Mark Williams Picks Duke
Coach Mike Krzyzewski has his big man.
Duke's 2020 recruiting class had five commitments,
including a five-star point guard in Jeremy Roach, a five star off guard in DJ Stewart, a five-star small forward in Jalen Johnson, and a pair of four-star power forwards in Jaemyn Brakefield and Henry Coleman.
The Blue Devils didn’t have a man in the middle, however, to replace Vernon Carey Jr., the freshman center who is likely to head to the NBA as a one-and-done following the season.
That changed on Friday afternoon, when seven-footer Mark Williams announced that he was headed to Duke. The four-star center from Bradenton, Florida’s IMG Academy chose Duke over Michigan and UCLA.
Williams is the No. 29 prospect in the class, according to 247Sports. He’s also the No. 5 center. All six of Duke’s 2020 recruits are ranked in the nation’s top 40 seniors.
Williams is the younger brother of former Duke women’s star Elizabeth Williams, whose number was retired following her Blue Devils career.
Based on his highlight film, Williams plays much taller than seven feet, looking reminiscent of an extremely big man like Manute Bol or Tacko Fall. He’s much more mobile and self-assured than those players, whose length often seemed like the only reason they were on the floor.
Much of Williams’ offense in his highlight film came from putbacks, where he was able to reach up from in front of the rim to stuff in missed shots. He can also reach and dunk lob passes from anywhere in the paint.
Williams’ long arms allow him to block shots from behind as well as to present a formidable wall in front of opponents driving to the hoop. .
He’s not a raw big man getting by on his size, however. Williams is mobile in the paint and also showed off a nice turnaround jumper. He has the ability to trigger or continue fast breaks with accurate transition passing.
Duke coaches showed Williams film of Wendell Carter Jr. on his visit, saying they plan to use him the same way.
Duke still isn’t done recruiting for this cycle. The Blue Devils are among the finalists for 7-foot-2 Hunter Dickinson, another four-star senior.
In a blog for USA Today, Williams said, “One of my first calls will be to Hunter Dickinson now. I know that we can play together, and I know that we can make each other better just going head-to-head in practice every day. They’re expecting Vernon to go pro and Javin (DeLaurier) and Jack (White) are seniors so we’ll need big men. I think it would be a great opportunity for both of us to play together.”
