Duke basketball recruiting: Dynamite package deal possible

Duke is one of only a few pursuing both Dylan Harper and Naas Cunningham.

Duke basketball mascot (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

By extending an offer on Monday to Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) five-star lefty combo guard Dylan Harper, who ranks No. 27 overall on the 247Sports 2024 Composite, the Duke basketball staff officially put itself in contention for a two-person 2024 package deal.

RELATED: Son of five-time NBA champ Ron Harper lands Duke offer

That potential tandem consists of Harper and his friend, five-star small forward Naas Cunningham. The latter, a long-limbed sensation who ranks No. 1 in the class, recently announced his move from Gill St. Bernard's School (N.J.) to Overtime Elite (Ga.) and has held an offer from the Blue Devils since January.

Following the news of his Duke offer on Monday, Harper spoke to On3 national recruiting insider Joe Tipton. He talked about the real possibility of teaming up with Cunningham in college, marking the second time in as many weeks that he has mentioned it in an interview:

"That would be crazy. Next year, we will play together for NY Rens 17U [on the Nike EYBL circuit]. We're winning it all too. Our connection off the court is really going to carry onto the court as well."

Duke basketball recruiting targets grew up rooting for rival bluebloods

Naas Cunningham has not been secretive about Duke being his "dream school." Here's what he recently said about that to Joe Tipton:

"I was a big Duke fan...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?' So I started watching college basketball and started watching Duke."

He continued:

"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."

As for Dylan Harper, he was a fan of Duke's archrival, UNC.

However, the Tar Heels are not yet on Harper's offer sheet. And he suggested to Jamie Shaw of On3 in June that his childhood fandom would not sway his recruitment:

"At one point, when I was younger, I was a UNC fan. But that faded away now that I'm getting recruited."

Neither Harper nor Cunningham has been specific about a timeline for choosing a destination after high school.

Surprisingly, per 247Sports, Duke, Rutgers, and UCLA are the only three schools thus far that have officially entered the race for both Harper and Cunningham.

Duke's six-deep 2024 wishlist includes those two heralded playmakers plus five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson, five-star small forward Bryson Tucker, four-star small forward Darren Harris, and four-star center James Brown.

None have committed yet.

It may go without saying here, but a package-deal pledge from Naas Cunningham and Dylan Harper would be an ideal way for the Blue Devils to jumpstart their quest to replicate their best-in-nation success on the 2022 and 2023 recruiting trails.

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