Duke Basketball: Top 2019 recruiting targets for the Blue Devils

OMAHA, NE - MARCH 23: The Duke Blue Devils cheerleaders and mascot perform against the Syracuse Orange during the second half in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Midwest Regional at CenturyLink Center on March 23, 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

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DURHAM, NC – JANUARY 27: Cameron Crazies and fans of the Duke Blue Devils pose. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

C Armando Bacot, Trinity Episcopal School

Moving quickly to the top-25 of the 2019 class, Armando Bacot is ranked at No. 22 in the nation. At 6-foot-10, he is a true big man who can play either at power forward or center. Often times, Bacot is able to use his muscular 240-pound frame to carve out space either for him to finish around the basket or snag valuable rebounds. As a high school junior this past season, he averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks per game.

The Blue Devils extended a scholarship offer to Bacot on Aug. 8, 2017. Duke has enjoyed the luxury of playing two elite bigs at the same time in recent years so if they were to snag Bacot, it would not affect the recruitment of other big men too much. Bacot is a versatile big in his ability to stretch the floor and he rebounds quite well.

However, the issue for Duke here is that it seems like Bacot is leaning in the direction of their hated rivals. All 12 crystal ball predictions on 247Sports lean in the direction of North Carolina at the moment. The Tar Heels have clearly prioritized Bacot above just about anyone else in this class and that seems to be paying off for them. Yet, with a strong push, Duke could sway Bacot.

Associate head coach Nate James is the lead recruiter in this case although Bacot has also recently been in contact with Coach Scheyer.

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