Class of 2014 commitments are heating up with Theo Pinson expected to announce his decision Wednesday at 12:15 p.m.
Pinson, the No. 13 player in the class according to ESPN, is considering Duke, Georgetown, Indiana, Louisville and North Carolina. Pinson attends Wesleyan Christian Academy in North Carolina, so Duke and North Carolina were thought to be the early frontrunners for his services. But Indiana appears to be the consensus favorite going into the announcement.
Pinson has visited Duke unofficially many times throughout his high school career. Pinson and high school teammate Harry Giles, a member of the class of 2016 and perhaps the top player in his year, were at Cameron Indoor Stadium for this year’s Duke-North Carolina game, a 73-68 comeback win for the Blue Devils. Giles is also a Duke target, though he is a freshman and does not yet hold an official offer. The Duke staff, however, has been keeping close tabs on the 6-foot-8 forward.
Pinson was also in town for this year’s Countdown to Craziness with fellow 2014 Duke targets Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, who remain Duke’s top targets in that class.
With guard Grayson Allen already in the fold for Duke in 2014, Pinson—a 6-foot-6 wing player—appears to be less of a priority. Though last week it was inaccurately reported that Pinson cut Duke from his list of schools, it would be a surprise if he decided to pick the Blue Devils at this point.
The other 2014 commits who already have offers from Duke in addition to Pinson and Allen: Okafor, Jones, Devin Booker, Kevin Looney, Trey Lyles and Justise Winslow.
Okafor, a 6-foot-10 center ranked No. 1 in the class, recently opened up for his USA Today blog. The schools in the mix for Okafor are Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State and Ohio State.
In regards to Kansas, Okafor wrote about liking Andrew Wiggins decision to go there, dispelling the notion that Kansas isn't a school for one-and-done players.
Okafor also says he has heard from Kentucky and head coach John Calipari a lot lately. He added this on his talks with Coach Cal:
Then he was telling me about how he gets disrespected by a lot of the other coaches in recruiting, which is actually true because I've heard a few things myself.He really explained a lot to me and I learned a lot.
He also had very favorable things to say about his talks with the Duke basketball staff:
Coach (Mike) K (Krzyzewski) texted me on Sunday on Mother's Day and that meant a lot to me because he was checking on me because he knows that my mother passed. I thought that was really cool of him.All of the coaches at Duke hit me up; Coach (Jeff) Capel and Coach (Steve) Wojo.
In case you missed it...
- Incoming freshman Semi Ojeleye was selected as Parade Magazine's Boys' Basketball Player of the Year. Ojeleye averaged more than 38 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals per game during his senior year at Ottawa High School, leading the Cyclones to a 25-0 record and a state title.
- Additionally, transfer big man Tarik Black visited Duke last week, after which he visited Kansas. Black, who graduated from Memphis and will be eligible to play out his final season immediately, is expected to make a decision soon.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.