2024 Men's Basketball Recruiting

[gam7]

Looks like Naasir Cunningham has fallen from #1 in ESPN's rankings to #26. What's up with that?

ESPN had him ranked #1 a couple years ago when they first put out rankings for that class, but they had him ranked #19 in their most recent prior ranking (thank you Wayback Machine). ESPN has had Tre Johnson at #1 for a while now.

[jaywilliams22]

Hasn't been posted much here, but Rob Cassidy of Rivals seems to think things look pretty good between Duke and Cooper Flagg. There's a lot of chatter around Flagg re-classing to 2024 as well - it makes sense for him since he is eligible for the 2025 draft due to his age.

"Things seem to be getting serious now, however, as last weekend saw few college coaches not named Jon Scheyer courtside for Flagg’s games, suggesting other coaches have thrown in the towel."

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...d-in-the-books

[Southgate0809]

If I remember right, Meleek Thomas and Cooper Flagg both said something to the effect that Duke was their dream school. The Boozer stud's father played for Duke. Scheyer seems poised to absolutely clean up in that recruiting class.

[JasonEvans]

Ok, I usually know what is going on but I have no idea what this is?!?! Anyone have some insight?

[DavidBenAkiva]

Ok, I usually know what is going on but I have no idea what this is?!?! Anyone have some insight?

Welcome to the world of NIL.

[scottdude8]

Ok, I usually know what is going on but I have no idea what this is?!?! Anyone have some insight?

Sounds like someone might have been running some sort of con, posing as Isaiah's representative?

[tommy]

He needs Freshman English.

[dlmzzz]

He needs Freshman English.

Maybe. But given that they actually used the term Mommager, she might have been the one who wrote it.

[Owen Meany]

Rob Cassidy on Dylan Harper https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...ckenzie-mgbako
All things being equal, Rutgers is the team to beat. NiL being key.
Has long been considered a Duke/Rutgers race, with Kansas and Indiana also possible.

[johnb]

He needs Freshman English.

That’s why they have freshman English; most Duke undergrads need freshman English.

I kinda enjoyed the fact that the press release seems to have been written by him and/or his mom. It may be the last time he communicates in writing to the public without his words having been run through a PR word/food processor.

[JasonEvans]

Darren Harris had himself quite a day Saturday at EYBL. He led Team Takeover to a pair of wins scoring 18 and 25 points. The really eye-popping thing was his 3-point shooting. He went 3-4 in one game and 6-9 in the second. 9-13 is a pretty good day from long range. His 3-point shooting throughout the EYBL season is now 24-57, 42.1%

Team Takeover is now 9-3 in EYBL play and figures to be one of the leading contenders to win it all at the Peach Jam in July.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Darren Harris had himself quite a day Saturday at EYBL. He led Team Takeover to a pair of wins scoring 18 and 25 points. The really eye-popping thing was his 3-point shooting. He went 3-4 in one game and 6-9 in the second. 9-13 is a pretty good day from long range. His 3-point shooting throughout the EYBL season is now 24-57, 42.1%

Team Takeover is now 9-3 in EYBL play and figures to be one of the leading contenders to win it all at the Peach Jam in July.

Schutt and Harris are both considered among the best shooters in their class. I love to see the program adding a bunch of shooters that will be in the program for multiple years.

[Dukehk]

Hasn't been posted much here, but Rob Cassidy of Rivals seems to think things look pretty good between Duke and Cooper Flagg. There's a lot of chatter around Flagg re-classing to 2024 as well - it makes sense for him since he is eligible for the 2025 draft due to his age.

"Things seem to be getting serious now, however, as last weekend saw few college coaches not named Jon Scheyer courtside for Flagg’s games, suggesting other coaches have thrown in the towel."

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...d-in-the-books

Shavlick Randolph regen.

[roywhite]

Shavlick Randolph regen.

Sorry, not sure what your point is here?
Similar player? Similar future?

By the way, it's Shavlik.

