Charles Bediako Has Duke in Final Five

Canadian 2021 center Charles Bediako cut his list of schools to five finalists, and the Duke Blue Devils made the cut.

The 6-foot-11, 215-pounder out of St. Catherine’s Ontario’s Andrews Osborne Academy is one of the top remaining uncommitted prospects in the class.

Bediako’s final five includes Duke, Alabama, Texas, Michigan and Ohio State. The Detroit News reported that Alabama is considered the leader. Michigan may also have an inside edge—Jett Howard, son of Wolverines’ head coach Juwan Howard, is one of Bediako’s teammates at IMG.

All the major recruiting services had him rated as the top prospect north of the border in Ontario, before he made the move south to finish his high school career at Florida’s IMG Academy. The Canada to Florida move mimics that of another recent star from up north, RJ Barrett, who moved from Mississauga to Montverde Academy in Florida at the end of his high school career. Barrett, of course, went on to star at Duke. Blue Devils coaches hope Bediako follows a similar path.

Another Canadian prospect in the class of 2021, Caleb Houstan, also moved to Florida for his final season—He’ll be playing at Barrett’s alma mater at Montverde. Houstan also included Duke, Alabama and Michigan in his list of finalists, released last week.

Bediako announced his top 10 in July. Teams that were on that list who didn’t survive the cut to five include Memphis, Maryland, Baylor, Tennessee and USC.

Duke already has commitments from center Paolo Banchero and small forward AJ Griffin in the 2021 class.