2021 Men's Basketball Recruiting Thread

[DavidBenAkiva]

Time to open a new thread! Duke has extended it's first offer to a member of the Class of 2021.

Patrick Baldwin, Jr., is a 6'8" forward from Sussex, Wisconsin. He has recently ranked among the highest members of his recruiting class with ESPN giving him the early slot for #1 recruit in his class of rising sophomore. Baldwin has size, shooting, athleticism, passing, quickness, and all the other traits you would want out of a forward. If he fills out his growing frame, he could be a modern stretch 4 or operate as a facilitator and scorer from the wings. The kid has the full package and could develop into an exceptional talent.

[bedeviled]

Patrick Baldwin, Jr., is a 6'8" forward from Sussex, Wisconsin

I believe he is the son of Patrick Baldwin (Northwestern 1990-94, BigTen Defensive Player of the Year). He's head coach at UW–Milwaukee after being assistant coach for Chris Collins at Northwestern 2013-17.
The family also has 3 daughters younger than PB,J.

[NSDukeFan]

Aren’t all high schoolers way younger than Peanut butter and jam?

[JasonEvans]

I believe he is the son of Patrick Baldwin (Northwestern 1990-94, BigTen Defensive Player of the Year). He's head coach at UW–Milwaukee after being assistant coach for Chris Collins at Northwestern 2013-17.
The family also has 3 daughters younger than PB,J.

Assuming he does not play for papa... I wonder if this gives Collins a leg up on this kid. If we can't get him, he sounds like he could be a real game-changer for the (good) Wildcats.

[MartyClark]

The Chicago Sun Times said that 2021 point guard prospect Max Christie of Rolling Meadows High School visited Duke 2 weeks ago. This is a long, lean point guard who is a top 10 or 15 prospect for 2021, depending on the rater.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Another Class of 2021 point guard prospect to keep an eye on for the Class of 2021: Cam Hayes. The Greensboro, NC native will be in attendance as Duke takes on Miami this Saturday, according to Corey Evans of Rivals.

Hayes was originally a member of the Class of 2020 and could potentially reclassify back to the current group of juniors. Hayes is #32 in the 247Sports composite ranking for the Class of 2021, #21 on the Top247 list, and #16 in the nation on Rivals.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers had a Q&A with Top 20 PF Nate Bittle of Crater, OR. Bittle is 6'10" with long, long arms. He's just 175 pounds as a high school sophomore. It seems he has drawn national interest, including Duke. Jon Scheyer recently spoke with the young man.

[907bluedevils]

According to this report, Duke has reached out to Terrence Clarke and he is interested. Top 3 prospect in 2021.
https://www.prepcircuit.com/news_article/show/1028614

[MartyClark]

I previously posted on this kid but mistakenly referred to him as a point guard, it appears that he is a shooting guard with a good handle. 6'6" and slender, plays in the Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows.

Duke has reached out to him and, based on one opinion, 247 has him as 100% to Duke. I have not seen him play, I hope to when I'm back in Chicago at Christmas. He appears to be a very talented, athletic kid.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I previously posted on this kid but mistakenly referred to him as a point guard, it appears that he is a shooting guard with a good handle. 6'6" and slender, plays in the Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows.

Duke has reached out to him and, based on one opinion, 247 has him as 100% to Duke. I have not seen him play, I hope to when I'm back in Chicago at Christmas. He appears to be a very talented, athletic kid.

Thanks for the update. I am always curious about the bloodlines of players so looked Max up, thinking he might be related to Doug Christie (probably not former governor Chris Christie). Turns out he is not related to Doug but both of his parents played college ball, with his mom having had a very successful career at Northwestern. One would think that with the proximity and that link he would be the top focus for Chris Collins.

https://www.jconline.com/story/sport...ny/1099668002/

[frb]

According to this report, Duke has reached out to Terrence Clarke and he is interested. Top 3 prospect in 2021.
https://www.prepcircuit.com/news_article/show/1028614

he's a reclass candidate. He turns 18 in September.

[frb]

another name- Paolo Banchero, 6-9 PF from Seattle.

[frb]

According to a tweet from Rivals’ Corey Evans on Saturday, five-star shooting guard A.J. Griffin now also has an open invitation to become a Blue Devil.

[arnie]

According to a tweet from Rivals’ Corey Evans on Saturday, five-star shooting guard A.J. Griffin now also has an open invitation to become a Blue Devil.

https://balldurham.com/2019/06/15/duke-basketball-offer-another-2021-star/amp/

Article on Griffin.

[NSDukeFan]

another name- Paolo Banchero, 6-9 PF from Seattle.

That is an excellent name.

[DavidBenAkiva]

Interesting update with Terrence Clarke, considered one of the top 3 players in the class of 2021. He is "openly considering" (whatever that means) reclassifying up to the class of 2020. In addition, the Boston, MA native has a relationship with B.J. Boston and the two are talking about attending college together. This article from the Kentucky blog A Sea of Blue gets into slightly more detail and includes a brief video.

From what I have read and seen, Clarke is an elite scorer at the SG/WF position in the mold of R.J. Barrett. He could play any of three positions on the court between point and wing. He's not as physically developed as Barrett and appears to be much leaner. Memphis, Kentucky, and just about everyone else is after Clarke. He is known as a versatile scorer and distributor with improving shot mechanics. I saw a brief interview with recruiting expert Evan Daniels where he noted that Clarke is in the mix, along with Jonathan Kuminga and Duke target Patrick Baldwin as the top overall player in the class of 2021.

If he does reclass to 2020, I could see a pretty great fit alongside Jalen Johnson and Jeremy Roach. Combine those three with B.J. Boston and Walker Kessler, and you have a truly elite group of players. If Clarke stays in the class of 2021, he joins Baldwin and PF Paolo Banchero as a dynamite trio of Duke targets. In either case, Clarke appears to have become a primary target for Duke, either sooner or later.

[JasonEvans]

He is "openly considering" (whatever that means) reclassifying up to the class of 2020.

It was pointed out to me by a friend of mine that we will probably see a lot of kids reclassify from 2021 to 2020. Why? Well, because it is widely assumed that the NBA will allow high schoolers to enter the draft starting with the class of 2022. That means that the 2022 draft will feature studs from both the 2021 and 2022 high school classes. Put another way, the draft of 2022 is going to be loaded to the gills! So, if you are a top 2021 player, you really want to find a way into the 2020 high school class so you can get to the draft before the 2022 flood.

Hope all those numbers made sense. Bottom line, 2021 kids want to go to college in 2020 if they can.

[DavidBenAkiva]

One of the top players in the class of 2021, Paolo Banchero of Seattle, WA just received an offer from Duke. The young big man had this excellent quote about the school:

Duke just seems kinda bigger and badder than a lot of schools.

Yes, sir! Here are some highlights of the young man.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

One of the top players in the class of 2021, Paolo Banchero of Seattle, WA just received an offer from Duke. The young big man had this excellent quote about the school:



Yes, sir! Here are some highlights of the young man.

Boy, if only Javin could shoot that 10 footer like that!

[MChambers]

One of the top players in the class of 2021, Paolo Banchero of Seattle, WA just received an offer from Duke. The young big man had this excellent quote about the school:



Yes, sir! Here are some highlights of the young man.

I think he'd look much better in a different shade of blue than in that video.