With Scheyer And Davis Recruiting Well, The Duke-UNC Rivalry Rolls Along

The Duke-UNC rivalry never seems to take a break and the programs tend to parallel and shadow each other

Hubert Davis has been UNC’s head coach since April while Jon Scheyer was named Duke’s coach-in-waiting in June and will take over next spring.

So we won’t see them take each other on for quite some time yet - on the court.

But recruiting is a different kind of competition and Davis got off to a good start with commitments from Seth Trimble, Jalen Washington and Will Shaver.

Washington and Trimble are both seen as four-stars while Shaver, who has had weight issues to overcome, is rated as a three-star.

Not that it much matters. It’s a complete crap shoot to rate most players; only a few are can’t-miss.

But as of right now, anyway, Scheyer’s haul looks better.

Kyle Filipowski is a rapidly improving, multi-skilled big man. Dariq Whitehead is a 6-6 bundle of versatile talent. And Jaden Schutt, who announced his commitment Wednesday, is a guy who seems really driven to prove himself at a high level.

The first two are five-star talents while Schutt is a four-star who may be a five-star before it’s all over.

Thing is, it’s only perception right now. Every year five-star guys come up with a huge buildup and fall short. You don’t have to think too hard to find a bunch.

And every year guys come out of nowhere and become great college players. Look at Ja Morant, CJ McCollum, Ryan Arcidiacono, Anthony Lamb, and, if you go back a ways, Joe Dumars and Dennis Rodman.

There’s a lot more to becoming a great player than talent and it’s impossible to tell what 17-year-old has the heart to achieve greatness.

Until we know for sure though, the perception of momentum on Duke’s part is nice.