly up the rankings over the last few months.

“Khamenia, a modern power forward, can guard multiple positions,” our Bryant Crews wrote when Khamenia announced that the Blue Devils offered him. “He is athletic enough not to be a liability and can stretch the floor when necessary.”

The Blue Devils only officially offered Khamenia last month, but the five-time national champions clearly have his interest. According to a Friday report from 247Sports’ Brandon Jenkins, he’ll visit the program on September 13th as he takes time to see each of his final five schools in person.

The Blue Devils don’t yet have a commitment from the Class of 2025, but Khamenia is one of a handful of top talents Scheyer clearly has his eye on.