Tag Archives: Mark Williams

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Duke Hoops Making Offers

The Duke Men's Basketball staff has been busy during the break between games. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and his assistant coaches have been on the road to visit both commitments and prospects at various high school basketball events.

There is a lot to unpack here. The Blue Devils crew most recently visited the National High School Hoops Festival where they were taking a look at next years, incoming point guard, Jeremy Roach.

Roach had been sidelined since a season ago due to injury, so there were many wanting to see his first few games this season and how he'd respond. Well, the good news for Duke fans is he is showing off his high ranking and that he is back to being the type of player who gained a Duke offer.

What many did not expect to see was the stellar play of his Paul VI teammate, Trevor Keels. The 6-5 junior shooting guard from Fairfax, Virginia put on a show in front of Krzyzewski and that led to the latest Duke offer.

The Duke staff was also pleased with the play of IMG Academy's Mark Williams. The future Blue Devils big man showed off an improved game from this summer as he steadily gets better. Williams team, minus his teammate and fellow Duke commitment Jalen Johnson lost to Paul VI in a hotly contested game.

The improvement of Williams has drawn attention as he could now be a candidate for being one and done at the college level. And that had something to do with another recent Duke offer to Canadian junior, Charles Bediako.

Standing at 6-10, Bediako could possibly reclassify per some. But regardless of whether he enters the class of 2020 or remains a 2021 prospect, the Duke staff liked what they saw from the talented and potential laden Bediako. Duke has been determined to keep mining Canada for basketball prospects after their turn with RJ Barrett.

Duke has also offered another highly ranked junior in point guard Kennedy Chandler on Tuesday of this week. Chandler has a long list of suitors which includes their rival just down the road. Chandler led Mokan Elite to a solid season on the Nike EYBL circuit.

The Blue Devils also have standing offers to Patrick Baldwin and Max Christie and there are good relations with both of these top-end prospects. Duke is also heavily in the mix for Johnathan Kuminga. And, of course, the Blue Devils have a verbal commitment from highly rated AJ Griffin.

Duke is likely not finished with new offers, but they are quickly identifying players they want to be a part of their future core group. The staff will be on the road in December for more high school basketball tournaments.

This is also the time of year when the staff will work on both some unofficial and official visits and perhaps even setting up in-home visits. So, when the fanbase is taking this long break between games, as usual, Duke Basketball never stops.

This year's team returns to the court on December the 19th to take on Wofford. With Louisville, Maryland and Michigan all losing, Duke, ranked 5th in the coaches poll, is poised to ascend in the rankings.

Follow Blue Devil Nation on twitter - https://twitter.com/BlueDevilNation

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Duke Hoops Signs Talented Class


DURHAM, N.C. – Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has announced the signing of six future Blue Devils during the NCAA's early-signing period. The class is ranked No. 2 according to ESPN, which would give Duke's signing classes a top-two ranking in each of the last seven seasons.

Jaemyn Brakefield, Henry Coleman III, Jalen Johnson, Jeremy Roach, D.J. Steward and Mark Williams will enter the Duke program for the 2020-21 season. Duke's previous top-ranked classes in the ESPN 100 came in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018, while the 2016 and 2019 classes were ranked No. 2.

Jaemyn Brakefield – 6-8 – 215 – Forward – Jackson, Miss. – Huntington Prep (W.Va.)

  • A five-star power forward
  • Ranked as the No. 23 overall player in ESPN 100's rankings for the class of 2020
  • Ranked as the No. 1 player in the state of West Virginia and the No. 5 player at his position in the ESPN 100
  • Played for Team Phenom University in the EYBL with fellow Duke signee Jalen Johnson and averaged 15.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists last summer with two double-doubles
  • Committed to Duke on October 4, 2019
  • Chose the Blue Devils over Louisville, Michigan and Auburn, among others

Henry Coleman III – 6-7 – 210 – Forward – Richmond, Va. – Trinity Episcopal School

  • A four-star power forward
  • Ranked as the No. 42 player overall in ESPN 100's rankings for the class of 2020
  • Also ranked as the No. 5 player in the state of Virginia and the No. 8 at his position in the ESPN 100
  • Averaged 18.2 points and 6.4 rebounds this past summer on the Nike EYBL circuit for Team Loaded
  • Is senior class president at Trinity Episcopal School
  • Committed to Duke on September 27, 2019
  • Chose the Blue Devils over Michigan, NC State, Virginia Tech and Ohio State, among others

Jalen Johnson – 6-8 – 215 – Forward – Glendale, Wisc. – IMG Academy (Fla.)

  • A five-star small forward
  • Ranked as the No. 4 overall player in ESPN 100's rankings for the class of 2020
  • Ranked No. 1 in the state of Florida and No. 1 at his position in the ESPN 100
  • Led Nicolet HS in Glendale, Wisc., to a state championship last season before transferring to IMG Academy for his senior campaign
  • Played for Team Phenom University in the EYBL with fellow Duke signee Jaemyn Brakefield and averaged 17.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists last summer with five double-doubles
  • Committed to Duke on July 4, 2019
  • Chose the Blue Devils over Arizona, Kentucky and Wisconsin, among others

Jeremy Roach – 6-2 – 180 – Guard – Leesburg, Va. – Paul VI HS

  • A five-star point guard
  • Ranked as the No. 15 player overall in ESPN 100's ranking for the class of 2020
  • Also ranked second in the state of Virginia and ranked third overall at his position in the ESPN 100
  • Missed his junior season of high school (ACL)
  • Played for Team Takeover in the Nike EYBL and averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 assists in the summer of 2018
  • Has won a pair of gold medals with USA Basketball – at the 2017 FIBA Americas U-16 and the 2018 FIBA U-17 World Cup
  • Was the starting point guard for the U-17 team and averaged 6.4 points and 2.7 assists
  • The first five-star player in the class of 2020 to announce his commitment, committing to Duke on May 8, 2019
  • Chose the Blue Devils over Kentucky, North Carolina and Villanova, among others

