Duke Basketball: Blue Devils steal Jordan Tucker from Georgia Tech, Syracuse

Duke Basketball gained their fifth commitment of the off-season this morning when four-star SF Jordan Tucker announced his decision to become a Blue Devil.

College Basketball recruiting is rarely an easy process for players or the schools that are after them.

Players have to consider which programs may be the best fit, while also considering the workload they will be tasked with off the court and whether or not they will have a chance at going pro. Schools are, especially in the new one-and-done era, desperate to get their hands on the caliber of talent that can take them deep into the tournament in March, while also sifting through players with potential who may be head cases in the locker room. For Jordan Tucker, this stressful and often frustrating process is now complete, but it didn’t end before he caused some significant headaches.

Set to decide between Georgia Tech and Syracuse, Tucker received an offer from Duke shortly after Kevin Knox committed to Kentucky, proving once again to college coaches everywhere that sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard or how well you recruit; players are going to choose the well-known “blue-blood” programs if they have the chance. Tucker tweeted his commitment earlier this morning:

Thanking his family and coaches and asking for those who may be annoyed at his last-minute decision not to attend either Georgia Tech or Syracuse to empathize with him, he stated: “I know people may not agree with my decision, but I’m just a kid from White Plains, N.Y., following his dreams.”

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Tucker is currently ranked number 40 in the ESPN 100 and is the fourth commitment Duke has received from the state of Georgia in their five-man class, joining Wendell Carter Jr from Atlanta, Jordan Goldwire from Norcross and Alex O’Connell of Alpharetta.