One thing Jon Scheyer specializes in is getting ahead of the curve. The main reason he is such a great recruiter is because he gets his ducks in a row early. When you can make a high school prospect feel important early in their recruitment you instantly hold an edge. Pair that with Duke’s brand and image and you become a recruiting behemoth.
With that, Scheyer’s recruiting classes often center around a key player and he tries to use that player to recruit the rest of the group. Additionally, he mainly focuses on areas of need. Those groups that he focuses on are a key to knowing who he expects to enter the NBA Draft or maybe even the transfer portal.
Duke 2026 Recruiting Targets Paint Future Roster Picture
Deron Rippey Jr and Jordan Smith
Duke has been heavily involved in trying to get both Rippey and Smith to commit. Smith has been the Belle of the Ball pretty much since the day Scheyer started recruiting for 2026. It does not hurt that he is out of Paul VI which has given Duke several high quality hoopers in the last few years.
Smith is a physical combo guard and energizer bunny. He mixes well with Rippey who has now been a major focus on the recruiting trail. Rippey is an explosive athlete that is a solid point of attack defender.
In addition, Duke had been involved in recruiting Brandon McCoy among other lead guards. McCoy seems unlikely to wind up at Duke as of now. However, the focus on these combo guards tells you Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans will likely be entering the NBA Draft after this coming season.
Christian Collins and Cameron Williams
Collins and Williams are both big bodied forwards with a ton of upside. They would be the ones expected to take the spot that Cameron Boozer will vacate when he battles to be the number 1 pick in the NBA draft.
Collins is no longer a major focus for the Blue Devils as he seems likely to end up in the SEC. He also does not quite have the size of Boozer as he more fits the body type of Nik Khamenia.
Williams is much more likely to end up in Durham. He has some strong suitors out west as an Arizona kid but Scheyer always finds a way to get one west coast kid per class and they usually work out great. Hello, Jared McCain.
What to Make of the 2026 Duke Recruiting Targets
There is no surprise that Cameron Boozer is going to only spend one year in Durham. However, other than Isaiah Evans taking his expected leap and Dame Sarr being a one year rental, there are some questions with what happens to the roster. It is interesting that there is minimal focus on trying to recruit any true wings. To me, that means Scheyer expects Khamenia and Darren Harris to be the starting wings in 2026.
The bigger surprise is how focused Duke is on adding guards. Currently, Cayden Boozer, Evans, and Foster are the other guards on the roster. Boozer likely returns. However, adding two high profile five-stars at guard makes it seem Scheyer expects Foster and Evans to leave. Foster seems like a four year Duke guy unless he takes the Tyrese Proctor leap this year.
What Duke has yet to recruit is the center position. Hello, Patrick Ngongba. This will be a spot they hit hard in the portal though.
Admittedly, the 2026 class is quite weak as a whole so Duke will just try to add some depth pieces. But, it is still hard to get five stars to come to campus if they aren’t going to get minutes.
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