Let's start with big news for the 2016 class: Duke has offered T.J. Leaf.
Leaf is a five-star 6-foot-9 forward from El Cajon, Ca. and is currently ranked 21st in ESPN Top 100 for the Class of 2016. The other notable schools after the California big man are UCLA, Michigan, Florida, Arizona, Indiana, Texas and Iowa.
Leaf is a sharp shooting big, who also has the ability to put the ball on the deck and score with either hand. He reportedly plans on announcing during the spring period and we will continue to follow and update his recruitment as more news comes out.
Some more big news came out of Las Vegas Saturday night as CBSSports reported that Chase Jeter planned on making his decision in the coming days and announcing in the next few weeks. Jeter’s final four schools are Duke, Arizona, UCLA and UNLV. The Las Vegas native made comments about all four during his interview with Jeff Borzello:
On Duke:
"I have a great relationship with all the coaches," Jeter said. "Coach [Mike] K[rzyzewski], coach [Jeff] Capel. They have great guys, great history. Overall, just a great program."
On UCLA:
"So close to home," Jeter said. "Coach Alford, they've been pushing out a lot of pros lately. They're one of the best schools for skill development."
On UNLV:
"UNLV is my hometown," Jeter said. "My father played there, so that's a real good look for me. Coach [Dave] Rice has recruited me real well, him and all the rest of their staff. The hometown feel, the hometown love, and I feel that would be a good place for me to really get better."
On Arizona:
"That's another one that's really close to home," Jeter said. "Coach [Sean] Miller, I got a chance to play for him at USA basketball. That was a great opportunity for me to feel what the collegiate level is like under a top coach."
Jeter had long been considered a lock to follow his friend Luke Kennard to Duke, but the longer his recruitment has drawn on, the more momentum schools out west have seemed to gain. At this point, it’s anyone guess where the talented big man will end up and every fan of those four schools, will be glued to the TV to watch his long awaited announcement.
Switching over to Team USA, the 17U National Team held tryouts this week in Colorado Springs. Among the Duke recruits vying to represent their country in Dubai include 2015 targets Henry Ellenson, Ivan Rabb, Diamond Stone and Caleb Swanigan and 2016 recruits Tyus Battle, Harry Giles, TJ Leaf, Jayson Tatum and Dennis Smith Jr. The final roster will be announced August 1.
On the AAU Circuit, the Adidas Super64 was in full swing and featured a number of potential Blue Devils. Brandon Ingram’s Stackhouse Elite were knocked out by Thon Maker’s Team Loaded in pool play, but Ingram put on a show for the scouts watching, as he finished with 30 points.
It’s been quiet on the recruiting front for Ingram the last two weeks, but his success has not gone unnoticed. Not only does he have offers from multiple top programs, he had coaches from all the schools that offered him watching him closely this weekend. Ingram also announced that he plans on visiting Duke August 7-9 after Adidas Nations
Jaylen Brown also continued his scorching July, as he led his Game Elite to a third-place finish. Brown put in 32 points, 15 rebounds and four assists against Thon Maker’s Team Loaded in the third-place game.
Chase Jeter stole the show as he led his Dream Vision squad to the finals before his team lost by 15 to Indiana Elite. The loss, however, was anything but Jeter’s fault, as the big man dropped 24 points and 17 rebounds to cap an incredible tournament for the Las Vegas native. Duke also noticed how well Jeter has played this week and were very focused on watching him play:
Lastly, Duke commit Luke Kennard threw down a baseline dunk while playing for King James Shooting Stars at the AAU nationals
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