BREAKING NEWS: Two Prospective Duke Basketball Players See Increases in Their Rankings

Only two of the five (possibly six) future Blue Devils who saw any movement in their rankings in 247Sports’ penultimate update to its stacking up of the 2024 class on Monday were Darren Harris and Patrick Ngongba II, who attend Paul VI Catholic (Va.), which has recently developed into a Duke basketball pipeline.

The lone four-star in Duke’s portfolio, Harris, appeared worthy of a significant increase in his stock. The 6-foot-6, 195-pound shooting wing had, after all, won the 3-Point Shootout at the esteemed City of Palms Classic in late December and has consistently warmed up to show indispensable for one of the best high school teams in the country.

He moved up one spot to No. 56 on the 247Sports 2024 Composite, climbing seven spots to No. 49 overall in 247Sports’ rankings.

But considering that the 6-foot-11, 235-pound five-star center hasn’t played since having foot surgery in November, Ngongba’s three-spot jump to No. 17 (unchanged composite ranking at No. 22) is a little unexpected.

Alongside Ngongba in the top 20, the other three early Blue Devil signees are five-star prospects:

> Lutheran in Wisconsin Kon Knueppel, a five-star forward, is ranked No. 16 (No. 15 composite).
> Isaiah Evans, a five-star forward out of North Meck (N.C.), at No. 11 (No. 13 composite)
> Florida’s Montverde Academy Cooper Flagg, a five-star forward, is ranked first (first composite).

With his third consecutive top-two recruiting class, Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer’s team is still ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to 247Sports. However, their rating of 70.45 places them just one point ahead of fellow recruiting powerhouse Kentucky (69.83).