Duke basketball recruiting joke gets laugh from five-star prep

Duke basketball still looks like a player in the Bryson Tucker sweepstakes.

Chatter has been light of late in the Duke basketball staff's recruitment of IMG Academy (Fla.) small forward Bryson Tucker, a 6-foot-7, 195-pound smooth five-star who ranks No. 7 overall on the 247Sports 2024 Composite and has held an offer from the Blue Devils since March.

But during his chat with Rivals' Rob Cassidy this week, Tucker named Duke among a handful of suitors in the mix, along with Michigan State, Auburn, UCF, USC, and "a couple more."

Cassidy jokingly asked if folks "should just assume he'll pick Duke because everyone else does."

"I don't know about that one," Bryson Tucker responded. "That's funny, though. I wouldn't say that just yet, but it's Duke. They have multiple pros every year and not just regular pros, multiple stars. They're really engaged, so we'll see."

Bryson Tucker with a game high 10 points at the half with IMG leading LuHi by a pair 😤 pic.twitter.com/AHgeBAkeQT

— League Ready (@LeagueRDY) December 10, 2022

So what, in Tucker's opinion, is the key to the Blue Devils landing so many top-shelf recruits in recent years?

"I would say it's the pros and the way they play," he told Cassidy. "They sent me, like, a little interview thing that showed me the pro sets they run. I think that helps them. When their players get into the pros, they already know the type of sets and all that."

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Judging by Cassidy's reaction to his interview with Tucker, first-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer and his crew might like their chances:

"Tucker laughed when asked if everyone should get it over with and just pencil him in at Duke before he even begins to take visits. The question was obviously a joke, but there's some truth in every laugh. It's probably too early to name the Blue Devils the favorite, but they will likely be a player until the end at the very least. Michigan State also seems to have piqued Tucker's interest..."

Speaking of the Spartans, Bryson Tucker pointed out to Cassidy that, at least for the moment, Michigan State is the only program he is "almost certain" he wants to visit this school year; however, that trip is unlikely to occur until spring. Thus far, as Cassidy noted, he's yet to take any of his five allotted official visits for his junior year.

Meanwhile, Duke has one 2024 commit in four-star small forward Darren Harris.

And in addition to Tucker, the Blue Devils have offers on the table to six others in the class: five-star combo guard Dylan Harper, five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson, five-star small forward Naas Cunningham, five-star small forward Carter Bryant, four-star small forward Tyler Betsey, and four-star center James Brown.

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