NCAA Basketball Recruiting: 10 key upcoming storylines to watch for 2023 class

Duke’s next commit in the 2023 class

Even after five-star recruit Tyrese Proctor reclassified to play this upcoming season, Duke still has the No. 1 overall class for 2023. They have a trio of five-star commits, including top-10 forwards,  Mackenzie Mgbako and Sean Stewart, as well as top-20 guard, Caleb Foster. The fourth commit is shooting guard Jared McClain, ranked inside the top-30 and could very well be a five-star guy as well.

All four positions are effectively covered in the class, leaving the center position left. The Blue Devils have three bigs on the current roster in top-5 freshmen Dereck Lively and Kyle Filipowski, as well as 7’0 center Christian Reeves. There’s a strong chance that both Lively and Filipowski are “one and dones”, while Reeves figures to be a four-year player and someone that may not be a starter until he’s an upperclassman.

So barring them using the transfer portal next offseason, Duke will be in the market for one more frontcourt player in the 2023 class. And there are two prospects to keep in mind in Xavier Booker and JP Estrella. Both are four-star recruits ranked in the top 60 but have plenty of talent. Booker is from the midwest and is a heavy target of the Big Ten programs, while Estrella is a Boston College legacy who seems to be leaning towards Duke if the crystal balls are right.

Would Estrella be enough to keep the Blue Devils No. 1 overall regardless of what Kentucky does going forward? Likely not but he’s good enough to have a future role at Duke and one of the top centers in the 2023 class to pick up. And would all but finish the team’s work in the class overall.