NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing Patrick Baldwin Jr.’s top 10

Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern is hoping to land one of its best-ever recruiting classes in 2021 and prioritizing Patrick Baldwin Jr. is a major part of that. Both of the five-star recruit’s parents attended the school while his father also played and was an assistant at the program. Baldwin has been around the program for a long time as he grew up in the area and has definitely built a strong relationship with the school and the coaching staff over the years.

Northwestern might not be an elite basketball destination but it is a superb academic institution, is close to home, and he already has good relationships there. While the ‘Cats might not be collecting crystal ball predictions for Baldwin, they appear to be one of the top contenders to land him. Head coach Chris Collins has already secured a commitment from Julian Roper in this class and is looking at the potential of Max Christie as a top-tier target as well.

Coach Collins can offer Baldwin the potential to be a building block of a program-defining recruiting class that could take the team to heights that it has never seen before. Baldwin has visited Northwestern within the past few months in addition to his longstanding relationship with the school.

Duke Blue Devils

Duke has long been rumored to be one of the favorites in this recruitment. While it still appears to be relatively early in the process, the Blue Devils hold all six crystal ball predictions for Baldwin’s eventual commitment. While the likes of Northwestern and Milwaukee appear to be in the hunt as well, Duke can offer the opportunity to play for a blueblood program while being practically guaranteed to share the court with fellow top-rated recruits.

Duke is well-known as arguably the nation’s best recruiting program and already has a strong start in the 2021 class with the commitment of A.J. Griffin. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski can seemingly be counted on for a Top 5 class every single year and to expect any difference in 2021 would be a mistake. This appears to be the expected landing spot for Patrick Baldwin Jr. at this point by most experts’ opinions. We will see if that changes at any point with the lack of in-person visits.

Jalen Johnson‘s upcoming freshman year at Duke might also have an impact on this recruitment. Johnson is a five-star 2020 commit and, like Baldwin, is from Wisconsin. He could relay his experience in Durham to the 2021 star and make a difference in the recruitment. It is also important to mention that Baldwin was able to take a visit to Duke prior to the coronavirus shutting down visits.

Cutting his list to 10 was likely just the first hurdle in Patrick Baldwin Jr.’s overall recruiting plan. Regardless, the process is continuing and it will be intriguing to see how his recruitment changes over the next few months. Duke appears to be the frontrunner at the moment with Northwestern and Milwaukee both seeming to be in solid positions as well. Lots can change, though.