In what ended up being a whirlwind commitment 2020 big man Walker Kessler, whom most had penciled in for the Blue Devils, chose to commit to Roy Williams and the Tar Heels. The Heels are quietly building one of their best classes in years and are just getting started. The loss of Kessler for Duke, one of only 2 Centers that the Blue Devils have offered, leaves Duke in a bit of a quandary as far as filling out a lineup and replacing what they plan on losing after this season. The Blue Devils will lose senior bigs Jack White and Javin DeLaurier to exhausted eligibility, more than likely Matthew Hurt and Vernon Carey to the draft – both are projected to be first rounders at this point. Those losses virtually leaves the cupboard bare for Coach K in terms of size but the Blue Devils do have offers out to 7-foot center Mark Williams who ranks as a top 30 prospect and power forward Henry Coleman who will be announcing his college choice this week. Even if the Blue Devils are lucky enough to pull both recruits that still leaves a hole or 2 in the paint. I’d look for Duke to expand their net to include more offers to bigs they’ve been tracking or to fill their roster with as many power forwards and versatile small forwards they can muster.
There are several prospects that Duke could get more involved with including Scottie Barnes out of Montverde, Isaiah Todd, Dawson Garcia, Hunter Dickinson, Xavier Foster and Dylan Cardwell. There are bigs to be had but the immediate plan is to try to lock up Mark Williams and Henry Coleman.
Currently Duke has locked up their backcourt will commitments from guards Jeremy Roach and DJ Steward and versatile small forward Jalen Johnson. The Blue Devils are most likely lookin to add 6-7 bodies in this class to offset the probable early entry loses of Tre Jones, Cassius Stanley, Vernon Carey, Wendell Moore and Matthew Hurt along with the aforementioned losses of Javin DeLaurier and Jack White.
