9/27/2019 basketball Edit

Duke adds top 50 forward Henry Coleman

Corey Evans and Eric Bossi

Rivals.com National Basketball Analysts

In news that won't come as a surprise to anybody, Duke is at it again on the recruiting trail.

On Friday, Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils added a fourth piece to their 2020 recruiting class when 6-foot-7 forward Henry Coleman of Richmond (Va.) Trinity Episcopal announced that he has committed during a ceremony at his high school.

Ranked No. 44 overall in the 2020 Rivals150, Coleman was certainly swayed by his interactions with Coach K.

“Coach K talked about it not being just a one, two,three or four year plan, but rather, it is a forty year play and to just be a part of that brotherhood, it really stood out to me,” Coleman told Rivals.com. “He talked about that I would know whenever I got onto campusif it was the right school and I truly did feel that.

“He is the best in the game. That program is top-three or number one, to me, but that program has had so much history and it is just a great group of guys around it with great coaches that I related to.”

While Duke fans have gotten used to a parade of one and done five-star prospects coming through Durham, Coleman is exactly what the program could use as they prepare for the NBA likely allowing high school prospects to once again enter the Draft within the next few years.

The meaning there is that Coleman is a big time prospect who is currently a bit of a tweener and a guy who projects as a multi year player. A strong and tough combo forward who is at his best on the block or facing and attacking from 17 feet off the dribble, Coleman is the type of player who can be a foundational player and develop into a true leader as an upperclassmen.

“I can come in and make an immediate impact,” said Coleman. “(Coach K) needs to revamp and he says that I am a really good leader and a guy that can really help with that program.”

The fourth member of a strong recruiting class that ranks second to only Kentucky at this point, Coleman joins a class that includes five-star prospects Jalen Johnson and Jeremy Roach as well as four-star combo guard D.J. Steward.