Will Duke’s basketball team take the win over five-star Dereck Lively?
Rewind 24 hours. When Westtown, Pa. Center Dereck Lively tweeted Friday afternoon that he would announce his decision at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Duke’s basketball coaches appeared to have long shots to beat their basketball counterparts in the Kentucky. At the time, the three predictions between the 247Sport Crystal ball and Rivals FutureCast singled out the Wildcats.
Not anymore.
An expert has since reversed his Kentucky prediction to Duke. Two more have entered new predictions, each favoring the Blue Devils. Currently, Jon Scheyer and his gang in Durham own three of the five picks in total, while John Calipari and his team at Lexington are hanging on – for now – on the other two.
Damn, even Kentucky Sports Radio founder Matt Jones stepped in with a tweeted Lively-to-Duke’s prediction Friday night. However, the Wildcats chief insider gave himself the option of changing that forecast ahead of Monday night’s arrival.
Meanwhile, it seems like all the gossip supports the same observation: Lively has yet to notify any suitors of his selection.
Predicting another Duke recruiting victory in basketball
Take into account planned openings in Duke and Kentucky the following season. Add in the ranking of Dereck Lively at No. 2 on the 247Sport 2022 Composite.
A starting job is likely to wait for the agile 7ft, regardless of the route he chooses.
Speaking of options, however, Lively hasn’t publicly removed any of his other five finalists: Florida State, Michigan, Penn State, Southern Cal, and UNC. On the other hand, this paragraph may be a waste of space, as it doesn’t seem like a well-known insider is giving any of these programs a chance.
Yes, based on the momentum of the Crystal Ball and FutureCast, as well as the momentum of Duke’s pending basketball head coach Jon Scheyer on the scouting track, the Blue Devils could. well be in charge.
Additionally, Lively would appear to be fitting in well with five-star forward Kyle Filipowski, who rose to No. 8 among high schoolers and became Scheyer’s first engagement in his new role in late July. Despite some sites listing Filipowski at five, the 6-foot-11, 230-pound comes across as a solid stretch of four per trade. Conversely, Lively is more of a modern five for a high octane attack.
Plus, consider Filipowski appears to have been an enthusiastic Duke basketball recruiter on social media and behind the scenes. His efforts certainly didn’t hurt the Blue Devils by also catching little five-star forward Dariq Whitehead and four-star shooting goaltender Jaden Schutt in the past two months.
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Now, barring any major announcements elsewhere this weekend and assuming Lively wears a Duke or Kentucky hat on Monday, the winner of the battle will rank No.1 on the 247Sport 2022 Team Rankings. Kentucky, UNC and Duke are currently the tight top three, respectively.
Although this level of confidence at Durham Ball isn’t exactly through the roof, it aligns with the prediction here from early July for Duke’s entire class, which seems pretty accurate so far (except for an extra price that was unexpected at the time).
So we stick to it.
Final prediction: Dereck Lively at the Blue Devils.