Duke becomes favorite to land four-star guard in 2017 class

And he could be rocketing up the rankings too.

Duke landed the top recruiting class in 2016 and is already looking ahead to do the same in 2017. While Coach K has been going after five-star players almost exclusively the past few years, he has sprinkled in a four-star player in some classes that turns out to be better than people thought.

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For 2017, that might turn out to be shooting guard Alex O'Connell. The 6'6", 175-pound shooter out of Alpharetta, Ga. played on the Nike EYBL circuit this summer and averaged 14.1 points per game on 48.9 percent shooting from the floor. He just got an offer from Duke and the Blue Devils are now considered the favorite land according to 247Sports' crystal ball.

O'Connell previously had offers from Syracuse and Louisville and were considered the top two choices for him. However, O'Connell's dad played at Duke and that will certainly hold some weight in his decision. O'Connell is currently ranked the No. 67 recruit overall as well as the No. 17 shooting guard in the class and No. 8 player in the state of Georgia.

 

[h/t 247Sports]