Good find
We have a 2023 recruiting thread, but none for the Class of 2022. Let's get it started!
Noah Batchelor is a 6'6" shooting guard out of Hagerstown, Maryland that has generated high major interest early. Clemson among others have extended an offer. He would love to hear from his favorite school, Duke University. One to keep an eye on?
Good find
He's not currently considered a top 100 recruit but has reportedly had a good summer and is generating interest from significant programs. He likely need to continue that path of improvement relative to his class to get into the conversation for Duke, but the trajectory is not bad.
While I am sure Duke is aware of the top kids in the 2022 class, I suspect K and his top recruiting assistant, Scheyer, have not focused on it enough to even begin to know who might get an offer from them (and we are probably at least a year from the first 2022 offers going out).
-Jason "Bronny in 2023 is an unique case for obvious reasons" Evans
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According to an Instagram story on Tipton Edits, Duke has offered Emoni Bates. Many consider Bates, a rising sophomore, to be the most talented player in high school. They might have even said the same thing last year.
If you have not heard of him, Bates is a 6'8" rail-thin player from Ypsilanti, MI (just outside of Detroit) and is drawing many comparison to Kevin Durant as a tall and lanky wing that can score at all three levels with incredible skills to compliment his shooting. Many have assumed that the young man is going to be the next high school player to go straight to the NBA as the #1 pick. There was an article over the summer quoting the kid's father about how he wished teams would recruit his son. It seems that many coaches have stayed away from even watching Bates on the AAU circuit under the assumption that he won't set foot on a college campus. He had hardly received any offers. Tom Izzo and MSU did extend an offer earlier this summer and now it seems that Coach K and Duke have followed suit.
Bates is a rising sophomore and I believe Duke wants to have an opportunity to get to know him and his family. Is it possible that Bates may move up a class ?
Seeing as no one, not even Adam Silver or Michele Roberts, knows for certain what is going to happen with OAD in 2022 (and beyond), I think this is a sign Coach K is preparing for the class of 2022 the same way he prepares for every class... looking for the best talent that fits with the Duke culture. If the top 15-20 kids in the class are not interested in going to school, then K will look at the next 20 or so. He is wisely not limiting himself in any way at this time.
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One of the top players from the Class of 2022 was in Chapel Hill on Saturday night and got quite the experience. Jaden Bradley, a PG from Concord, NC, was a guest of UNC for the big game. He wrote about his experience for Sports Illustrated (link).
Bradley is from the same city as Duke's own Wendell Moore, Jr. and got to see the crowd leave in stunned silence as his own hometown kid hit the game winning shot. Now wouldn't it be nice to have young Mr. Bradley see what it is like to watch a game in Durham?
Durham Academy F MJ Rice (6'5") is a top 25 player in the Class of 2022 and will be making a return trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium this evening to take in the Duke vs UNC matchup. According to his Instagram account, Rice also visited Cameron on Monday evening to watch the Blue Devils defeat the NC State Wolfpack.
Here's a video from earlier in the year of Rice (#2), in a game where he scored 28 & 11 in the first half. 247 Sports has him listed as a SF for now.
Top 25 recruit Keyonte George, a 6'5" guard out of Lewisville, Texas told Tipton Edits, the twitter account that photoshops many recruits in college jerseys, that Duke is his dream school. Corey Evans had high praise for the young man this past November:
Keyonte George is one impressive prospect. One of the better quarters of ball I’ve seen from a guard all year long. Can’t think of five better guards in the 2022 class. Tremendous progression rate
Caleb Houstan is a top 5 prospect in the Class of 2022. The 6'8" forward has range on his jumper, high level athleticism, and all the other attributes one looks for in a forward prospect. Like RJ Barrett before him, Houstan attends Florida's Montverde Academy. He has garnered a considerable amount of interest from high major programs. According to Corey Evans of Rivals, Duke has recently joined a who's who of programs to reach out to the young man. An offer may be on the way soon.
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The team Montverde had this past season was absolutely stacked. Cade Cunningham at the PG and Scottie Barnes playing forward. Those two are most likely lottery picks next June. UNC's Day'Ron Sharpe, another 5-star recruit, Zeb Jacskon, a 4-star Michigan commit, Moses Moody, a 4-star Arkansas commit were also there. Montverde puts out more NBA lottery picks than most colleges these days.
Coach Boyle's description on the Montverde Academy page includes a Coach K quote and needs an update (added by me in bold):
"Only H.S. or college coach to have a No.1 pick (Ben Simmons & Kyrie Irving), No.2 pick (D’Angelo Russell & Michael Kidd Gilchrist), and No.3 pick (Joel Embiid & RJ Barrett) in the NBA Draft"
How can this be true when Coach K has had multiple players drafted as the No. 1 pick (Elton Brand, Kyrie Irving, Zion Williamson), No 2. Pick (Danny Ferry, Jay Williams, Brandon Ingram, Marvin Bagley), and No 3 pick (Grant Hill, Mike Dunleavy Jr, Jahlil Okafor, Jayson Tatum, RJ Barrett) as well as multiple players at other lottery pick positions?
I'm not trying to take anything away from Coach Boyle. I think he is a very good coach; just not the "only" H.S. or college coach to have multiple drafted in the top 3 of the NBA draft. I think Montverde needs to correct that statement imo.
The only way this statement would make sense is that it is outdated. Boyle was hired in 2012. If you started from that point in time, Boyle was the only coach that had the numbers 1, 2, and 3 picks in the NBA draft until Zion was drafted #1 overall in 2019. From 2012 on, Coach K has had 1 Number 1 (Zion), 3 Number 2 (Jabari, Ingram, Bagley), and 3 Number 3 (Jahlil, Jayson, and RJ) draft picks.
Over that same time frame, Calipari at Kentucky has had 1 Number 1 (Anthony Davis), 1 Number 2 (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist), and 0 Number 3 draft picks.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club