Duke Basketball: Jon Scheyer Comes up Empty in Huge Recruiting Race
Kokomo (Ind.) center Flory Bidunga, who visited his Duke basketball suitors in June and included the Blue Devils among his four finalists, announced his commitment to Kansas at the Elite 24 Under Armour Next showcase in Atlanta on Saturday night.
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Bidunga, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound five-star and Democratic Republic of the Congo native, ranks No. 1 among big men and No. 5 overall on the 247Sports 2024 Composite.
Duke was relatively late to the Flory Bidunga sweepstakes, extending an offer to him during his trip to Durham. Nevertheless, throughout July until late this week, many insiders viewed head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff as the frontrunner ahead of fellow finalists Kansas, Auburn, and Michigan.
At one point, a dozen predictions between the 247Sports Crystal Ball, Rivals FutureCast, and On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine pointed to the Blue Devils coming out on top. But Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl and his crew emerged as the consensus favorite on Friday afternoon despite never hosting Bidunga for a visit.
Then Kansas won the battle in the end.
Meanwhile, the Duke basketball recruiting team continues to actively pursue a handful of undecided 2024 talents in hopes of adding to its two-deep collection of four-star small forward Darren Harris and five-star small forward Isaiah Evans.
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That list of remaining Blue Devil targets includes five-star combo guard Dylan Harper, five-star shooting guard VJ Edgecombe, five-star small forward Cooper Flagg, five-star small forward Kon Knueppel, four-star small forward Tyler Betsey, and four-star center Patrick Ngongba II.
Scheyer and his gang likely hope to land at least one 2024 center. After all, graduate big man Ryan Young expires his eligibility next season, and 7-foot sophomore Kyle Filipowski is a projected first-round pick for next summer's NBA Draft.
Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI.com for more Duke basketball recruiting news.