Its season over, Duke hits the recruiting trail to meet with top UK target

Duke’s early and unexpected NCAA Tournament exit at the hands of South Carolina has left Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils’ coaching staff with some free time to hit the recruiting trail.

That’s where they’ll be Tuesday afternoon, when Coach K plans to meet with five-star small forward Kevin Knox, who is also considering Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida State.

(UK and UNC will, of course, be playing basketball in Memphis later this week).

Knox — a 6-foot-9 prospect from Tampa, Fla. — is the No. 7 overall prospect in the class of 2017, according to Scout.com’s rankings. He’s expected to make a college decision in mid-April and has already visited all four schools on his list multiple times.

Duke also remains in the mix for 7-footer Mohamed Bamba — the No. 2 overall player in the 2017 rankings — and IMG Academy (Fla.) star Trevon Duval, who is considered the No. 1 point guard in the class of 2017.

Bamba has narrowed his list to Duke, UK, Michigan and Texas, with many recruiting observers predicting Lexington as his most likely destination.

Duval is considering Duke, Kansas, Arizona, Baylor and Seton Hall, and he has visited all of those schools over the past few weeks.

Duke’s recruiting class already includes McDonald’s All-American selections Wendell Carter and Gary Trent Jr., as well as four-star shooting guard Alex O’Connell. The Blue Devils’ class is ranked No. 6 nationally by 247Sports.

This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Its season over, Duke hits the recruiting trail to meet with top UK target."