2025 Men's Basketball Recruiting

brevity said:
01. AJ Dybantsa (6-8 SF): Duke offer BUT 7 finalists are Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, Kansas, Kansas State and UNC
02. Cameron Boozer (6-9 PF): Duke offer
03. Nate Ament (6-8 SF): Duke offer
04. Darryn Peterson (6-5 SG): 8 finalists are Arizona State, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, USC, and Washington
05. Chris Cenac (6-10 PF):
06. Caleb Wilson (6-9 PF): Duke offer AND 12 finalists are Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, UCF, UNC, and USC -- maybe Baylor and BYU too?
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A rare free article from On3's Jamie Shaw. He talks about each of the top 6 players in some detail.

www.on3.com

Six players in 2025 recruiting cycle providing optimism for 2026 NBA Draft

On3's Jamie Shaw lays out and discusses why there is some growing NBA Draft excitement around the top six of the 2025 On3 150.
www.on3.com www.on3.com

While AJ Dybantsa has separated himself individually from the group, the top six players in this 2025 recruiting cycle have started to break away from the rest of the pack...

Cameron Boozer, Nate Ament, Darryn Peterson, Chris Cenac, and Caleb Wilson each also have NBA Scouts talking.
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Joe Tipton just posted that Koa Peat has planned official visits to Duke and other schools.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1821939136023933423

That article is behind a paywall, so I don't know the exact date of the Duke visit. Brandon Jenkins of 247 Sports wrote that the Duke visit should be sometime in early September.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1821905429972099436
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Koa Peat, a Five-Star Plus+ power forward in the 2025 class, has scheduled the following official visits:

  • Arizona State: August 30-September 1
  • Arkansas: September 13-15
  • Duke: September 20-22
  • Baylor: September 27-29
  • Arizona: October 4-6

Peat, a 6-foot-8 rising senior out of Perry High (AZ), has already completed official visits to Houston, North Carolina, Texas, and Michigan (former staff).
 
brevity said:
According to On3, Acaden Lewis is making an unofficial visit to Duke on Monday:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1818708225534861787
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ZagsBlog follows up with Acaden Lewis on his recent visits to Syracuse and Duke.

www.zagsblog.com

Four-star Acaden Lewis recaps Syracuse, Duke, visits | Zagsblog

By CHARLIE PARENT NEW YORK — Acaden […]
www.zagsblog.com

Syracuse: “It was good. [Their message] is that we’re coming, that I’d play from Day 1 and that they have a spot on the team. They have opportunity for me. [Five-star commit Sadiq White] he wants me to throw oops for him and stuff like that.”

Duke: “It was great. The coaches were amazing. The team looked great in practice and the practice had good pace. [It’s] definitely a place I could see myself playing. The brotherhood has a pipeline to my area which is cool. [They said] I can come in and play from Day 1, they’ll have a spot probably open up with Caleb Foster or Tyrese Proctor potentially leaving [for the NBA], so they’ll be a spot for me to play.”
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brevity said:
Seven of On3's top 40 recruits in the 2025 class (including Duke offers Nate Ament and Acaden Lewis) have been selected to participate in the Under Armour Next Elite 24 game, an event scheduled for Saturday, August 10. It will air at 8pm ET on ESPNU (streaming link).

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Reminder that the Under Armour Next Elite 24 game is tonight (Saturday night) at 8pm ET on ESPNU. Stream it live here.

ZagsBlog has a recap of a Friday scrimmage:

www.zagsblog.com

UA Next Elite 24: Standouts from Friday's scrimmage | Zagsblog

By CHARLIE PARENT NEW YORK — The […]
www.zagsblog.com

Acaden Lewis: The 6-foot-3 point guard out of Sidwell Friends (D.C.) and Team Durant was the best player on the floor Friday along with Shon Abaev. Lewis displayed his complete skillset and incredible feel for the game. He made open threes, scored the ball when needed, was active in creating all over the floor and made various impact plays on both ends. His intangibles, composure and all-around game makes him a great fit as a lead, or combo, guard for a high major program at the next level.
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Nate Ament: There’s been a lot of talk about the 6-foot-9 wing in the past few weeks, with him recently moving to as high as No. 3 on some recruiting sites. Ament does have a very versatile game, and his long frame gives him a unique scoring ability. Th offensive production wasn’t off the charts in this session, but the flashes are certainly there. Where he excelled was defensively, using that length to tip shots, prevent defenders from getting inside and being a valuable piece on switches.
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Malachi Moreno, a 6-11 center in the Bluegrass State, committed to Kentucky a little while ago, as some experts had predicted. The other finalists were Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and UNC. The livestream video below is now a replay. (You can skip all the introductions and go to the 12:30 mark.)


