Amile Jefferson’s high school team, Friends’ Central, won their fourth straight state independent schools championship over the weekend. Despite battling an ankle injury, the Duke target finished with 14 points.
Now that Jefferson’s high school season is over, fans can expect Jefferson to announce his college decision soon. Online rumors indicate there is a chance that the Philadelphia product will visit Duke for the North Carolina game on March 3rd, however, this has not been confirmed. Recruiting experts claim it is a two-horse race between Duke and North Carolina State to land the 6-foot-9 combo forward.
Nerlens Noel visited Kentucky this past weekend after visiting Syracuse the weekend before. The top ranked player in 2012 is also considering Providence, Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina and Georgetown. In recent weeks, the Duke coaching staff has reached out to the 6-foot-10 shot blocking machine, although the Blue Devils are considered to be a long shot to land Noel.
According to his twitter, Tony Parker will visit Kansas on February 25th as the Jayhawks host Missouri. Parker’s unexpectedly drawn out recruitment has led fans to believe the Georgia big man will not be coming to Duke. Shabazz Muhammad is also expected to take an official visit to Lawrence, Kansas that same weekend.
In a recent interview with Five Star Basketball, Anthony "The Cat" Barber, the latest 2013 recruit Duke has expressed interest in, said, “Duke is on the verge of offering [a scholarship].” The 6-foot-1 point guard also said, “Duke is my favorite college team.” Kansas, Virginia Tech North Carolina State, Connecticut, Syracuse and Virginia are also strongly pursuing Barber, who is known for his tremendous speed, tight ball handling skills and his ability to get to the rim. The Blue Devil's sudden interest in the Virginia floor general is surprising to some fans considering that Duke essentially stopped recruiting 2013 point guard Nate Britt, who committed to North Carolina last fall, and their strong interest in 2014 point guards Tyus Jones and JaQuel Richmond.
Strake Jesuit, led by Duke signee Rasheed Sulaimon, will begin their postseason play Tuesday night as they face Westbury in the Texas 5A bi-district playoffs.
Duke is set to host several highly touted prospects for their regular season finale against North Carolina. Be sure to check The Chronicle and the Blue Zone in the next couple weeks for all the latest updates on who will be visiting March 3rd.
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