Category Archives: Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Hunter Dickinson Highlights Visitors to CTC

The Duke Blue Devils unofficial start to the basketball season is their annual Countdown to Craziness event in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

While the event is designed to introduce the Cameron Crazies to the 2019-20 version of the team, it is also a time when key recruits and or prospects attend.

This year is no different where Duke will be entertaining 2020 center Hunter Dickinson of DeMatha High for his official visit. Duke seeks a verbal commitment from Dickinson and Mark Williams who will visit later this month to round out what could be a seven-player class.

Dickinson has been linked to Michigan which got a verbal commitment from Isiah Todd yesterday who is a power forward from North Carolina. His official visit begins today where he will be on campus early for the festivities.

Three 2020 players who have already given Duke a verbal commitment will attend the event as well. PG Jeremy Roach will come down from Virginia to join the last two Duke commitments, Henry Coleman and Jaemyn Brakefield for the festivities.

Roach was a former teammate of Hunter Dickinson and he will surely be in his ear as will the other players which form the Class of 2020. Roach was the first prospect to commit to the Blue Devils and he, along with Jalen Johnson has been active in recruiting teammates.

The Blue Devils staff has also secured visits from two 2021 studs. Big man Paolo Banchero will be making his first trip to Durham. Banchero has been on the Duke radar and every other blue blood program since his stellar play during the summer circuit.

Another consensus top ten rated player AJ Griffin, a small forward out of New York will also be in attendance. Much like Banchero, Griffin is a physically mature player who will thrive at the college level even if it is for a single season.

There may be a few other young or local players attending as well and Blue Devil Nation will keep you posted on further developments.

Duke currently has the top-rated class for 2020 with the aforementioned Brakefield, Coleman, Johnson, and Roach. The other prospect on board is Chicago combo guard, DJ Steward.

Countdown to Craziness starts in just a few hours now where the doors open at 6:00 but there will be festivities in K-Ville around 4:00. The Blue-White game will finish things off starting around 8:30.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

4 p.m. - Festivities begin in K-Ville

6 p.m. – Doors open

7:55 p.m. – National anthem

8 p.m. – Introduction of the 2019-20 Blue Devils

8:25 p.m. – Blue-White scrimmage

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Breaking! Jaemyn Brakefield to Duke

In huge recruiting news, Jaemyn Brakefield has committed to Duke.  The Blue Devils moved with a stealth-like and quick effort to secure his services.  Show him the love Blue Devil Nation for he is a part of the brotherhood.

Brakefield who was just offered yesterday knew where he wanted to go to college, calling Duke his dream school.  After talking with his AAU teammate over time, Brakefield was sold on Duke and he became their fifth commitment in 2020.

He joins future teammates DJ Steward, Jeremy Roach, Henry Coleman, and the aforementioned Johnson.  His addition gives Duke some very versatile players for Mike Krzyzewski to work with.

Brakefield moved up from the Class of 2021 to 2020 earlier this summer.  He is slated to play for Huntington Prep this season before joining the brotherhood next summer.

The newest Duke verbal commit averaged 15.9 points, 6.1 rebounds per game for Phenom Hoops on the Nike EYBL circuit which also features his future teammate Jalen Johnson.  He was also teammates with a key Duke target in the Class of 2021, Patrick Baldwin Jr.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski spoke to Brakefield on Wednesday of this week expressing the Blue Devils interest.  He would call on Thursday night to make an official offer.  Today, Brakefield felt that Duke was the perfect fit and he made his choice public.

Duke is getting a versatile frontcourt player in Brakefield who can stretch the floor with his outside shot or he can take the ball in the paint.  With his athleticism, Brakefield has a chance to be a good defensive player and he can hit the boards for rebounds.

The Blue Devils are not finished this with the Class of 2020.  They will get a visit from center Mark Williams on October 26th weekend.  They also have a standing offer with Hunter Dickinson.

This has turned out to be an exciting Friday for Brakefiled and Blue Devil Nation.  "Look what God can do," was the catchphrase on his commitment tweet.  Amen!

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Hunter Dickinson Has Duke in Final 4

Courtesy of Tipton Edits

Duke center prospect Hunter Dickinson has included the Blue Devils in his Final Four.  The Duke men's staff is now trying to iron out the details of a visit to Durham.

Check out what he had to say about his four finalists at Stockrisers.com

Five-star Hunter Dickinson is down to four schools, has decision timetable

There are many exciting happenings on the recruiting front.  Join BDN Premium during our yearly special for a straight forward take on the situation.

