The Duke basketball program received a commitment today from Alex O’Connell, the first member of the 2017 recruiting class for the Blue Devils.

Excited to officially announce my commitment to Duke University! 🔵⚪️ #BlueDevils pic.twitter.com/wOgY8Mdbqz — Alex O’Conne11 (@Alex_OC11) August 26, 2016



O’Connell is a 6’5”, 170-pound 4-star shooting guard from Alpharetta, Ga., who didn’t take long to pull the trigger on committing to Duke. He received an offer from the Blue Devils on Wednesday of this week.

Prior to receiving the offer from Duke, it was considered to be a two-team race between Syracuse and Louisville for the player who’s ranked in the 247Sports Composite as the No. 16 shooting guard and No. 71 overall prospect in the class of 2017.

However, Duke was able to take advantage of a unique family connection in this recruitment. Alex’s father played basketball at Duke in the 1970s under Bill Foster.

Now, the son will have the chance to follow in the father’s footsteps and also wear the Duke uniform.

O’Connell is expected to provide depth for what could be a huge 2017 recruiting class for Duke with as many as seven players. He’s projected to be a multi-year guy who would develop and work his way into the rotation.

The Blue Devils are also still targeting Gary Trent Jr., the No. 2 ranked shooting guard in the 2017 class, as well as Kevin Knox, a 5-star wing who would likely be a one-and-done player. 5-star point guard Quade Green is the other top priority in the backcourt for next year’s recruiting class.

Let’s hope O’Connell is the first of many dominos to fall in Duke’s favor with the 2017 class.

Congratulations to Alex and welcome to the Duke family!