According to his 247 Sports recruiting timeline, Moreno was supposed to take some official visits in September and October, but instead chose to announce early. He made an unofficial visit to Kentucky earlier this month, where I guess he unofficially made up his mind. Last year he took his only official visit -- to Iowa -- and also took unofficial visits to Indiana and Notre Dame, plus Arkansas and Ohio State under their previous coaches. As far as I can tell, he never visited Louisville or UNC.

This is a big win for first-year Wildcats coach Mark Pope, who made a splash in the transfer portal but hasn't had the chance to stake his claim in prep recruiting, especially within the state of Kentucky, until now. This may bode well for the impending decision of 5-star shooting guard and Lexington native Jasper Johnson. After his announcement, Moreno made a succinct recruiting pitch to Johnson in the video above: "You know where home is."
 
brevity said:
I've compiled a list of 2025's top recruits -- RSCI won't have the first composite ranking until October, so I'll use the On3 rankings -- to see how close or far they are to commitment. I'll include whether they have a Duke offer (according to Verbal Commits), and/or any finalists they've announced.
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brevity said:
The On3 rankings were updated Monday. Here is their top 55.
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I screwed up last time and provided On3's own rankings rather than the industry comparison rankings they also provide -- the latter is preferable, and closer to what RSCI does. I'm making the correction now and providing an updated Top 50. Malachi Moreno (see previous post) is the ninth player on this list to commit.

01. AJ Dybantsa (6-8 SF): Duke offer BUT 7 finalists are Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, BYU, Kansas, Kansas State and North Carolina
02. Cameron Boozer (6-9 PF): Duke offer
03. Darryn Peterson (6-5 SG): 8 finalists are Arizona State, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State, USC, and Washington
04. Caleb Wilson (6-9 PF): Duke offer AND 12 finalists are Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, UCF, UNC, and USC -- maybe Baylor and BYU too?
05. Koa Peat (6-8 PF): Duke offer
06. Meleek Thomas (6-3 SG): Duke offer, BUT 7 finalists are Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Connecticut, Kansas, Kansas State, and Pitt
07. Nate Ament (6-8 SF): Duke offer
08. Darius Acuff (6-1 PG): committed to Arkansas 7/26/2024
09. Isiah Harwell (6-5 SG): 4 finalists are California, Gonzaga, Houston, and Texas
10. Jalen Haralson (6-6 SF): Duke offer
11. Jasper Johnson (6-4 SG): 5 finalists are Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisville, and UNC
12. Mikel Brown Jr (6-3 PG):
13. Chris Cenac (6-10 PF): 12 finalists are Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Connecticut, Houston, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Tennessee, and Texas
14. Bryson Tiller (6-9 PF):
15. Brayden Burries (6-4 CG): Duke offer
16. Trey McKenney (6-4 SG): 10 finalists are Creighton, Georgetown, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, and USC
17. Cayden Boozer (6-3 PG): Duke offer
18. Darius Adams (6-4 SG):
19. Tounde Yessoufou (6-5 SF): 10 finalists are Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, and Washington
20. Dwayne Aristode (6-7 SF):
21. Kingston Flemings (6-3 PG):
22. Nikola Bundalo (6-9 PF): 8 finalists are Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Texas, UNC, and Xavier
23. Hudson Greer (6-6 SG):
24. Sadiq White (6-8 PF): committed to Syracuse 5/29/2024
25. Malachi Moreno (6-11 C): committed to Kentucky 8/16/2024
26. Braylon Mullins (6-4 SG): Duke offer AND 10 finalists are Alabama, Connecticut, Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Purdue, Tennessee, and UNC
27. Shelton Henderson (6-6 SF): Duke offer AND 6 finalists are Duke, Houston, Louisville, LSU, Texas, and Texas Tech
28. Nikolas Khamenia (6-8 SF): Duke offer
29. Kiyan Anthony (6-5 SG): 6 finalists are Auburn, Florida State, Ohio State, Rutgers, Syracuse, and USC
30. Davion Hannah (6-5 CG): 9 finalists are Alabama, Cincinnati, Louisville, Michigan State, NC State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, and Xavier
31. Jerry Easter (6-4 CG):
32. Jamier Jones (6-6 SF): committed to Providence 5/12/2024
33. Jacob Wilkins (6-8 SF): committed to Georgia 10/31/2023
34. Eric Reibe (7-0 C): 11 finalists are Connecticut, Creighton, Harvard, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State, Oregon, Stanford, UNC, and West Virginia
35. Xavion Staton (7-0 C): 6 finalists are Arizona, BYU, Michigan, Stanford, UNLV, and USC
36. Acaden Lewis (6-3 PG): Duke offer AND 8 finalists are Auburn, Connecticut, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, Syracuse, Tennessee, and UNC
37. Shon Abaev (6-7 SF):
38. Sebastian Williams-Adams (6-8 PF): 8 finalists are Auburn, Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Purdue, SMU, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt
39. Davis Fogle (6-5 SG): committed to Gonzaga 7/4/2024
40. John Clark (6-9 PF): 6 finalists are Houston, Kansas, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M
41. Jaden Toombs (6-9 C): 5 finalists are Alabama, LSU, Miami, SMU, and Texas Tech
42. London Jemison (6-7 PF): 6 finalists are Alabama, Kansas, Louisville, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and Virginia
43. Kayden Mingo (6-1 CG):
44. Tylis Jordan (6-9 PF): committed to Mississippi 6/21/2024
45. Joshua Lewis (6-6 SF): committed to South Florida 5/14/2024
46. Elzie Harrington (6-5 SG): committed to Harvard 6/13/2024
47. JJ Mandaquit (6-0 PG):
48. Nyk Lewis (6-1 PG): 6 finalists are Creighton, Georgetown, LSU, Michigan, Seton Hall, and Xavier
49. King Grace (6-2 PG):
50. Nigel Walls (6-10 PF):
 
