Just days after being cut by Julius Randle, the top-ranked power forward in the class of 2013, Duke basketball received some encouraging news on the recruiting front when reports surfaced Friday evening that Jabari Parker, the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2013 according to ESPN.com, is down to five schools—BYU, Duke, Florida, Michigan State and Stanford.
The 6-foot-8 small forward will make the trip from Chicago to Durham for an official visit the weekend of October 27. The following weekend Parker will take an official visit to Florida.
Austin Nichols, Duke's other primary target in the class of 2013, was on campus for an official visit over the weekend. The 6-foot-8 power forward from Memphis was welcomed by a banner hung on campus by the Cameron Crazies.
Having already visited Virginia, Memphis and Vanderbilt, Nichols will take official visits to Auburn and Tennessee in the coming weeks before announcing a college decision.
The race for Nichols is seemingly between two schools: Tennessee and Duke. The Volunteers already have a commitment from his AAU teammate and friend, Robert Hubbs. Additionally, Nichols' twin sister is currently a freshman at Tennessee.
The Blue Devils, meanwhile, have plenty to sell Nichols on including the immediate availability of playing time in the frontcourt next year after Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly graduate.
Next weekend, Tyus Jones, the top-ranked point guard in the class of 2014, and Jahlil Okafor, the No. 1 center in the class of 2014, will be in attendance for Countdown to Craziness.
On numerous occasions, Jones and Okafor have publicly talked about their desire to play with one another at the next level.
And Karl Towns, the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2015, will also be in attendance with Jones and Okafor, per his twitter account. The visit will be Towns' second trip to Duke over the course of the past few months.
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