Duke inks third No. 1 class in four years

21.11.2024 22:41

All four members of Duke’s No. 1 recruiting class have officially signed with the university, head coach Jon Scheyer announced Thursday in a release. It is the program’s third top class in four years.

The top-ranked class also marks the fourth consecutive top-two class for Scheyer, after inking the top class for 2022 and 2024, and the No. 2 group in 2023. With Scheyer on Duke’s coaching staff, the program has signed a top-three class in each of the 12 seasons. If the Blue Devils go on to complete the 2025 cycle with the top-ranked class, Scheyer will have been involved with recruiting a No. 1 class to Durham for the seventh time in the last 12 years.

The four-player class – each with five-star composite rankings and among the nation’s top-25 recruits, according to 247Sports – is led by No. 2 overall prospect, Cameron Boozer (Columbus HS, Fla.), followed by No. 15 Shelton Henderson (Bellaire HS, Texas), No. 19 Nikolas Khamenia (Harvard-Westlake HS, Calif.) and No. 21 Cayden Boozer (Columbus HS, Fla.).

The Boozer twins helped lead Christopher Columbus to three consecutive state championships, are three-time EYBL champions and won gold medals with USA Basketball – first at the U16 Americas tournament, then at the U17 World Cup this summer.

“Cam and Cayden are two of the all-time winners in high school basketball. What they’ve accomplished in high school, AAU and with USA Basketball is unbelievable,” said Scheyer. “Cam is a special talent. He’s the ultimate teammate and makes everyone on the floor better. His passing, ability to penetrate and kick and score from anywhere on the floor is one-of-a-kind. His feel for the game, combined with his talent and his size, is exactly what you look for in terms of a modern-day NBA player.”

Khamenia sparked Harvard-Westlake High School to back-to-back state titles, and teamed up with Henderson to capture a gold medal with USA Basketball at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup this past summer.

“Nik is an incredible addition to our program,” Scheyer said. “Nik is one of the toughest, most competitive players in the country. He’s an incredible connector, has the feel and understanding of what it takes to win at every level, and has the competitive spirit to do whatever’s required of him. I’ve been blown away by Nik’s skill set – he can shoot, handle, he’s a high-level passer, and he can defend multiple positions. We can’t wait to welcome him to our program.”

“Shelton has all of the makings of a high-level player at Duke,” he concluded. “His athleticism, versatility as a defender, and high-level competitiveness is everything we look for. He’s going to be a guy for us that can guard multiple positions and attack the paint in a way that historically has been really successful here. His game is just scratching the surface, and I can’t wait to coach him.”