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brevity said:
28. Nikolas Khamenia (6-8 SF): Duke offer
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Joe Tipton posts that Nikolas Khamenia has 5 finalists, including Duke. The other 4 are Arizona, Gonzaga, UCLA, and UNC. (Two ACC schools and three West Coast schools, but neither of the ACC schools on the West Coast. According to Verbal Commits, he did have offers from Cal and Stanford.)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1824551760024740113

There's also an On3 article that's not behind a paywall. He's scheduled some official visits, including Duke in mid-September:

www.on3.com

Top-30 recruit Nikolas Khamenia names final 5 schools

Four-star small forward Nikolas Khamenia is down to five schools: Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga, North Carolina, and UCLA.
www.on3.com www.on3.com

The four-star 6-foot-8 rising senior out of Harvard-Westlake (CA) has taken one official visit to this point, Gonzaga. He’s scheduled the following official visits:
  • Arizona: August 31st
  • North Carolina: September 6th
  • Duke: September 13th
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brevity said:
Malachi Moreno, a 6-11 center in the Bluegrass State, committed to Kentucky a little while ago, as some experts had predicted. The other finalists were Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Louisville, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and UNC. The livestream video below is now a replay. (You can skip all the introductions and go to the 12:30 mark.)


According to his 247 Sports recruiting timeline, Moreno was supposed to take some official visits in September and October, but instead chose to announce early. He made an unofficial visit to Kentucky earlier this month, where I guess he unofficially made up his mind. Last year he took his only official visit -- to Iowa -- and also took unofficial visits to Indiana and Notre Dame, plus Arkansas and Ohio State under their previous coaches. As far as I can tell, he never visited Louisville or UNC.

This is a big win for first-year Wildcats coach Mark Pope, who made a splash in the transfer portal but hasn't had the chance to stake his claim in prep recruiting, especially within the state of Kentucky, until now. This may bode well for the impending decision of 5-star shooting guard and Lexington native Jasper Johnson. After his announcement, Moreno made a succinct recruiting pitch to Johnson in the video above: "You know where home is."
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More disappointing news for the Heels. They were high on this kid when they gave him an offer. But he didn't even visit? 😢
 
SkyBrickey said:
More disappointing news for the Heels. They were high on this kid when they gave him an offer. But he didn't even visit? 😢
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I know, so sad. He was supposed to make an official visit to ₵hapel Hill on September 13, among other road trips in September and October, but Kentucky apparently convinced him to cut all that short.

Having lost out on Moreno today -- probably before today if you're on the inside -- Indiana, Ohio State, and UN₵ have already moved on to the next center target in the 2025 class, 7-0 center Eric Reibe (#34 in the rankings I posted above). He has 8 other finalists: Connecticut, Creighton, Harvard (go Tommy Amaker!), Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon, Stanford, and West Virginia. I think we can rule out Kentucky now; while John Calipari would probably have tried to double up on high-profile centers, Mark Pope has other recruiting needs and can't afford to lose focus or momentum.

