Duke's 2021 Recruiting Plans Get Clearer As Caleb Houstan Reclassifies

Duke’s 2021 recruiting plans got a little clearer on Friday after five-star forward Caleb Houstan reclassified from the class of 2022. Houstan's mother and coach both informed media outlets of the decision.

The Blue Devils’ initial plan for the 2021 class got scrambled when two of their top targets went elsewhere—Max Christie to Michigan State and Jonathan Kuminga to the 2020 class and the G-League—and another, Kennedy Chandler, appeared to be leaning toward Tennessee.

The 6-foot-8, 190-pound Houstan becomes one of Duke’s primary targets in the class. Duke had already pegged Houstan as the first—and thus far only—recipient of a scholarship offer in the 2022 class. He led Florida’s Montverde Academy to an undefeated, top-ranked season last year and starred for the Canadian national team last summer, averaging 22.8 ppg. Like former Blue Devil RJ Barrett, the Canadian Houstan moved south to Florida to finish high school.

Houstan told Sports Illustrated he’d enjoyed talking to Mike Krzyzewski during summer Zoom calls, saying, “For example, just talking to Coach K about how he started coaching at West Point was interesting to me. I didn’t know that he started there so just to hear about his journey over the last 40 years was cool. I like things like that.”

Duke already has a 2021 commitment from small forward AJ Griffin. The Blue Devils also have small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. high on their wish list for the class and are holding out hope for power forward Paolo Banchero and point guard Chandler. Shooter Trevor Keels and center Charles Bediako appear to be next on the priority list.

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