6:47 PM
Mark Mitchell, a top 30 senior, announced his commitment to Duke on Friday, potentially giving the Blue Devil's class the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.
Mitchell chose Duke over a final list that included UCLA and Missouri, although it was a recruitment that shifted back and forth between the Blue Duke and Bruins over the past few months. UCLA looked like it was the favorite for Mitchell's commitment early in the fall, but the race tightened after he attended Duke's "Countdown to Craziness" event.
Mitchell is a basketball player from Sunrise Christian Academy. He is the third power forward in the class.
"Mitchell is a lefty who can catch, rip and drive with power and excellent feet, and he is a good fit for the college game," said Paul Biancardi, the national recruiting director. He will shoot over defenders or finish at the rim when he gets near the paint. His face-up game is reliable, and he has shown promise behind thearc.
He is comfortable guarding big guards through power forwards and switches well with his foot speed and length. His best skill may be passing the ball. He has great passing instincts and accuracy on the court.
Mitchell is Duke's fourth ranked recruit in the top 30 and fifth ranked in the ESPN 100. He is one of six players who signed letters of intent during the early signing period.
Kentucky had the top class in 2022, passing Duke and Arkansas after the commitment of top 10 point guard Cason Wallace. The player and class rankings could be impacted by Shaedon Sharpe's decision to enroll at Kentucky.
After this season, Duke's next head coach will be Jon Scheyer, who was named after Mike Krzyzewski's retirement announcement last spring. He took the lead on Duke's recruiting class and Krzyzewski stayed at home during the evaluation periods.
I know what it's like to work in a job. Since I've been here, our recruiting has had a few changes, but the consistency is recruiting great players, great people. That's not going to change. The best thing you can do as a coach is get the best players. Players want to win. That is not changing for us. I believe in what we have here.