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Mark Williams Has Duke in Final 3

One of the nation's top center prospects has narrowed his list to three schools and Duke is one of them.  The Blue Devils join Michigan and UCLA as his finalists.

Williams, the brother of former Duke women's standout Elizabeth Williams is a 7'0 center who most recently transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior season.

The key Duke prospect played on the Nike EYBL circuit this past summer where he suited up for Boo Williams out of Virginia.  Williams showed consistent improvement and impressed the Duke staff which was quick to offer.

Williams recently had this to say to Stockrisers about Duke, "Obviously, they’re a legendary program with Coach K. They’ve been recruiting me hard, and they want to create a really special 2020 class. I feel like they do a good job of adjusting for their bigs to do what they do well from year to year."

Williams will visit Duke on October 26th.  He will visit Michigan this weekend and is expected in today.   For more on Williams, Duke basketball recruiting efforts and our take on how this one will play out, join Blue Devil Nation Premium during our one-year special.

 

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Duke Offers 2020 PF Jaemyn Brakefield

6-8 PF from Huntington Prep, Jaemyn Brakefield holds a Duke offer.

Duke basketball has offered 2020 power forward Jaemyn Brakefield of Huntington Prep in West Virginia.  Brakefield received the offer after talking with Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devil staff.

Brakefield is a consensus top 40 rated player and plays a position of need for Duke. The Blue Devils frontcourt will be gutted after the coming season, so they are looking for bodies.

The left-handed Brakefield is a combo forward which some describe as smooth on the court.  He is capable of helping on the boards and can stretch the defense with his outside shot.

Brakefield has one more official visit to make and Duke hopes to get him on campus sooner rather than later.  He holds offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Ole Miss, Michigan and others.  More to come!  Join Blue Devil Nation Premium during our yearly special and support our efforts.

Check out Brakefields tweet below which is followed by two videos of his game.  There is also a tweet from current Duke verbal commitment Jalen Johnson wanting him to join the #brotherhood.

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Duke Moving Quickly with Hunter Dickinson

Hunter Dickinson in action with one of the top Nike EYBL programs in Team Takeover. The young prospect seems like a good fit with Duke on and off the court. The Blue Devils are moving quickly to make sure he knows of his priority status.

The Duke men's basketball staff is wasting no time with their recruitment of 2020 center Hunter Dickinson.  The Blue Devils recent offer is being followed by an in-home visit where the staff will get to know the key prospect and his family.

Dickinson announced his offer on twitter this past Friday.  The DeMatha Catholic prospect stands 7'2 and weighs in around 250 pounds plays where former Blue Devil Danny Ferry starred in high school.  Another former Duke standout, Quinn Cook played at the program as well before transferring to Oak Hill for his senior season.

The latest Blue Devil offer went out after Walker Kessler elected to go to North Carolina.  Dickinson had been on the Duke radar for some time and now has a chance to develop his skills under Mike Krzyzewski in Durham.

Dickinson played for Team Takeover, an AAU program on the Nike EYBL circuit.  That program has had great success over the years teaching their player how to develop within a team concept.

The Blue Devils are now moving to get Dickison on campus in October or early November at the latest.  Duke looked at several big man prospects when a scholarship became available and came to the conclusion that Dickinson was the best fit.

Duke currently has an offer out to another big man in Mark Williams who is the teammate of committed prospect Jalen Johnson, his teammate at IMG Academy.  Williams is the brother of famed Duke women's standout Elizabeth Williams.

The Blue Devils also have a standing offer to Zaire Williams who is a west coast stud prospect.  Duke needs to sign a large class where they are once again faced with mass losses to the NBA.

The Duke class currently consists of a point guard, in Jeremy Roach and the aforementioned small forward Jalen Johnson, the first two players to pledge their service.  Duke later added talented swing guard DJ Steward and most recently got a pledge from hard-working Henry Coleman, a power forward out of Virginia.

Dickinson holds several offers which include Michigan where he visited earlier this month.  Ten other ACC schools have offered Dickinson who has had multiple suitors.

Should Duke land Dickinson, he would be one of the few big men on the teams' roster.  Duke will lose senior captains Javin DeLaurier and Jack White after the coming season.  And the Blue Devils will also lose freshmen studs Matthew Hurt and Vernon Carey Jr. as early entrants to the NBA draft.

Duke has two staff members in Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith who can share with the Dickinson family how much similarly sized Brian Zoubek meant to the program.  Those three guys were a part of the 2010 national championship team.

For more on hoops recruiting and our thoughts on how things will turn out, join Blue Devil Nation during our one-year special.  Thank you for supporting Blue Devil Nation.