Next year's roster appears to finally be set for the Blue Devils.
A week after freshman forward Josh McRoberts announced he would return for his sophomore season, New Jersey high-school senior Lance Thomas, ranked 18th nationally in his class by scout.com, announced he would attend Duke in the fall.
The athletic, 6-foot-9 forward will join Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Brian Zoubek to round out next year's recruiting class.
"Next year I will be attending Duke University," Thomas said at a 4 p.m. press conference held at his high school, St. Benedict's. "I'm very confident in my decision. It came down to the wire."
Thomas chose Duke over Rutgers, Florida and Louisville. He said the decision was not finalized until earlier this afternoon, when he called head coach Mike Krzyzewski to inform him of the decision.
"I think it was well worth the wait," Thomas said. "I don't have any regrets."
Thomas' decision to enroll at Duke gives the Blue Devils much needed frontcourt depth and athleticism. After the departure of senior Shelden Williams and the transfer of freshman center Eric Boateng, Duke was in a precarious situation.
But McRoberts and Thomas announcing they will be a part of Krzyzewski's program next year bolsters the frontcourt and moreover the roster as a whole.
Thomas led his team to the state Prep A title with 14.1 points per game this season.
All of Duke's incoming recruits are ranked in the top 40 by scout.com, with Henderson the highest. The other three recruits had all verbally committed last spring and signed their national letters of intent last fall.
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