[rhynelander]

Not OP, but I read it as Flagg and Randolph's recruitments are similar. The similarity being that Randolph was thought to be a Duke lock pretty early in the recruiting process by other coaches/programs. Such a lock, that they threw in the towel on recruiting Randolph, even though he was such a talented prospect in high school. The rivals recruiting rumors blog (link below) was posted earlier in this thread and to paraphrase, at the EYBL tournaments, hardly any non Duke coaches are spending time watching Flagg's team play.
So I think that's why OP is linking Randolph's recruitment to this 2024 recruiting discussion.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals...d-in-the-books

[DavidBenAkiva]

According to his twitter account, 6'10" C Patrick Ngongba II of Paul VI in Fairfax, VA has received an offer from Jon Scheyer and the Duke coaching staff.

https://twitter.com/NgongbaPatrick/s...C2yaP9xJYuAAAA

[DavidBenAkiva]

Ngongba is teammates with Class of 2024 commit Darren Harris. They are also teammates on the AAU's Team Takeover. It's clear the Duke coaching staff saw Ngongba a lot and liked what they saw.

Over the weekend in Memphis, Ngonba averaged 18.8 pts on 29-46 FG (63%), 13-16 FT (81%), 11.3 REBS, 2.8 APG, and 1.8 BPG as Team Takeover went 3-0 in the EYBL session. He's a big body with a low-post game, long arms, and can take his jump shot out to the 3-point line.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs4P-QNg0bw/

[SkyBrickey]

Ngongba is teammates with Class of 2024 commit Darren Harris. They are also teammates on the AAU's Team Takeover. It's clear the Duke coaching staff saw Ngongba a lot and liked what they saw.

Over the weekend in Memphis, Ngonba averaged 18.8 pts on 29-46 FG (63%), 13-16 FT (81%), 11.3 REBS, 2.8 APG, and 1.8 BPG as Team Takeover went 3-0 in the EYBL session. He's a big body with a low-post game, long arms, and can take his jump shot out to the 3-point line.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs4P-QNg0bw/

On3 currently has him ranked as the 8th best center in the class and the 68th prospect overall in the class. I’ve got a feeling he will be moving up the rankings….

[JasonEvans]

On3 currently has him ranked as the 8th best center in the class and the 68th prospect overall in the class. I’ve got a feeling he will be moving up the rankings….

He just exploded at the EYBL over Memorial Day weekend. Maybe it was just a short term thing, but if he continues to play like that, he's going to be a top 20 recruit in the class, little question about it. His last 3 games were 18 & 11 with 3 blocks, then 33 and 15 with 5 assists, and he wrapped it up with 16 & 9 with 3 more blocks. He was arguably the best player on the best team in the Memphis EYBL session. That's gonna help your ranking, no doubt about it.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Now seems like a good time to revisit the Class of 2024 and where things stand with regards to recruiting. I like to take stock of the potential roster and see who may leave, who may stay, and who may join the team.

Almost certainly out the door: Kyle Filipowski, Mark Mitchell, Tyrese Proctor, Jeremy Roach, and Ryan Young

Of this group, Young is the most certain to depart as he will exhaust his eligibility. The rest of the group has their eye on the NBA. Filipowski appears most likely to be drafted in the first round while Proctor and Mitchell are potential draft picks. Roach has another year of eligibility after this season, but it would be surprising to me if he doesn’t take his Duke degree and try to make it to the NBA or another professional league after the 2023-24 college basketball season. He already flirted with the idea this summer. It was a surprise that he returned to Duke for the 2023-24 season, so I am going into this with the expectation that this will be his last year in a Duke uniform (and am excited about that).

Might leave or might not: Jaylen Blakes, Christian Reeves, and Jaden Schutt

Coach Scheyer has done a phenomenal job of retaining players so far. I feel like we need to list them here as any reserve player is a candidate to transfer. Of this group, Blakes seems like the most likely to depart with Schutt and then Reeves being transfer candidates to various degrees. Then again, maybe they love Duke and want to stick it out for 3 or more years each. I’d love to see it!

The potential sophomores: Caleb Foster, Jared McCain, TJ Power, and Sean Stewart

This group of incoming freshmen for the upcoming 2023-24 season is unlike any Duke has had in recent years. Typically, you could identify one or two freshmen that were guaranteed to start. This group, sans Mackenzie Mgbako, might all come off the bench at the beginning of the season. They are also poised to take on much bigger roles as sophomores. On the other hand, there is always the possibility that one or more transfers or overperforms expectations and bolts for the NBA. At this point in time, I think it is safe to at least consider them all in the mix for the 2024-25 roster.

