Duke’s best recruits of one-and-done era, ranked

Let’s rank Duke’s best recruits of the one-and-done era after Cooper Flagg’s commitment.

By Ricky O'Donnell Nov 1, 2023, 8:00am EDT

The Duke Blue Devils have maintained their dominance in men’s college basketball recruiting even after the retirement of Mike Krzyzewski. New head coach Jon Scheyer landed the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country in his first year in charge with the class of 2022, and his haul in the class of 2023 ranked second in the country only behind Kentucky.

On Monday, Duke landed its next superstar by securing a commitment from Cooper Flagg, the consensus No. 1 player in the class of 2024. Flagg is considered the top prospect in high school basketball regardless of class, and is positioned as the front-runner to be selected with the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

Flagg immediately joins the list of Duke’s best recruits ever in the modern era, but where exactly does he place? With a new freshman star on the horizon, we decided to rank Duke’s best recruits in the one-and-done era, which started with the 2006 NBA Draft.

These rankings will factor in the RSCI (Recruiting Services Consensus Index), but will also include in the hype around the player during their enrollment at Duke. Kyle Singler, Tyus Jones, Trevon Duval, and Vernon Carey count as honorable mentions.

Let’s rank ‘em.

15. Dereck Lively, 2022

14. Dariq Whitehead, 2022

Coach K led Duke to the Final Four in his last season in 2022, but it was on Scheyer as the program’s coach-in-waiting to preserve the country’s top-ranked recruiting class. Scheyer pulled it off no problem, landing three of the top-four players in the class in the RSCI, with Whitehead and Lively landing at 1-2 in the rankings. Unfortunately, both players suffered preseason injuries that killed their hype and dragged down their play. Lively dealt with a calf injury in early Oct. and never got the chance to expand his offensive role. The 7’1 big man averaged only 5.2 points per game, but shined defensively in Duke’s lone NCAA tournament win against Oral Roberts. Whitehead had to battle back from a foot injury, and never looked like the explosive on-ball engine he was supposed to be. The 6’5 guard would remake his game as a shooter, and still became a first round draft pick after the season.

13. Brandon Ingram, 2015

Ingram was the subject of a fierce Duke vs. North Carolina recruiting battle, which I wrote about at the time back in 2015. Ingram’s recruitment was particularly fascinating for several reasons: there was his dramatic rise up the national rankings as a senior, his close relationship with UNC legend Jerry Stackhouse (the two shared a hometown of Kinston, NC), the background noise from the Tar Heels’ academic fraud scandal hanging over the program, and Duke’s inspired run to the 2015 national championship behind four stud freshmen. Ingram eventually chose Duke and played a starring role on a Sweet 16 team before being the second player chosen in the NBA Draft after Ben Simmons. Beating out UNC for a star recruit always feels extra nice for Duke.

12. Cam Reddish, 2018

Reddish looked like he was created in a lab as the prototype for everything the NBA wanted out of a modern wing, as I chronicled in a 2017 feature. His commitment to the Blue Devils set into motion one of the great recruiting classes in the recent history of the sport: Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett followed with their own Duke pledges, and suddenly Coach K had another super-team. While Williamson ascended to a force of nature and the most dominant player in the country, Reddish struggled to find his place next to two other talented scorers. He shot only 35.6 percent from the field on the season. Reddish’s physical profile helped him become a lottery pick regardless, but he’s been on five different teams in his first five seasons in the NBA.

11. Harry Giles, 2016

There was a time when Giles was considered the top high school player in America while drawing comparisons to Chris Webber as a lanky big man out of North Carolina. Unfortunately, injuries slowed his momentum: Giles tore his ACL, MCL, and meniscus in one devastating play, then suffered another ACL tear the day before he committed to Duke. Giles then had a scope on his knee just before his freshman season started, and averaged under four points per game in 26 appearances with the Blue Devils. He’s one of the greatest ‘what if’ recruits in the recent history of the game.

