Syracuse basketball’s 2017 recruiting¬†cycle took another hit over the weekend when New York native Jordan Tucker passed on New York’s college team, and the fact that he chose Duke instead just added insult to injury. As it turns out, the Blue Devils weren’t done. Monday, Coach K added another top 10 recruit to a recruiting class which now dominates the rest of the ACC.
Trevon Duval is the No. 5 recruit in the country, according to 247Sports. Before today, he was one of two top 10 recruits who had yet to choose a school for the fall. He had offers from just about every school in the country; Kansas, UCLA, Villanova, Arizona and Louisville were just a few. Duval passed on all of those teams to join Duke in Durham, giving the Blue Devils two of the¬†top six recruits¬†in this cycle (along with No. 6 recruit Wendell Carter). Duke also has¬†Gary Trent Jr. (No. 16), Alex O’Connell (No. 64) and, of course, Jordan Tucker (No. 77) signed out of the top 100.
Duval gives Coach K the point guard he wanted out of this¬†class. Carter is¬†the big, and¬†Trent is the two-guard. Kevin Knox was supposed to be the three man that rounded out an incredible class, but instead the Blue Devils had to settle for Jordan Tucker. Duke’s class is still by far the best in the ACC. The Blue Devils now have three five-star recruits committed, while the rest of the ACC combined has two (Miami’s Lonnie Walker and Louisville’s Malik Williams). Duke also has two four-star recruits and a three-star signed as well. For reference, Louisville has its one five star and three four-stars for the second best class in the conference. Syracuse’s class in No. 10 in the ACC with three three-star commits.
Obviously, Duke getting better is bad news for the Orange and the rest of the ACC, but the¬†Duke is always getting better. Syracuse isn’t. The Blue Devils have the No. 2 class in the country (behind Kentucky), just as it was last year. Syracuse,¬†which had the No. 21 class of 2016, has dropped 41 marks this season to the No. 62 spot. The Orange is playing in the best conference in the country,¬†and any stumble can send you to the bottom of the ACC.¬†The best teams in college basketball keep getting better, and SU isn’t keeping up.
Posted: Nathan Dickinson
