Red Flag or Perfect Storm: What Max Christie's Rejection Means For Duke Recruiting?

Five-star 2021 guard is Duke's first major loss in recent memory

Max Christie chose Michigan State, despite Duke’s heavy pursuit of the five-star 2021 shooting guard. By all accounts, Duke had identified Christie as a key target for its 2021 class, and, for much of the recruitment, the Blue Devils appeared to be the leader to land him.

The decision sent Duke message boards and social media groups into a panic as it appeared that coach Mike Krzyzewski was beaten for a recruit that he really wanted, and not by the usual recruiting opponents—Kentucky, Kansas or North Carolina—but by the Spartans.

Indeed, dating back to 2013, the last year that any of the major recruiting services have full online archives of offers for prospects, a total of seven other prospects had chosen between Duke and Michigan State. All of them chose Duke. That list started with Jabari Parker and included Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor, Jayson Tatum, Gary Trent Jr., Vernon Carey Jr. and incoming freshman Jaemyn Brakefield.

The recruiting success echoed the on-court series between Krzyzewski and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. Duke won seven straight from 2010 to 2017 and 12 of 13 dating back to 1994, until the Spartans knocked Zion Williamson and the Blue Devils out of the 2019 tournament.

The Christie recruitment also ended Duke’s era of success in the Chicago area. The Blue Devils had a string of recruiting wins in Coach K’s hometown, which included Parker, Okafor and incoming freshman DJ Steward, as well as former Blue Devil and current assistant Jon Scheyer. Christie is the first Chicago area player Duke has offered and not landed in the last decade plus.

Is Christie’s commitment a red flag? With the threat of the NBA G-League and the prospect of the one-and-done rule going away, Duke appears to have focused more of its recruiting efforts on players more likely to stay multiple years in recent recruiting cycles. Krzyzewski frequently touted the 2020 Blue Devils as more of an “old school” team than the one-and-done loaded squads he’d had in previous years.

Does that mean it will be tougher for the Blue Devils to successfully pitch the top-level players when they do go after them? Or was Christie swayed by the opportunity to pass to top prospect Emoni Bates, who committed to the Spartans (after largely being ignored by Duke on the recruiting trail) and is rumored to be considering a reclassification to 2021, a perfect storm not likely to repeat itself with other prospects in 2021 and beyond.

It remains to be seen, but, just like the next time the Blue Devils meet the Spartans on the court, Duke’s coaches and supporters will not have the same feeling of invincibility they did previously as future recruiting targets make their college announcements.