Duke basketball got the commitment of yet another 2020 five-star athlete.
The boys basketball season hasn’t even begun, but three of the top players in the country have committed to the Blue Devils.
On Wednesday, guard DJ Steward became the newest to join the class.
“Duke got arguably the best scoring guard in the country, regardless of class,” USA TODAY Sports senior writer Jason Jordan said. “DJ is special because he scores efficiently on all three levels against everyone. No matter who he played against this summer, whether they were ranked higher than him or were unknown, he dominated.”
Over the summer, Steward averaged 24.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in 11 games with the Nike EYBL, according to D1 Circuit. In five games at the Peach Jam, he averaged 20.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists.
Steward announced his commitment in a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.
All glory to God 🙏🏽… Final destination pic.twitter.com/AEztpjx1eB
— DJ Steward (@swipasnipa) September 18, 2019
“I love this game of basketball, the competition and the camaraderie of being on a team. And more than anything, I’m obsessed with winning,” Steward said in the video.
“When I factor all these things, there’s one university above all that checks each of these boxes.”
He then opened up his jacket to unveil the Duke logo blazed across his shirt.
Listed at 6-foot-3, 165 pounds, Steward is the No. 1 player in Illinois and the No. 6 combo guard in the class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
The Whitney Young (Chicago) star is listed as the No. 26 player in the 2020 class.
Steward had taken his official visit to Duke just this past weekend, according to 247Sports.
He joins a 2020 Duke class that also consists of five-star players Jalen Johnson, a small forward, and Jeremy Roach, a point guard.
“Duke as a long history of winning big when they have guards like DJ,” Jordan said. “He’ll thrive in that system.”
