Duke Basketball

Duke May Land Gary Trent & Wendell Carter

Wendell Carter and Gary Trent
Wendell Carter and Gary Trent

This week will be quite the busy one for Duke fans.  Many will start out the week paying attention to election day.  Then on Thursday, Duke takes on arch rival UNC in football in Wallace Wade Stadium. Add to that back to back games to open the basketball season with Marist and Grand Canyon in Cameron which translates into three games in as many days.

Now, there is more on the slate for one of the top recruits in the nation in Gary Trent Jr. said he will announce his collegiate decision on Thursday.  That decision can be seen on ESPNU at 6 p.m. prior to kickoff of the football game.

Trent is a 6-5 200 pound shooting guard who can fill it up from various spots on the court.  He is a consensus top ten prospect who is known as a hard worker.

He has been offered by Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan State and UCLA.  He has visited Duke both officially and unofficially in the past and has been considered a Duke lean by myself for some time now.

Just today, his friend, Wendell Carter Jr., a bruising front court prospect out of Georgia is rumored to be making his announcement during the early period as well.  Carter is down to Georgia, Georgia Tech, Harvard and Duke.

Many have speculated that Carter and Trent would be a part of a package deal.  Both donned white Duke caps during the recent Countdown to Craziness while standing with the Cameron Crazies.

Mike Krzyzewski and his staff have remained very involved with both young men by making them priority recruits.  Considering what Duke has to offer as a school and program coupled with what is sure to be mass defections into the NBA from the current roster, it would be hard for me not be anything other than highly confident here.

If they do indeed commit, they would join Alex O'Connell making it a three-man class to date.  The early signing period runs from November the 9th through the 16th.  There is a possibility that another Duke prospect Matt Coleman could choose between Texas and Duke early.  But my latest information says he may opt for spring.

Duke is also recruiting two other big time prospects in Kevin Knox and Mohamed Bamba.  Both of those prospects are on record saying they will wait for the late period.  However, in recruiting, things can change in quick fashion.

Should Duke land two verbal commitments from coveted prospects in Trent and Carter, they could then put their focus on the three remaining prospects.  And you never know if another name or two might creep in as more information is gathered during the season progresses.

Two Duke starters from this years team will graduate in Matt Jones and Amile Jefferson.  It is also believed that several underclassmen will leave as well as early NBA entrants.

Below is a recent tweet from Gary Trent Jr. and a picture of them during Countdown to Craziness in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Gary Trent and Wendell Carter are wearing the Duke white caps above. Stay tuned to Blue Devil Nation for team and recruiting coverage.  For a more in depth take or to ask questions, join BDN Premium.