Some recruiting tidbits for Friday:
- 2017 forward Justin Thomas is a new name to add to the Duke radar. The very athletic 6-7 prospect mentioned that Duke has been keeping in touch. He tells us that Duke has communicated that they want to watch his development and that they will be monitoring him this season. He plays his AAU basketball with Mac Irvin Fire (Jabari Parker and Jahlil Okafor's old team) and is from Lincolnshire (IL) in the Chicago-area. He played alongside senior PG Jalen Brunson on the team that won a big state title. Some notes about Thomas are that he is the only 2017 kid on the U17 Mac Irvin squad -- which says a lot. He's regarded as a potential big-timer that could see a meteoric rise in his class, if his skills come along to go with his ceiling and athleticism. Kid has a trainer and is very driven, so keep an eye out for him.
- Another note is on TJ Leaf, who recently de-committed from Arizona. As of 1 am last night, the Leaf camp told Rivals that he had heard from a ton of schools, as anyone could imagine, when a top 10 player comes back on the market. UCLA and Indiana are getting the most mention as two schools that could be players. He has also heard from Arizona State, Texas, NC State, Kansas, California, Oregon, Duke, Gonzaga and Michigan. At this time, I do not expect the Blue Devils to be heavily involved per my Duke sources.
