Dereck Lively II has announced that he has committed to Duke University. The second-ranked player in the 247Sports Composite 2022 class will be joining Duke’s now topped ranked recruiting class as the third five-star to sign during Jon Scheyer’s inaugural season with the program.
Standing at seven-foot-one, Lively is a prospective center with sky-high potential, He is an athletic rim protector with great length and his defensive impact will immediately be felt by college basketball scorers. Recruiting analyst Brandon Jenkins of 247Sports has compared him to Tyson Chandler, but with a better offensive game.
His perimeter offensive game is already above-average at this stage in his career. Any further progression will help him to lock in a position as the best long-term NBA prospect in his high school class. He is currently projected as the fourth-best prospect in the class eligible for the 2023 class, per NBA Draftroom.
As a Westtown School standout and Bellefonte, PA native, Lively now becomes the top-rated player in the 2022 class pledging to Duke. He joins No. 5 forward Dariq Whitehead, No. 8 center Kyle Filipowski and No. 56 guard Jaden Schutt as the centerpiece moving into the next era of Blue Devil basketball. Duke is also seen as the leader for No. 16 forward Mark Mitchell and No. 33 guard JJ Starling in 247Sports’ Crystal Ball Projections.
Since becoming Duke’s coach-in-waiting, Scheyer has absolutely made a killing in the recruiting world. While the former player is not new to the scene, having been the Blue Devils full-time assistant since 2014, he has not skipped a beat since coach Mike Krzyzewski announced he will retire following this season.
After taking over recruitment for the school, Scheyer boasts some of the best accolades in terms of players he has brought in. He has landed 18 five-stars and eight players in the top ten of their class, three of which are 2022 commits.
While there are no guarantees this year’s program will be able to produce wins at the same level Coach K’s teams, Scheyer is putting himself in a great position to at least try. However, Duke has won all five of its national championships under Coach K.
Coach K’s retirement tour and Duke’s 2021-22 campaign begins on Nov. 9 against Kentucky in the State Farm Champions Classic in Madison Square Garden. Prior to Lively’s commitment, they were given the fourth best odds to win the 2022 national championship at +1500, trailing UCLA, Michigan and Gonzaga, respectively.
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