Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff are starting to focus on the prospects they want to sign in the 2026 recruiting class. The staff just had two high 5-star prospects in attendance for Countdown to Craziness this weekend, and the Blue Devils have already gotten a crystal ball forecast that they will land 5-star guard Jordan Smith Jr. Smith attended Countdown to Craziness alongside fellow 5-star Cameron Williams. This was Smith’s second official visit to Durham, and Scheyer just paid an in-home visit to the prized combo guard from Paul VI Catholic (VA).
Duke basketball receives crystal ball prediction to land 5-star Jordan Smith Jr
Just a few days after Smith’s visit to Durham, Colby Giacubeno of InsideMDSports made a medium-confidence crystal ball forecast that Smith will attend Duke. Giacubeno is 12-of-12 on his predictions for the 2026 class and has a lifetime prediction accuracy of 89%.
Smith, the No. 2 overall player in the class of 2026 and No. 1 combo guard according to the 247Sports 2026 Composite Rankings, goes to the same high school as current Blue Devils Darren Harris and Patrick Ngongba. Trevor Keels and Jeremy Roach, former Duke players, also attended PVI.
This summer, the 6’2″ 200-pound guard reduced his list of possible suitors to six: Duke, Georgetown, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, and Syracuse. Smith just paid an official visit to Arkansas and has one set for Kentucky this weekend.
The Blue Devils have long been rumored to be the frontrunner to land Smith. In a setting like Countdown to Craziness, which cannot be replicated anywhere else, it is difficult for a top recruit not to want to play at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
In a previous interview with Rivals, Smith discussed head coach Jon Scheyer and the Duke program.
“They want me to come in here and assist them win a national championship, as well as achieve my objectives in whatever way I can. They want to shape my character as a young man and help me become the person I want to be. I admire Jon Scheyer; he’s an excellent recruiter. I have two teammates that think highly of him, so I’m just interested to see how they do this year and how he plays them.”
Smith is the main target for Scheyer and his team, and it appears like the Blue Devils are closing near.