ACC Basketball Tournament - Virginia Tech v Duke

10. Austin Rivers, 2011

Rivers followed Kyrie Irving by a year to fully turn the tide on Duke’s recruiting priorities and solidify Coach K’s one-and-done obsession. The 6’5 guard was enormously hyped coming out of Florida’s Winter Park High School for several reasons: he had great bloodlines as the son of legendary head coach Doc Rivers, he had one of the first viral mixtapes on YouTube, and he was ranked as the consensus No. 2 player in his high school class behind only Anthony Davis. Rivers led Duke in scoring as a freshmen, and authored one of the most memorable moments in the history of the North Carolina rivalry when he hit a true buzzer-beater during a Feb. matchup. His Duke team would go on to lose to C.J. McCollum and No. 15 seed Lehigh in their first NCAA tournament game, tainting a solid-but-unspectacular freshman year.

9. Kyrie Irving, 2010

Coming out of New Jersey’s St. Patrick High School, Irving was a consensus top-three recruit in the class of 2010 alongside Harrison Barnes and Jared Sullinger. His freshman career took a hit when he suffered a toe ligament injury just nine games into the season. Irving would return just before the NCAA tournament, and score 28 points in Duke’s Sweet 16 loss to Arizona. Kyrie’s college career was short lived, but his electric play and eventual No. 1 overall draft pick selection helped turn the tide for Duke as a program willing to prioritize one-and-done talents over the veteran contributors that defined Krzyzewski’s teams for so long.

8. Paolo Banchero, 2021

Banchero had his high school career interrupted by the Covid pandemic, but still emerged as a consensus top-three overall recruit in his class alongside Chet Holmgren and Jaden Hardy. In a way, he felt like an amalgamation of all the one-and-done stars that came before him at Duke. A massive scoring forward at 6’10, 250 pounds, Banchero was skilled enough to splash mid-range jumpers, bully smaller opponents in the paint, and throw some fantastic live dribble passes. His freshman season took off like a rocket in the NCAA tournament, where he carried Duke to the Final Four and solidified his status as the No. 1 pick in the draft. He’ll always be remembered as Coach K’s final one-and-done star before retirement.

7. Marvin Bagley III, 2017

Bagley reclassified and committed to Duke in Aug. to give the Blue Devils a massive infusion of talent late in the offseason. The 6’10 forward paired with five-star center Wendell Carter Jr. for an all-freshman front court on a team led by senior guard Grayson Allen. Bagley was an absolute monster from the jump, averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 61.4 percent from the floor. Duke’s season would eventually end to Kansas in an Elite Eight overtime classic. While NBA fans will mostly remember Bagley as the guy who Sacramento drafted one spot ahead of Luka Doncic, he shouldn’t be forgotten as one of Duke’s most productive freshmen ever.

NCAA Basketball Tournament - First Round - Troy v Duke

6. Jayson Tatum, 2016

I was hyping up the 2016 recruiting class only a couple months after they finished their sophomore year of high school. St. Louis native Jayson Tatum was a staple at the top of the class rankings from the very start after three goal medal runs with USA Basketball’s junior teams, and his arrival as one of the first stars in Nike’s remodeled EYBL grassroots circuit. The 6’8 wing was an instant freshman stud for Duke, forming a fantastic 1-2 scoring punch with sophomore Luke Kennard. Duke was upset in the second round of the tournament by South Carolina, but Tatum’s star continued to ascend. While his five-star peers eventually faded, Tatum would become one of the best players in the NBA and a future Hall of Fame inductee with the Boston Celtics. Very few highly-touted recruits from the American shoe company grassroots system have ever lived up to the hype quite like Tatum.

5. Jabari Parker, 2013

At the start of his junior year, Jabari Parker was on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the phrase “the best high school basketball player since LeBron James.” Following in the footsteps of Derrick Rose at Chicago’s Simeon Academy, Parker was a 6’8, 230-pound forward who already had an advanced three-level scoring arsenal by the time he stepped on campus. He was a true one-and-done superstar at Duke, out-dueling Andrew Wiggins (the player who passed him for the No. 1 recruit in the class) at the Champion’s Classic and going on to have a First-Team All-American year. Parker’s college career would end with one of Duke’s most memorable NCAA tournament losses ever, a first round defeat to the No. 15 seed Mercer dancing Bears. He would go on to become the No. 2 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft (one spot ahead of Joel Embiid), and was supposed to be Giannis Antetokounmpo’s co-star of the future. Unfortunately, two ACL tears in his left knee grounded his NBA career before it took off.

