Duke basketball holds 'dream school' advantage for top overall recruit

The No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class sure sounds sweet on Duke.

Duke basketball recruiting target Naas Cunningham (Landon Bost-USA TODAY Sports)

Last season, five-star 2024 small forward Naas Cunningham starred for Gill St. Bernard's (N.J.) alongside a 2023 Duke basketball pledge in five-star small forward Mackenzie Mgbako.

That alone may give the Blue Devils a leg up in the Cunningham sweepstakes.

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After all, the 6-foot-7, 180-pound lengthy phenom, who ranks No. 1 on the 247Sports 2024 Composite and will spend his final two prep seasons with Overtime Elite, told Joe Tipton of On3 this week that Mgbako often tells him to join "The Brotherhood":

"Yeah, he always jokes around saying, 'Come to Duke, come to Duke.'"

Mgbako isn't the only one. No, Cunningham noted to Tipton that the entire Blue Devil staff appears to have made him a top priority since he received a Duke offer in January:

"I've spoken to at least six coaches from Duke. They always reach out, and they constantly remind me that I'm their guy, they love me, and they want me at their school. It feels great knowing my dream school growing up is heavy on me."

More 'dream school' talk from Duke basketball target Naas Cunningham

In addition to suggesting to Joe Tipton that Duke is the one program most likely to receive an official visit from him in the fall, Naas Cunningham pinned the 'dream school' tag on the Blue Devils several times throughout the interview:

"Growing up, my dream school was Duke. I was a big Duke fan...It was always a big-named school, and everybody was talking about Duke. Really, one of my friends in kindergarten put me on to college basketball because I didn't even know what it was. And he used to come in with the Duke jerseys, and I would be like, 'What's that?'"

Cunningham continued:

"So I started watching college basketball and started watching Duke. I didn't know who was on the team or anything. I was just watching because I love basketball, so that's really what stuck with me. So I was always a Duke fan."

According to Tipton, Cunningham has already taken unofficial visits to Duke, Rutgers, St. John's, UCLA, and UConn. He holds roughly 15 offers.

The Blue Devils have not yet landed a 2024 prize. That said, it's early, and they look like major players for all four of their official targets at this point.

Duke's 2024 offer sheet consists of Paul VI Catholic (Va.) four-star small forward Darren Harris and three of the top five talents on the 247Sports 2024 Composite: Naas Cunningham (No. 1), Lake Highlands (Texas) five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson (No. 3), and IMG Academy (Fla.) five-star small forward Bryson Tucker (No. 5). 

Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country for more Duke basketball recruiting updates.