Duke lands second elite 2021 prospect in Paolo Banchero
By ADAM ZAGORIA
Paolo Banchero, the 6-foot-10 Class of 2021 forward from O’Dea (WA) and Seattle Rotary, announced Thursday he has committed to Duke.
Banchero also considered Kentucky, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Arizona and Washington.
End Of The Beginning…COMMITTED pic.twitter.com/Jrr1rMy5zB
— Paolo (Paul-Oh) (@Pp_doesit) August 20, 2020
Banchero won MVP honors at the NBA Top 100 Camp in June and has proven himself to be one of the most skilled and versatile forwards in the country, regardless of class.
He lists Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, and Blake Griffin as pros whom he emulates. “I’m kind a stretch, do-it-all ‘4’, and I can play the ‘3’ too,” Banchero said of his unique game.
“I can kind of do whatever, play on the wing or play inside, but if it was up to me I would prefer kind of in the midrange, 16-17 feet out, and just kind of operate from there.”
It’s been a pretty brutal ten days for Kentucky Basketball
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) August 20, 2020
Lose Kenny Payne
Lose Dewayne Peevy
Lose #1 PG Kennedy Chandler (to Tenn)
Lose #1 Big Paolo Banchero (To Duke)
That’s a huge set of gut punches
Banchero joins Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) forward A.J. Griffin in Duke’s 2021 recruiting class, now ranked No. 10 by 247Sports.com.
Both Griffin and Panchero are projected top-5 picks in the 2022 NBA Draft, per at least one site. Patrick Baldwin, the projected No. 6 pick in 2022 per the same site, is also considered a Duke lean.
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