According to ESPN guru Paul Biancardi, September 20-22 is when the Heels will host both Reibe (as posted here) and #1 prospect AJ Dybantsa (as posted here). We just learned earlier today that 6-8 small forward Nikolas Khamenia (ranked #28) will visit them September 6. We also know that 6-5 point guard Isaiah Denis (ranked #64) arrives there September 28, and 6-9 power forward Niko Bundalo (ranked #22) goes there October 4. Pretty critical few weeks for Hubert Davis.

FYI, ZagsBlog keeps an Official Visit Tracker, which is a good idea, but it can be slow to provide updates, and it's hard to follow. The list is organized by month, but it would be easier to read if it were organized by player.
 
brevity said:
I know, so sad. He was supposed to make an official visit to ₵hapel Hill on September 13, among other road trips in September and October, but Kentucky apparently convinced him to cut all that short.

Having lost out on Moreno today -- probably before today if you're on the inside -- Indiana, Ohio State, and UN₵ have already moved on to the next center target in the 2025 class, 7-0 center Eric Reibe (#34 in the rankings I posted above). He has 8 other finalists: Connecticut, Creighton, Harvard (go Tommy Amaker!), Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon, Stanford, and West Virginia. I think we can rule out Kentucky now; while John Calipari would probably have tried to double up on high-profile centers, Mark Pope has other recruiting needs and can't afford to lose focus or momentum.

According to ESPN guru Paul Biancardi, September 20-22 is when the Heels will host both Reibe (as posted here) and #1 prospect AJ Dybantsa (as posted here). We just learned earlier today that 6-8 small forward Nikolas Khamenia (ranked #28) will visit them September 6. We also know that 6-5 point guard Isaiah Denis (ranked #64) arrives there September 28, and 6-9 power forward Niko Bundalo (ranked #22) goes there October 4. Pretty critical few weeks for Hubert Davis.

FYI, ZagsBlog keeps an Official Visit Tracker, which is a good idea, but it can be slow to provide updates, and it's hard to follow. The list is organized by month, but it would be easier to read if it were organized by player.
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UN₵. That's brutal. 🤣

I don't know why none of these top post players want to join the Heels and get prepped for the NBA like Bacot.

You know it's fun to laugh at Hubert right now, but it does make me a little nervous about where roster building is rapidly heading and what Duke's place in this new world will be...
 
SkyBrickey said:
You know it's fun to laugh at Hubert right now, but it does make me a little nervous about where roster building is rapidly heading and what Duke's place in this new world will be...
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Oh, absolutely. Armando Bacot was and RJ Davis continues to be a crutch, a valued piece that will win games, but probably not what you'll see out of Hubertball in its idealized form... starting as soon as the 2025-26 season. Coach Davis really did try to bring in the anti-Bacot in this offseason, but he failed for a few reasons:

1) Bacot's double-edged sword: dominant college lifer but limited pro potential
2) Reduced NBA cred, a prolonged effect of Roy Williams' retro approach to roster-building
3) Stubbornness in only pursuing overhyped centers who went elsewhere, while ignoring better fits who also went elsewhere
4) A fixed NIL budget that was not prepared for a wildly unregulated market, losing out to Big Ten and SEC budgets which were not as fixed
5) Dismay, frustration, and inertia, creating a new stubbornness: a rationalization that they'll be fine with what they have

That last one is especially funny because UNC had pretty good seats to witness Duke's similar rationalization a year ago. Jon Scheyer had more reason to stay put back then -- we have three 7-footers on our roster, do we really need another center? -- but Duke probably did need to do more in the 2023 offseason.

Under the theory of "a fool and his money are easily parted", and with RJ Davis' money finally off their books, I think the Heels will be financially more prepared to build a 2025-26 roster through prep recruiting and bolster it in the transfer portal with no real academic constraints on admissions. It's going to take some fan adjustment to lose half their roster (Cadeau, Jackson, Powell declare; RJ Davis, Withers, Claude out of eligibility), but Coach Davis should be able to add a pretty strong group of stars to what will still be a decent supporting cast of returners.
 
Tangential but . . .

I was out with a lawyer buddy for a beer yesterday. He's younger than me and has a son who is a good Colorado H.S. player, rising junior who apparently just cracked the top 100.

He told me his son just received his first scholarship offer, from UNC. I was so happy and so sad at the same time. I told him he really should discourage his son from being a Tar Heel. My buddy seemed confused because the offer was from University of Northern Colorado.
 
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