The big news from this week in the world of recruiting came out of Lexington, Ky., and its one that will upset Blue Devil fans. Five-star forward Wenyen Gabriel decided to bypass a chance to join five-time champion Duke and instead commit to Kentucky .
Rivals Nation to Big Blue Nation ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/LoQWkN4e1e
— Upman (@WenyenGabriel) October 1, 2015
As we mentioned last week, the commitment of forward Javin DeLaurier made it seem likely that the No. 23 prospect in the 2016 ESPN 100 would head elsewhere with Maryland being the most likely destination. Gabriel becomes the first five-star recruit in the Wildcats' 2016 class and joins Sacha Killeya-Jones as their second overall commit. In lieu of Gabriel's commitment, expect Duke to place an even greater emphasis on landing forward Harry Giles—the top-ranked high school senior in the nation.
Switching gears and heading back to Durham, the Blue Devils will hold their annual Countdown to Craziness event Oct. 17 and like most years many top recruits will be in attendance. The biggest name on the docket so far is five-star center Marques Bolden. The 6-foot-11 big man plans to take his official visit to Duke this weekend and is believed to also be considering Kansas and Kentucky. In addition to Bolden, two Class of 2017 five-star talents—Wendell Carter and Gary Trent Jr.—will both attend the event.
Wendell Carter, Gary Trent Jr and Tre Jones will be at Duke for Countdown to Craziness.
— Clint Jackson (@clintjackson1) October 3, 2015
2018 four-star point guard Tre Jones will also be in attendance for the Blue Devils' season-opening event. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because he is in fact the younger brother of championship-winning point guard Tyus Jones. The Blue Devils officially extended an offer to the Apple Valley, Mn., native last week and will look to use their success within the family to haul in the skilled floor general.
2018 Apple Valley (MN) PG Tre Jones (@trejones03) picks up an offer from Duke. #SN (HT @RyanJamesMN) http://t.co/Yjkn15G4L6
— David Schneider (@ShowtimeNation) September 25, 2015
Tyus Jones was sure to congratulate his younger brother on the accomplishment and will certainly be a driving force in Duke's recruitment of Tre Jones.
Lil bro with the Duke offer. So proud of u boy. Keep working @trejones03. Yall know what time it is
— Tyus Jones (@Tyusjones06) September 25, 2015
That’s all for this week’s recruiting roundup. Be sure to stick with the B
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