CBS Sports praises UNC basketball rival on recruiting success

Even with Mike Krzyzewski retiring after the season, future Duke head basketball coach Jon Scheyer is off to a great start on the recruiting trail.

Over the past few months, we all got to witness the major transition within the UNC basketball program. Legendary head coach Roy Williams retired, and Hubert Davis was named the new man in charge, leaving everyone to wonder what the eventual state of the program would be.

The Tar Heels’ biggest rival, the Duke Blue Devils, are set to embark on a very similar transition of their own. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski is set to retire after this upcoming season, and former Blue Devil standout Jon Scheyer has been tabbed as the man to lead the program into the future.

As Scheyer already plays an important role on the Blue Devils staff, he has been working hard on the recruiting trail to start creating his future squads. Needless to say, Scheyer is off to a very hot start.

The Blue Devils already have four commits, three of which are five-star players that rank in the top-10 of the class of 2022. At this point, 247 Sports tabs Duke as the top recruiting class for this year’s cycle, something that may not change given Scheyer’s recent recruiting success.

Of the four current Duke commits, three received scholarship offers from Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels. The most recent Duke commit, Derek Lively, the No. 2 overall player in the class of 2022, was a player that North Carolina pursued heavily.

The national media is starting to take notice of Scheyer’s early recruiting success, including Gary Parrish of CBS Sports.

"“When you do actually follow a legend, especially a legend who is turning over to you an iconic program in amazing shape, you are, at least initially, working with lots of advantages that should have you set-up to win quickly and massively. You just have to, you know, take advantage of it. And I’m obviously making this point now because Jon Scheyer is a perfect example who is taking advantage of it.”"

Of course, no one expected Duke to completely fall off the map in regards to recruiting. The history and tradition of the program is and will always be enough to entice some of the country’s top talent to Durham. However, it is more of a surprise to see Scheyer putting together such a major recruiting class almost a year before he will actually be at the helm.

The good news for Tar Heel fans is that Davis and staff have gotten off to a good start in regards to recruiting as well. Although head coaches will be different, the heated rivalry both on and off the court is not expected to change one bit.

Continue to follow the Keeping It Heel team for all the latest news and updates regarding the UNC basketball program.