The men's basketball team had a productive weekend off the court when top high school point guard William Avery decided to commit to Duke.
Avery told The Chronicle Saturday night that he was 99 percent sure certain that he would verbally commit to Duke today. He hoped to contact Georgia coach Tubby Smith before making the commitment official sometime today.
Avery, ranked in the top 25 among high school seniors by most recruiting services, is playing his senior season at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy after playing three years in his hometown of Augusta, Ga. At 6-foot-2, Avery can play either guard position, but his natural position is point guard.
By Saturday night, Avery has already contacted Kentucky coach Rick Pitino to let him know that he had decided to attend Duke. Avery made his official visit to Duke this weekend with his mother and his AAU coach Norm Parker.
Before making the visit he had narrowed his choices of schools down to Georgia, Kentucky and Duke. But this weekend with the Blue Devil players cemented Duke as his choice.
"I like the guys pretty much," Avery said. "I've been staying with the freshmen, and they're pretty cool. I like the whole atmosphere."
Duke, meanwhile, moved into the final stages of the Chris Burgess recruitment. Burgess, Duke's other potential recruit in town this weekend, has dropped Kentucky from his list of potential schools and is now left with two: Duke and Brigham Young.
Burgess expects to make his decision two weeks from today on Nov. 18. The early signing period for high school seniors ends Nov. 20.
Burgess is a 6-foot-10 center from Irvine, Calif., who is ranked in the top five in the country.
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