Welcome aboard: Neal Begovich, Isaiah Evans, and Darren Harris

Begovich is at Duke as a walk-on for the 2023-24 season and is here to get a graduate degree, be a veteran presence in practices, and maybe play a few minutes here and there at the end of a blowout. He’s in the Max John or Kale Catchings role with the exception that he could be around for two years instead of one.

Evans is a 6’7” wing, nicknamed “Baby Ingram” that can score at all three levels. He is considered among the best recruits in what is widely considered a weak recruiting class. Of the incoming players, he is most likely to see significant minutes as a freshman. He needs to add a lot of weight to his long and wiry frame. Harris is a 6’5” G/F that can really shoot the ball. The Paul VI product is considered among the very best shooters in high school and is on the 3-4 year college track.

Other recruiting targets
In addition to Evans and Harris, Duke has extended offers to F Tyler Betsey, G Dylan Harper, and C Patrick Ngongba II. Harper is at the top of the Class of 2024 and is a guard that can either score or run the offense from New Jersey. The son of Ron Harper, he has made an official visit and appears to be the top priority for the Duke coaching staff. The addition of Evans makes it somewhat unlikely that Betsey, a 6’8” wing/forward from Connecticut, would also consider Duke. Both Evans and Betsey (as fun as that would be to say) have fairly similar games and are unlikely to be on the same college team as best I can tell. Ngongba is a 6’10” C from Paul VI in Fairfax, Virginia. He is ranked in the top 100 of the Class of 2024 but put up big numbers in AAU play so far this summer. He received an offer from the Duke coaching staff earlier this week. Perhaps he is one of those late risers that Coach Scheyer has targeted so far in his short career leading the Duke Blue Devils. Besides Reeves, Duke lacks a true post presence in the 2024-25 roster and beyond. Ngongba could be the guy to start (if he is a big riser) or split minutes with Reeves.

The one additional consideration is a potential reclass of a talented rising junior. Both Cameron Boozer and Cooper Flagg are considered among the best prospects in high school (including the incoming Class of 2023). Flagg is 7 months older than the Boozer twins and, having been born in December 2006 instead of July 2007, would be eligible for the NBA Draft in the summer of 2025. It is possible that Flagg could reclass to 2024 if he can get enough credits and wants to get to the NBA sooner. He would almost certainly be the #1 player in the Class of 2024 and has an argument for that ranking in 2025.

What the roster might look like
Projecting the roster a year out is a fool’s errand. I am that fool. I think the mix of returning players that could be on the roster in 2024-25 might look like this (excluding Begovich, the walk-on):

Caleb Foster, Jared McCain, TJ Power, Christian Reeves, Jaden Schutt, and Sean Stewart

I excluded Jaylen Blakes as I am just not sure if he will be on Duke’s roster beyond this upcoming season. There are a lot of ball handlers between Foster, McCain, and possibly Harper joining the roster. If Blakes wants a larger role, it most likely won’t come at Duke. You could potentially say the same thing about Schutt, although I think his specific role - stretching the floor - is more likely to result in consistent playing time. If and when Roach leaves, that should open up a good amount of playing time for Schutt as a junior and beyond.

How do things shake out for the potential rotation? Right now, it could look something like this:

Starters: McCain, Foster, Evans, Power, Stewart
Bench: Schutt, Reeves, Harris

Adding Harper and/or Flagg would push Power, Foster, or Stewart to the bench. Obviously, there is a lot to figure out between now and November 2024. I think the team could use a long-term PG to fill in for Blakes or take over after he graduates. Post depth is an area of concern if Duke doesn’t add a portal big next summer or if they don’t land Ngongba. Depending on how the Class of 2023 progresses, this could be one of the better teams in the ACC and nation. It certainly will have the talent to be a top 25 team at the very least and borderline top 10 team. If Duke can somehow land Harper and Flagg as well as shore up the post depth, I think they could be a serious title contender.