Duke Basketball Recruiters Survive Cut for Surging Target

The Duke basketball coaches are alongside UNC and a few other bluebloods in pursuit of four-star guard Acaden Lewis.

Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Sidwell Friends School (Washington, D.C.) guard Acaden Lewis is one of only a few rising high school seniors who hold offers from every bonafide modern blueblood. Duke basketball became the final piece to that feat three weeks ago when third-year head coach Jon Scheyer officially entered the fray for the 6-foot-2, 170-pound four-star shortly after watching him shine at the DC Live prep showcase.

And the Blue Devils are among the four bluebloods to land in Lewis' top eight suitors, which he announced on Wednesday. The other three are UNC, Kentucky, and UConn, with Syracuse, Tennessee, Auburn, and Michigan rounding out his finalists.

Kansas, which extended an offer a few days before Duke, is the only blueblood absent from the list.

NEWS: 2025 4⭐️ Acaden Lewis announced he’s down to eight schools:

Syracuse
Kentucky
Tennessee
UConn
Duke
North Carolina
Auburn
Michigan

Lewis is a shifty, lefty guard with good wiggle and feel with the ball in his hands. A knockdown shotmaker from the outside and a crafty… pic.twitter.com/aLcLZ1MVet

— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) July 10, 2024

Lewis, who began the year at No. 100 overall on the 247Sports 2025 Composite but has since skyrocketed to No. 47, visited Duke's archrival, UNC, in late June. Plus, he has already scheduled a return trip to Chapel Hill, as he'll check out the Tar Heels, this time on an official visit, the first weekend of October.

However, Lewis plans to visit all eight of his finalists before reaching a decision in his recruitment. He'll likely announce a winner in time for the early signing period in November.

Acaden Lewis has probably been the biggest stock riser of the summer up to this point, & for good reason. The playmaking prowess, ball security & shot making Lewis brings from the PG position is next level.

Lewis announced earlier today the Duke Blue Devils recently offered. pic.twitter.com/vlWE7EMT9G

— Trent Watson 💎 (@Trentw_23) June 22, 2024

Based on what the slick playmaker said about the Duke basketball program during his recent chat with Zagsblog's Charlie Parent, Jon Scheyer's Blue Devils are squarely in the mix.

"They have somewhat of the DMV pipeline with guys like Trevor Keels, Darren Harris, and Pat Ngongba," Acaden Lewis explained to Parent about Duke's recruiting prizes from Paul VI Catholic (Va.) this decade alone (left out Jeremy Roach). "They've had a pipeline and successful guys from this area, so it's great to see that they think I could be the next big thing from this area.

"I have a great relationship with Coach Scheyer and his staff. They just seem fired up about me and think I can come in and play big minutes right away."

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