A teenager is the newest player in one of college basketball's fastest-growing rivalries.
Chris Duhon, a 6-foot-2 combination guard from Slidell, La., visits Duke this weekend as the centerpiece of a heated recruiting battle between the Blue Devils and Kentucky.
The Wildcats, short on point guards and desperate for help, have made a strong pitch for Duhon, who averaged 23.5 points, six rebounds and six assists per game last winter in leading Salmen High School to the Louisiana District 5-5A Championship.
Duhon also led his AAU club team, the New Orleans Jazz, to the championship of this summer's Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev. The smooth-shooting guard was named MVP of the 256-team field.
Duke, which already has top-rated point guard Jason Williams in its 1999 freshman class, nonetheless is pursuing the two-time All-State star feverishly. Pairing the two guards in the same lineup could give the Blue Devils their most athletic backcourt since Johnny Dawkins and Tommy Amaker teamed up successfully in the mid-1980s.
Recruiting analysts praise Duhon's all-around skills.
"He is a tremendous three-point shooter with a point guard's handle, and he is just a terrific athlete," said Brick Oettinger of the Sporting News. "We have what
Duhon has been particularly impressive at summer camps against the nation's top prospects, and Duke coaches got a good look at him as a rising junior when he played in camps held at Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
Kentucky coach Tubby Smith made an at-home visit to Duhon last week, after which Duhon and his mother told reporters that the Wildcats and Duke were neck-and-neck in the race for his services.
Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski visited an evening later, and Duhon-an admitted lifelong Duke fan-seemed enthusiastic about his upcoming visit to Durham.
"Based on everything I've seen and heard, I expect him to pick Duke over Kentucky," Oettinger said. "After his visit to Durham, he may make his other scheduled trips [to Kentucky and Louisiana State], but he may just commit to Duke and cancel them."
Oettinger based much of his opinion on an encounter with Duhon's mother Vivian Harper last summer at the adidas ABCD camp in Hackensack, N.J.
According to Oettinger, Harper told him that she made arrangements to meet with New Jersey native Jason Williams and his mother to talk about Duke.
"She didn't have to do that, but it says a lot that she went out of her way to meet them," Oettinger said.
Duhon's comfort level with Williams, who appears poised to become a fixture at point guard with Will Avery gone for the NBA, will be a key factor in the decision-making process.
Kentucky, whose only returning point guard with any experience is Tubby Smith's son Saul, could all but promise Duhon a spot in the starting lineup. Duke, which can make no such offers, has taken a different approach with newly appointed assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski directing the recruiting efforts.
Wojciechowski, only two years removed from his own playing days, has shared his experiences as a point guard under Krzyzewski. And he has used creative methods, compiling a travel guide for Duhon before his recent trip to Europe with a high school all-star team.
At the in-home visit, Wojciechowski reportedly produced doctored photos, superimposing Duhon's face in several spots around the Duke campus, including one in Cameron Indoor Stadium in front of screaming fans.
Duhon is the first senior to make an official visit to Duke this fall. The Blue Devils are actively recruiting a handful of other players, including 6-9 Indiana native Jared Jeffries, over whom Krzyzewski will battle his mentor Bobby Knight.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.