NCAA Basketball Tournament - Second Round - Columbia

4. Zion Williamson, 2018

3. R.J. Barrett, 2018

Duke put together arguably the greatest recruiting class in the recent history of the sport by landing commitments from Barrett and Williamson. Barrett was the consensus No. 1 recruit in the world. Williamson’s huge frame and explosive dunking ability made him a viral sensation. Add in Cam Reddish, and Duke had three of the top four recruits in the class of 2018 even before you mentioned another five-star in Tre Jones and four-star Joey Baker.

While Barrett was considered the biggest prize of the bunch, it only took one preseason trip to Canada to realize Williamson was the real star. Zion was a complete force of nature, proving to immediately be the best player in college basketball, and becoming the third freshman to ever win the Wooden Award. Every step Williamson made was must-see TV, from his soaring dunks to his incredible blocks to the time when his shoe exploded mid-game. As Williamson’s hype was soaring, Barrett’s was falling. Barrett’s outside shot (30.8 percent from three) and feel for the game both looked shaky playing off Zion even as Duke kept winning. Duke’s season would come to a disappointing end in the Elite Eight with a loss to Michigan State when the team went away from Williamson down the stretch. Failing to make the Final Four with that team endures as Coach K’s biggest failure.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: JAN 16 Hoophall Classic

2. Cooper Flagg, 2024

Flagg is the top pro prospect in all of high school basketball right now because he profiles as an elite player on both ends of the floor. The Maine native checks just about every box for a future star. He has an ideal frame for an NBA forward at 6’9 with a sturdy build and long arms. His impressive run-and-jump athleticism is immediately evident on tape with tons of game-breaking, above-the-rim plays both offensively and defensively. Flagg is one of the best defensive prospects to hit the basketball pipeline in the modern era: he’s a fearsome secondary rim protector, a capable wing stopper, and a brilliant help defender who seems to read the game a step ahead of everyone else. Flagg has made huge strides offensively over the last year, especially as an on-ball creator who can attack the basket with straight line drives. Already a great passer and capable shooter, Flagg can both fit into a structure on offense or act as the star. He already feels like a lock to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and he’s going to be the biggest one-and-done star in college basketball since Williamson.

1. Jahlil Okafor, 2014

When I went to Whitney Young High School to watch Jahlil Okafor early in his senior year, I noted that he had “the body of a giant and the game of a dinosaur.” This was back in the fall of 2013, years before Stephen Curry’s MVP run and the Golden State Warriors’ first championship forever cemented in the changing nature of modern basketball. Even at the time, the days of offense flowing through a low-post scoring big man were quickly becoming extinct at the highest levels of the game. While Okafor never reached the pro potential of other players on this list, his stature as a recruit and his legendary performance to carry Duke to a 2015 national championship forever marked him as the gold standard for blue chip recruiting in college basketball.

At 6’11, 270 pounds with a 7’5 wingspan, Okafor had the size and strength to establish deep post position against any opponent. When he got the ball, there was no stopping him: he had incredible footwork, soft touch, and the ability to finish with either hand. Duke’s defense struggled in the regular season with Okafor in the middle, but Justise Winslow’s move to the four balanced the floor and gave the Blue Devils a more dynamic two-way unit around the star big man. Okafor didn’t carry Duke to a championship alone — he had Tyus Jones setting up him and knocking down big shots, Winslow acting as a shutdown wing stopper and ancillary scorer, and the Final Four breakout of Grayson Allen — but his gravity as an interior scorer made everyone else’s success possible. Okafor entered college as the consensus No. 1 recruit from ESPN, Rivals, and Scout. He left a year later as the preeminent example of what recruiting at the top of the rankings can do for you. Whenever a college program lands the top-ranked recruit in the country, the best they can hope for is what Okafor did for Duke. Even as the Blue Devils have landed top recruit after top recruit in the years since, they’re still chasing the highs Okafor led them to nearly a decade ago.