D.J. Steward – 6-3 – 175 – Guard – Chicago, Ill. – Whitney Young HS

  • A five-star combo guard
  • Ranked as the No. 26 player overall in ESPN 100's ranking for the class of 2020
  • Also ranked second in the state of Illinois and ranked seventh overall at his position in the ESPN 100
  • Averaged 24.1 points and shot 41 percent from three-point range in the summer of 2019 for Team MeanStreets on the Nike EYBL circuit
  • Attended the same high school as former Blue Devil Jahlil Okafor
  • Committed to Duke on September 18, 2019
  • Chose the Blue Devils over North Carolina, Louisville, Indiana and Texas, among others

Mark Williams – 7-0 – 230 – Center – Norfolk, Va. – IMG Academy (Fla.)

  • A four-star center
  • Ranked as the No. 30 overall player in ESPN 100's rankings for the class of 202
  • Ranked No. 4 in the state of Florida and as the No. 5 center in the ESPN 100
  • Played three years at Norfolk Academy before transferring to IMG Academy for his senior season
  • On the Nike EYBL circuit, played for Team Boo Williams and averaged 14.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, while shooting 64 percent from the field
  • Improved his numbers to 23.5 points, 12.0 rebounds and 76 percent shooting at the Peach Jam
  • His older sister, Elizabeth, played for Duke from 2011-15 and now plays for the WNBA's Atlanta Dream
  • Committed to Duke on November 2, 2019
  • Chose the Blue Devils over UCLA and Michigan, among others.
Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Mark Williams Joins Duke Brotherhood

Duke added their sixth commitment to their 2020 recruiting class when Mark Williams of IMG Academy picked Duke over Michigan and UCLA.

Willams started his summer off as a top 50 player but his stellar play helped him ascend in the rankings where he is now seen as a top 30 prospect. The Virginia native transferred to IMG Academy after his Nike EYBL season where he played for Boo Williams.

Duke was n desperate need for frontcourt help before William's commitment. The Blue Devils offer immediate playing time with the expected losses of seniors Javin DeLauraer and Jack White and the likelihood that Matthew Hurt and Vernon Carey will enter the NBA Draft.

Williams is familiar with the Duke campus in that his sister, Elizabeth, had her jersey retired after a stellar career with the Duke women's program.

The Blue Devil to be cut a long list of schools down to three in early September and Duke was on the list. The Blue Devils offered Williams in late April and remained very active from him since that time.

Willams will join one of the nation's top recruiting classes. That class includes DJ Steward, Jaemyn Brakefield, Jalen Johnson, Jeremy Roach, and Henry Coleman.

Many of the aforementioned in-coming players were active in recruiting Williams. He most recently visited Duke for his official visit during Countdown for Craziness with IMG Academy teammate Jalen Johnson.

Blue Devil Nation members long knew Williams was a Duke lean but the process needed to play out. Duke still wants and needs another big man in this class and they currently have an offer out to Hunter Dickinson.

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 Recruiting News

Duke Basketball Recruiting Update Posted

Who will the next Duke commitment be? More on the recruiting front in our latest in-depth update.

We love doing recruiting updates at Blue Devil Nation but only after we have good information.  Our latest offering is 2304 words of what is going on with 2020 class and how things should play out.  After the exciting commitment from DJ Steward, Duke now has three players for 2020, but the staff is far from finished.

Who will be the next player to commit?  Where does Duke stand with key prospects?  When are they visiting and who else is in play for their services?  I try to answer those questions to clear the picture on the Blue Devils hoops future.

Be sure to take advantage of our one-year special, which is 60 bucks for the year in the link above.  I have been covering Duke since Coach K stepped on campus and that allows Blue Devil Nation to offer a unique perspective on the program which is set to get things underway for the upcoming season.

Note - new members need to also register for the message board and will then receive approval.

Duke Basketball, Duke Basketball Recruiting News

Busy September for Duke Has Walker Kessler on Campus

If you haven't noticed already, Septemeber is a big recruiting month for Duke Basketball.  Last weekend, the Blue Devils entertained Virginia power forward Henry Coleman.

This weekend, Duke will host top-rated big man and long-time target Walker Kessler.  The 6-10 prospect plays for Woodburn Academy in Fairburn, Georgia.

The Blue Devils have had the Kessler family on campus before but this time they hope to close the deal on a much-needed body.

Duke is expected to lose almost all of their frontcourt players after this coming season and there is a need for multiple prospects who can anchor the baseline.

The Blue Devils have already secured the services of Jalen Johnson and Jeremy Roach, but the desire is to land commitments from several more players.

Duke will entertain Virginia big man Mark Williams in November.  He's the brother of former Duke standout Elizabeth Williams.  The fast-rising big man will be playing alongside Jalen Johnson after transferring to IMG Academy.

The Blue Devils are in the process of setting up a visit with Chicago scorer DJ Steward.  Duke is all in on Steward who has been getting several offers since early summer.

Duke has also entered the Ziaire Williams race to stay which we mentioned a few weeks back to Blue Devil Nation members.  That said, join Blue Devil Nation Premium during our 60 bucks for one year special and get straight talk on where we think Duke stands with the aforementioned recruits.

While the players listed head the list, there are some other possibilities which could come into play.  But make no mistake, Duke wants every prospect on this shortlist of players they want to become a part of the brotherhood.