How Close are Duke’s No. 2 Class and UNC’s No. 3 class?
Duke and North Carolina linked again? Go figure.
As if this season’s instant classic wasn’t enough, the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils have secured the type of talent that will ensure more hotly contested battles next season.
Both teams made Sports Illustrated’s Way Too Early Top 25 Rankings for next season – Duke at No. 7 and North Carolina at No. 21 – largely because of their incoming recruiting classes.
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Duke checks in at No. 2 overall in SI All-American’s top 10 rankings, North Carolina has the No. 3 class this year.
Both classes are loaded with talent and depth with players that can play multiple positions.
“With our class it’s like, we’ve got whatever you want,” Duke signee Henry Coleman III said. “Inside, outside or whatever, we’re strong all over. The best part is that we’re all already like brothers. The Duke Brotherhood is a real thing.”
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North Carolina signee Puff Johnson said he and his future teammates have a similar bond and are focused on bringing the Tar Heels back to notoriety after a historically bad year in which they suffered 19 losses.
“We want to get back to elite level we’ve always been at,” Johnson said.
Here’s a look at each class.
North Carolina
Day’Ron Sharpe, Montverde (Fla.) Academy, F
Puff Johnson, Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix), SG
R.J. Davis, Bishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.), SG
Caleb Love, Christian Brothers (St. Louis, Mo.), PG
Walker Kessler, Woodward Academy (Atlanta), C
Duke
Jaemyn Brakefield, Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, SF
Mark Williams, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), C
Henry Coleman III, Trinity Episcopal (Richmond, Va.), F
D.J. Steward, Whitney Young (Chicago), CG
Jeremy Roach, Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), PG
Jalen Johnson, Nicolet (Glendale, Wis.), SF