Razorbacks, Blue Devils on Collision Course For No. 1 Class in 2027 Cycle

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – If the past two high school recruiting results have any bearing on what’s soon to happen in the 2027 cycle, then things are once again going to come down to Arkansas and Duke for many 5-star recruits across the country.

Both the Razorbacks and Blue Devils have been included in the top three of 247Sports composite team recruiting rankings in 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026. The Razorbacks enter the year touting the No. 1 recruiting class by signing No. 2 overall prospect Jordan Smith, Jr., along with fellow 5-stars JJ Andrews, Abdou Toure, and Miikka Muurinen.

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With Texas pulling off the feat of convincing top 2027 prospect Marcus Spears, Jr. to sign and reclassify to the 2026 class, it blew the door wide open for 5-star point guard Beckham Black to assume the role as the No. 1 prospect in his class.

Duke Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer reacts in the first half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While his older brother Anthony played his lone season of college basketball with the Razorbacks under former coach Eric Musselman, it’s no forgone conclusion that coach John Calipari finds a way to land him either. Because the one major school that stands in his way is the Duke Blue Devils and coach Jon Scheyer.

With the Nike EYBL circuit in Las Vegas for the weekend, Scheyer had a chance to get a live look at current 4-star power forward commit Kager Knueppel suit up for his Team Herro squad.

He faced off with Black’s team AB Elite and pulled out a thrilling 52-51 victory with none other than Calipari, who was also attending the game while hot pursuit of the coveted 6-foot-3, 180 pound guard.

Despite the loss, Black still produced with a team-high 18 points and six rebounds on 6-of-16 from the field, 2-of-6 beyond the arc, and 4-of-5 at the free throw line.

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One interesting note in all of this is Arkansas already has a commitment from 2027 5-star…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/razorbacks-blue-devils-collision-course-211023113.html

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Publish date : 2026-07-10 21:10:00

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