Supreme sharpshooter includes Duke basketball among finalists

Duke remains in the hunt for the son of an All-Star.

Duke basketball staff (Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)

Earlier this week, the Duke basketball recruiting team faced two 2023 rejections: Cathedral Prep (Ind.) center Xavier Booker cutting the Blue Devils from the contention on Monday and Brewster Academy (N.H.) big man JP Estrella canceling his official visit to Durham on Wednesday.

But on Friday, the Blue Devils enjoyed a partial win in the 2023 recruiting arena by landing among the six finalists for Jesuit High School (Calif.) small forward Andrej Stojakovic, the son of former three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic.

The 6-foot-6, 185-pound four-star, who ranks No. 22 overall on the 247Sports 2023 Composite and is on the cusp of a five-star rating, announced that he is still considering Duke, Oregon, Stanford, Texas, UCLA, and Virginia.

Notable programs that extended an offer to Stojakovic but did not make the cut are Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, and Tennessee.

Andrej Stojakovic's quick show of appreciation for his Duke basketball offer

On Tuesday, Andrej Stojakovic became the most recent recipient of an offer from first-year head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff. So the fact the sharpshooting specialist swiftly named Duke a finalist should be encouraging in the eyes of Blue Devil fans.

As Stojakovic pointed out to On3 recruiting insider Joe Tipton, it was an easy call:

"A program like Duke with such success in recent years with sending their players to the pros, you can't not consider them."

Stojakovic did not mention a timeline for choosing a college. He's already taken official visits to Stanford and UCLA, and he has planned a trip to check out Texas in September.

After reeling in the top haul on the 2022 recruiting trail, Scheyer and his assistants sit No. 1 on the 247Sports 2023 Team Rankings with four five-star pledges: point guard Caleb Foster, shooting guard Jared McCain, small forward Mackenzie Mgbako, and power forward Sean Stewart.

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