The Duke Blue Devils kicked off their 2025 recruiting class with a bang final week after they landed commitments from five-stars Cameron Boozer and Cayden Boozer, the sons of former NBA nice Carlos Boozer.
The twins had been the primary two commitments for Duke of their 2025 class that might begin to decide up very shortly, as head coach Jon Scheyer and his workers look to place collectively one more robust freshman class after touchdown the No. 1 class within the 2024 cycle.
After getting six freshmen in 2024, Duke isn’t anticipated to take as many gamers of their upcoming class, however they nonetheless have been extraordinarily energetic in quite a few high recruitments, with Cameron Boozer ranked because the No. 2 participant in your complete class.
With the Boozer twins within the combine, how might the remainder of Duke’s 2025 recruiting class form out?
Present roster
As talked about above, the Blue Devils added a whopping six freshmen to the combination for the upcoming season, led by No. 1 general recruit Cooper Flagg.
Flagg headlines a category that has 4 five-star recruits (Flagg, Khaman Malauch, Kon Knueppel, Isaiah Evans) and two four-star recruits (Patrick Ngongba, Darren Harris) which can make up an excellent portion of Duke’s rotation.
Whenever you undertaking how the long run might search for Duke, you first should evaluation the present mainstays on Duke’s roster and the place turnover might originate from subsequent 12 months.
At present, it looks as if Duke will lose three of their six freshmen prone to the professionals subsequent 12 months in Flagg, Knueppel, and Malauch.
Moreover, wanting on the the rest of the roster, the Blue Devils won’t retain seniors Mason Gillis and Sion James, who’re each anticipated to be key rotational items this 12 months.
That’s loads of attrition for the Blue Devils, as Flagg, Knueppel and Malauch are all projected as starters for Duke. And that’s not even mentioning the probabilities of a possible switch, which the Blue Devils noticed first-hand this offseason with solely two gamers getting back from their rotation in 2023.
Trying forward, Duke might have just a few items to construct round for 2025. It’s possible that no less than one in every of their beginning guards will return with Caleb Foster and Tyrese Proctor, though the professionals loom forward, whereas Evans, Harris and Ngongba are anticipated to be multi-year faculty gamers.
Then, add in junior Maliq Brown, who the Blue Devils landed within the switch portal as a high reserve ahead and there are a few key items for Duke. Nonetheless, there are a ton of holes to fill, which is why the 2025 class could possibly be big as soon as once more for the blue-blood program.
2025 class
Duke’s class was bolstered lately by the additions of the Boozer twins, who gave an enormous enhance to the workforce’s recruiting efforts within the cycle.
Cameron Boozer is the Flagg alternative, coming in because the workforce’s clear energy ahead subsequent season and shall be tasked with so much on his plate as quickly as he involves campus.
Cayden Boozer tasks as extra of a multi-year faculty participant, and could possibly be ready extra within the wings in a task off the bench initially, relying on how Duke’s guard rotation fills out with Foster and Proctor.
On Tuesday, the Blue Devils received one other dedication, touchdown four-star ahead Nik Khamenia, who was down to 3 finalists: Duke, UCLA, and Gonzaga.
Khamenia will possible slot right into a small ahead function at Duke, standing 6’8”, 210 kilos, and provides good dimension and playmaking capability from the wing spot, whereas additionally being a succesful sufficient shooter from three.
It’s unclear how the Duke roster will look subsequent 12 months, however Khamenia’s facilitating capability appears to be an excellent match with the scoring risk that present freshmen Isaiah Evans and Darren Harris present. Moreover, with the dedication of Cameron Boozer, the Blue Devils have added two good forwards to the roster, balancing out properly as they possible can have some good middle depth subsequent 12 months with Ngongba and Brown on the roster.
Khamenia’s body shall be one thing to watch, as he’s on the lighter finish at 210 kilos and shall be tasked to defend at a excessive degree, which could possibly be the determinant of what number of minutes he earns as a freshman. However, if he performs extra of the three and guards wings, there ought to be an excellent function for the four-star as Duke figures out its future plans.
Elsewhere, the Blue Devils are eyeing a few of the greatest recruits within the 2025 class, as they’ve targeted their efforts on five-star ahead Nate Ament, a top-five participant within the cycle.
Standing at 6’9”, 185 kilos, Ament is a participant considered extremely by scouts and tasks as a one-and-done participant on the subsequent degree. A serious riser this 12 months on the recruiting path, Ament is a gifted scorer and would possible slot into the beginning small ahead function subsequent to Boozer if the Blue Devils had been capable of land him.
Now, that shall be a tall process, because the top-five recruit has quite a few high-major groups after him, and he’s trying to take his time earlier than discovering the appropriate match within the late signing window.
Moreover, the Blue Devils have made the ultimate three for five-star ahead Shelton Henderson, who is predicted to decide on his dedication in early November.
Henderson, a top-15 recruit within the class, stands at 6’6”, 220 kilos, and was lately at Duke for a go to, whereas Louisville and Texas spherical out his high three.
He would add to the ahead depth that’s anticipated to take a success subsequent 12 months, and his function could be depending on who else the Blue Devils are ready so as to add on this upcoming recruiting class. Nonetheless, he’s a participant Duke has prioritized and could possibly be a key a part of the long run for this system.
Lastly, the Blue Devils are additionally within the combine for four-star guard Acaden Lewis, who has been recruited by a few of the high colleges within the nation. UConn and Kentucky are amongst his finalists, and a call might come quickly from the gifted guard.
Nonetheless, with Cayden Boozer within the combine right here, it appears extra possible Duke would find yourself with a few of the ahead targets, as Lewis could possibly be in a time crunch for minutes with the uncertainty across the Blue Devils’ backcourt for subsequent 12 months.
General, Duke has a gifted board of recruits that they’re trying to goal for the 2025 class. The Blue Devils are already off to an excellent begin with three commits coming within the final week, together with the No. 2 participant within the cycle.
