In this week’s installment of the Rivals Recruiting Roundup, Rivals basketball recruiting analyst Travis Graf takes a look at a 2023 five-star’s top three options, a program that projects to finish well in the transfer portal, and a way-too-early look at the possible recruiting class for Duke in 2025.
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More: Isiaih Mosley is the transfer portal's hottest new commodity
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Rivals150
2024 Rankings: Top 40
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THREE STICKING OUT FOR JUSTIN EDWARDS
Sources tell Rivals.com that Justin Edwards has three main programs lobbying for his services: Tennessee, Kentucky and Auburn. While all three are firmly in play, sources say that Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark has done the best job of courting Edwards up until this point. While Tennessee has momentum, it would be foolish to count John Calipari or Bruce Pearl out of a recruitment for a prospect they very much want.
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LOUISVILLE AND THE TRANSFER PORTAL
It hasn’t taken Kenny Payne very long to change the trajectory of the Louisville basketball program following a historically bad 2021-22 season under the last coaching staff. Since taking the job, Louisville has signed 2022 four-stars Kamari Lands and Devin Ree, but most of its roster overhaul is projected to happen through the portal.
The Cards secured a commitment from Tennessee transfer big man Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, who was a former five-star in the 2021 recruiting class. All signs currently point to Louisville landing the services of Memphis transfer Emoni Bates, a former No. 1 overall prospect at one point in time, as well.
Louisville also has a good chance to land Iowa State transfer guard Tyrese Hunter, a four-star in 2021. If Payne and his staff can reel in all three of these guys, you’ll be hard pressed to find a school with a bigger turnaround this off-season. One might also expect them to land another guard target in addition to these three.
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DUKE COULD HAVE AN ALL-TIME CLASS IN 2025
While having top recruiting classes is nothing new to Duke fans, there’s potential for the Blue Devils’ 2025 class to be one of their best of all-time on paper.
You’d have to think that Cayden and Cameron Boozer, projected five-star sons of former Blue Devil Carlos Boozer, will take a very strong look at Duke. It’s easy to picture Jon Scheyer and company as the early leaders in this situation.
In addition to these two, projected five-star forward Cooper Flagg also told Rivals that Duke has been his “dream school, for sure” while he’s been growing up. He also said that Duke has been in contact with him. Potentially having Flagg alongside the Boozer twins in 2025 is something Duke fans should be very excited about, no matter how far away that is.
