Duke Basketball Insanity

Throughout the years there have been some pretty insane high school basketball players. From Kobe Bryant to Lebron James, all across the United States there have been unique and talented players coming out of high school, however this past years high school class was special. The amount of talent and future the class of 2018 high school players have is unbelievable. Many of these prospects have had multiple Division 1 schools recruiting them, and trying to lead them into their programs. Last season in the NCAA, the Villanova Wildcats took home the trophy of the tournament in a 79-62 win against Michigan. Villanova along with Kansas, Michigan, and Loyola all acceded expectations last season in the tournament, but this year it’s all about Duke.

Duke is coached by Coach Mike Krzyzewski who has coached over 1,000 games for Duke. Coach K was able to recruit a five star group of players consisting of the top three players in the country, RJ Barrett, Zion WIlliamson, and Cameron Reddish. Along with these players, Coach K recruited the top point guard in the class Tre Jones and 41st ranked player in the country, Joey Baker. This is one of the top recruiting classes the NCAA has ever seen with an abundance of talent.

Starting with the number one player in the country RJ Barrett, Barret is a 6’7 small forward who completely dominated high school basketball. Barrett lived in Canada for most of his childhood and as a high schooler, played for Canada's national team. This year RJ and the Canadian team beat the USA team, in this game Barrett put up 38 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assist in a 99-87 win. RJ Barrett was also on the number one high school team in the country, Montverde Academy in Florida.

Adding on, Zion Williamson is a fan favorite player for Duke. Williamson definitely is the most popular high school player in this years recruiting class, as he is a social media finaminom with his insane dunks. Zion has around 1.7 million followers on his instagram page. This summer he was recorded dunking from the free throw line like former player Michael Jordan. Zion’s build is like no other, he is 6’7 and 290 pounds with freak athleticism. This summer Williamson broke the record for Duke’s vertical test recording a 40 inch vertical jump.

Next, Cam Reddish, the 6’7 forward for Duke is a very exciting player to watch. Reddish possesses the body of kevin durant, a two time champion in the NBA. In his final year of aau ball, he put up 53 points in the National HoopFest tournament in Maryland. One news writer said he is the top player he has seen since Lebron James coming out of high school. Cam goes to Westtown high school where he is known for waking up yearly and getting shots up at 6 a.m. before school starts. Many are wondering how his hard work will pay off at Duke next season.

Finally there’s Tre Jones, Jones is the top point guard in the 2018 recruiting class as he puts up insane numbers in the box scores. Tre Jones is known for consistently putting up triple doubles each night. Coming out of Apple Valley high school, Tre is not the first Jones to excel in basketball, he has two older brothers, the most known is Tyus Jones. Tyus went to Duke as well and played very well for coach K, so well that he was drafted in the first round of the next year's draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tyus is currently playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves and his brother Tre is working hard to follow in his footsteps.

Duke seems like they could be a great competitor in this year's tournament, however teams like Kentucky and Kansas will put up a great fight. The NCAA ranked the top five teams for this upcoming season to be Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, Tennessee, and finally Gonzaga. Duke has some incredible talent, but people are still wondering, will it be enough to take down these incredible teams?