This weekend the seventh annual Under Armour Elite 24 event will take place at the Venice Beach Courts in Los Angeles, California. The 2012 installment will feature 24 of the top high school prospects from around the country in the 2013 & 2014 recruiting classes.
Among the 24 players selected for this years event, five of those players have obtained high interest from the Duke Blue Devils:
- Julius Randle – Class of 2013
- Austin Nichols – Class of 2013
- Marcus Lee – Class of 2013
- Tyus Jones – Class of 2014
- Justise Winslow – Class of 2014
The Blue Devils coaching staff have done a tremendous job recruiting these five young men. Leading up to the Elite 24, Nichols and Lee have been in the news as of late as both have trimmed their schools — with Duke making both cuts — and have officially set their recruiting visits.
Nichols, a 6-8 PF from Eads, Tennessee capped off an impressive summer by making a gigantic leap inside the top 10 in the ESPN 100 rankings. The #10 ranked prospect in the class of 2013 has cut his list of schools down to 6, which include Duke, Memphis, Tennessee, Auburn, Vanderbilt, and Virginia. Nichols finalized his visits to each school, with Duke receiving an official visit on October 6.
“You pretty much can’t say much about Duke,” Nichols said in an interview with Scout.com recruiting analyst Evan Daniels. “With Coach K and everything, he’s a legend and I’d love to play for him. I think I’d fit in great. I’d get there and fit right now.”
As Nichols goes through his own recruiting process, just over 2,000 miles away in Antioch, California, 2013 prospect Marcus Lee is doing the same. The 6-9 PF, who is the #27 ranked player in the ESPN 100 recently trimmed his list of schools to 7. Those schools include Duke, California, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas, Louisville, and Indiana. Lee has also set his official visits, with Duke receiving the last visit on October 27-28 as per Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com.
Lee was one of just many recruits who came away impressed over the summer with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, as Krzyzewski was able to juggle his responsibilities as the head coach of Team USA while staying in contact with Duke’s top recruits. Coach K was described as having “crazy energy” by Lee when the two text back-and-forth with each other. You can view the full ZagsBlog.com piece on Lee and his brother Brian’s comments on Duke by clicking HERE.
Both Nichols and Lee have not yet set a timetable for an official decision, but for now, you can catch both recruits as well as Randle, Jones, and Winslow this weekend participating in the Elite 24 event.
Here is a quick glance at how you can catch the Elite 24 this weekend:
What: 2012 Under Armour Elite 24
Who: 24 of the top prospects in the 2013 & 2014 high school recruiting classes
When: Friday, August 24 and Saturday, August 25
Where: Venice Beach Courts in Los Angeles, California
Why: The Elite 24 showcases the best collection of young basketball talents from across the country
How: ESPNU at 7 PM ET beginning with the Elite 24 Slam-Dunk Contest on Friday followed by the Elite 24 Showcase on Saturday
