This is a big weekend for Duke basketball recruiting as the Blue Devils will have numerous targets in attendance for Countdown to Craziness.

Many of the program’s top targets in the 2017 and 2018 classes will be on official or unofficial visits as the team kicks off the 2016-17 season.

In a few cases, the Duke coaches will be trying to close the deal and secure commitments before we reach the end of the fall signing period.

Here are the biggest recruiting headlines from the past week.

Visitor List for Countdown to Craziness

As part of his preview for Countdown to Craziness, Duke Report’s Chris Summerville has provided a list of the recruits who will be in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night. In the 2017 class, Wendell Carter and Gary Trent will attend for the second straight year. 2017 point guard Quade Green has opted not to attend, which will hopefully put an end to the charade that he’s actually considering Duke. From the 2018 class, Cameron Reddish, Tre Jones, and Zion Williamson have all been confirmed as visitors. There could be others that also make the trip to Durham this weekend.

Kryzewski & Capel Visit Kevin Knox

According to Adam Rowe of 247Sports, Mike Krzyzewski and Jeff Capel visited 2017 5-star small forward Kevin Knox on Thursday for an open gym session. Though Knox won’t be on campus this weekend for the Countdown to Craziness festivities, the Blue Devils will host the Top 10 player next weekend for an official visit, and hopefully it will be a situation where Duke can show him what an important part he’d be in the 2017 recruiting class.

Wendell Carter’s Parents are Pulling for Harvard

In a recent interview with Ricky O’Donnell of SB Nation, the mother of Wendell Carter, one of Duke’s primary targets in the class of 2017, talked about how she and Wendell’s father are hoping their son chooses to play his college basketball at Harvard. They love what the school has to offer from an academic perspective, and Tommy Amaker has done a tremendous job with the Crimson program over the past few years. Duke is still viewed as the favorite for the 5-star power forward from Atlanta, but it’ll be interesting to see how much influence his parents could have in the decision.

Impressive Video of 2019 5-star R.J. Barrett

In this new video by Hoop Diamonds, R.J. Barrett offers a glimpse of why he’s rated by ESPN as the top player in the class of 2019. The 6’7” forward from Canada led his Montverde Academy team to a 4-0 showing at the Hoop Exchange Fall Festival in Panama City, Fl., and he’s a guy who’s definitely on Duke’s radar for the 2019 class, or even 2018 class if he opts to re-classify.

The 2017 Point Guard Recruiting Race

This article by Kevin Flaherty of 247Sports offers some good insight and context on the point guards in the class of 2017 and why there’s still so much uncertainty for programs like Duke and Kentucky. The recent commitment of Tremont Waters to Georgetown took one 2017 point guard who’d received an offer from the Blue Devils off the board, and it appears that Matt Coleman has become the top priority for Duke at this point. It also remains to be seen if the program decides to become involved with Trevon Duval, the top point guard in the 2017 class and a guy who recently reopened his recruitment.

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