Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for the McDonalds All American Games
The future looks bright for the Duke and Rutgers men’s basketball programs.
On Wednesday, 247Sports’ released its final composite rankings of the top men’s basketball recruits for the 2024 class. Here is a look at the top five, which is filled with future Blue Devils and Scarlet Knights:
Cooper Flagg, PF, DukeAce Bailey, SF, RutgersDylan Harper, CG, RutgersKhaman Maiuach, C, DukeVJ Edgecombe, SG, Baylor
Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports highlighted the race between Flagg and Bailey for the No. 1 spot and noted the latter “could actually have the highest upside in the class if everything goes right” despite his No. 2 ranking.
Yet Finkelstein also said, “my belief is that Flagg has the higher floor, both next year as a college freshman and long-term. He’s going to be a winning and highly versatile two-way player and is one of the early favorites to be a top pick in the 2025 NBA draft.”
That safer floor made him the No. 1 overall prospect, which is surely welcome news for Blue Devils fans looking for their program to take the next step after reaching the Elite Eight last season.
In addition to Flagg and Maluach as the headliners, head coach Jon Scheyer’s group includes 5-star prospects Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel, as well as 4-star prospects Patrick Ngongba II and Darren Harris.
It is a versatile collection of players that could give the Blue Devils go-to options in the frontcourt and the backcourt for the 2024-25 campaign and beyond even if some of them go to the NBA after just one season.
While Duke being at the top of the rankings isn’t exactly shocking, Rutgers isn’t the same type of established powerhouse in men’s basketball.
Yet the Scarlet Knights are No. 4 in those rankings thanks to the firepower of Bailey and Harper. Rutgers has been to two NCAA men’s tournaments in the last 33 years, but reaching the Big Dance should be a minimum goal with all that talent for the upcoming season.
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