Tag: duke basketball recruiting

Five-star 2025 basketball prospect includes Duke Blue Devils among final three schools

Shelton Henderson, one of 247Sports’ top 15 basketball prospects in the Class of 2025, revealed his top three schools on Thursday.

Duke basketball coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] appears to be closing in on more five-star additions to his roster.

Shelton Henderson, a five-star small forward and 247Sports’ No. 15 player in the Class of 2025, narrowed his recruiting race down to the Duke Blue Devils, the Texas Longhorns, and the Louisville Cardinals on Thursday.

A 6-foot-6 wing from Bellaire High School in Texas, Henderson averaged 21.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for the Cardinals. He also paced the roster in assists (3.9), steals (2.9), and blocks (1.4).

“A physical specimen from the wing position who arguably has the best long-term tools in the national class,” 247Sports recruiting analyst Brandon Jenkins wrote in his scouting report. “Henderson has the build to overpower defenders on his attack and can draw fouls with ease…He has a tremendous feel for the game on the offensive end with clear shooting potential.”

Scheyer and his staff don’t yet have a commitment from the Class of 2025, but associate head coach Jai Lucas (who also played for Bellaire High School) visited Henderson at school at the end of September.

Henderson’s decision could also hinge upon the Boozer brothers, Cameron and Cayden, who are set to announce their commitment on Friday. The twin sons of Duke basketball legend Carlos Boozer are reportedly deciding between the Blue Devils and the Miami Hurricanes.

The Boozer twins reportedly deciding between Duke basketball and one other school

With a decision expected soon, 2025 basketball prospects Cameron & Cayden Boozer are reportedly deciding between Duke and one other school.

2025 basketball prospects Cameron and Cayden Boozer feel like the first dominos to fall in the Duke recruiting class, and with their decision expected next week, reports indicate that the Blue Devils are one of two finalists for their commitments.

According to reports from On3’s Joe Tipton and national basketball reporter Adam Zagoria, the twin brothers are expected to choose between Duke and Miami on October 10.

Carlos Boozer, Cameron and Cayden’s father, won a national championship with the Blue Devils in 2001. Across three seasons of college basketball, Carlos averaged 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game before getting picked in the second round of the 2002 NBA draft.

According to the 247Sports Rankings, Cameron is the No. 2 overall player in the Class of 2025 and Cayden is the No. 21 overall player and fourth-ranked point guard.

Cameron, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 22.2 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game for Columbus High School as a junior. Cayden put together 12.0 points, 7.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game alongside him.

While the Blue Devils remain in the mix for five-star names like Nate Ament and Shelton Henderson, it feels like other 2025 targets await the Boozer twins before making their decisions.

Duke basketball coach takes in-school visit with five-star 2025 forward

Duke basketball associate head coach Jai Lucas visited Bellaire High School, his old school, to recruit a five-star 2025 forward on Wednesday.

Duke basketball associate head coach Jai Lucas got to turn a reunion into a work trip on Wednesday when he visited five-star 2025 forward Shelton Henderson at Bellaire High School on Wednesday.

Lucas attended Bellaire High School, graduating in 2007 before playing for the Florida Gators and Texas Longhorns at the collegiate level. He joined the Duke coaching staff ahead of the 2022-23 season before being promoted to his current role a year later.

A 6-foot-6 forward, Henderson is the 15th overall player in his class on the 247Sports Rankings. He led the Cardinals with 21.6 points per game as a junior last season, also coming down with 7.6 rebounds and dishing 3.9 assists. He clearly knows how to use his frame on the defensive end, averaging 2.9 steals and 1.4 blocks as well.

According to an August report, Henderson will take an official visit with the Blue Devils over the weekend while the football team plays North Carolina. The Texas native included Duke alongside the Texas Longhorns, Louisville Cardinals, Houston Cougars, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and LSU Tigers.

Five-star 2025 basketball prospect includes Duke Blue Devils among his final five

Dwayne Aristode, a five-star small forward in the Class of 2025, included the Duke Blue Devils in his final five on Wednesday.

The 2025 basketball recruits move closer and closer to their commitments, and one five-star remains in play for [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] and the Duke Blue Devils.

According to a Wednesday report from On3’s Joe Tipton, Dwayne Aristode included the Blue Devils among his final five potential paths.

A 6-foot-8 small forward who plays for Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, Aristode averaged 12.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game with the Bobcats as a junior last season. He sits 18th in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

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If Duke fans want even more confidence for the Aristode sweepstakes, he took an official visit with the Blue Devils over the weekend. The idea that he spent some time in Durham before immediately narrowing down his pool sounds promising, even with Scheyer courting a handful of five-stars at once.

Duke will compete with the USC Trojans, Michigan State Spartans, and Arizona Wildcats for Aristode’s commitment, although a fifth option remains on the table. The NBL Next Stars, a development program in the Australian NBL, remains on the table as well.

https://twitter.com/TiptonEdits/status/1838971595274002684

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.

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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.