7/15/2017 basketball Edit

2018 five-star point guard Darius Garland talks Duke, Vanderbilt and more

Krysten Peek • Basketball Recruiting

Staff

Krysten is a former DII basketball player but sometimes tells top recruits she played at UConn to see the look on their face. She's also completed a marathon on every continent (yes, even Antarctica).

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. - Darius Garland has led his team Brad Beal Elite to a perfect 5-0 record in pool play at the Peach Jam, and a lot of coaches have taken notice. Vanderbilt, Duke and the new coaching staff at Indiana were present at the majority of his games, with Kansas catching a couple as well.

Garland has not skipped a beat from playing in the EYBL regular season, over in Italy with adidas and now at Peach Jam. Although he sat out one game with an ankle injury, he says his body is holding up fine.

"I'm not really getting tired on the court that much," Garland said. "I know the travel has been crazy, but I'm feeling good and just focusing on getting better."

MORE: Durant watches Bagley at Peach Jam | Friday notes from Adidas Gauntlet

IN HIS OWN WORDS

It's a fight for point guards in the 2018 class, and Duke is chasing two of them. Both Garland and five-star point guard Tre Jones are big time targets for Mike Krzyzewski and his coaching staff. Vanderbilt is the home-town school to beat, and the new coaching staff at Indiana is making a push as well.

DUKE: "Coach K said he wants both Tre Jones and I at Duke. He thinks a lot of his guys will be gone next year, and he needs an intelligent class to come in pick up where they left off.

"Tre and I like playing together and we feel comfortable with one another, especially after USA Basketball and knowing each other’s game over the years."

VANDERBILT: "It's a great school and I'm real comfortable with all the coaches there. It’s close to home and of course I want my family to be able to watch me in college, so that's intriguing."

INDIANA: "Their pitch has been I could come in right away and have the ball in my hands and run the show. I've talked to their new coaching staff a lot, so yeah, they're still in the picture."

WHAT'S NEXT?

Garland has said over and over that he's taking his time and hasn't planned any visits yet. He does plan on cutting down a list sometime soon, and then he'll schedule visits after that. Like most other players in the class, he is paying attention to how teams are developing.

"Every time I see another top player from our class we’re always asking each other, ‘What school are you going to?’ So I’m definitely paying attention to where everyone else is going," Garland said.

"It’s a big deal right now and everyone’s on the clock, but most of us are taking our time."

RIVALS REACTION

Although I'm sure Duke would love to get two of the top point guards in the class, I don't see it happening. In the end, I think Tre Jones settles at Duke and Darius Garland opts to stay home and play at Vanderbilt.