RJ Barrett Has A Big Night At The Nike Hoop Summit & More On Next Year’s Class

Some notes on Duke’s incoming class as Duke fans wait for the spectacular class to arrive this fall:

RJ Barrett had a great outing at the Nike Hoops Summit, leading the World team to a win over the U.S. Check out this video for more.

Barrett had 21 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals. Reddish finished just 2-8 for seven points. Jones had just four points but picked up five assists.

Zion Williamson sat out due to his injured thumb.

Here’s another article on Jones who of course will follow brother Tyus at Duke.

Also, here’s one on Reddish who may end up being the most complex guy in the class. He’s a really interesting personality.

There’s another interesting tidbit in here too: right after Duke won the title in 2015, Jon Scheyer stepped away from the celebration to call Reddish, which floored his family.

It’s worth noting for a couple of reasons: first, Duke and Scheyer were on to Reddish early. He was a sophomore at the time. Second, for those who think Jeff Capel was responsible for all of Duke’s recruiting over the last several years, Scheyer made the call, just as Scheyer worked on Barrett. Capel is a sensational recruiter but he’s not the only one Duke has.

And third, Duke is organized and smart enough for him to have done it. Is it a consistent strategy? Just a coaching/recruiting impulse to never stop working a kid?

Who knows.

But it’s pretty revealing about how Duke recruiting works and on more than one level too because that was well before Coach K saw Reddish play in person.