Meet Duke’s star-studded freshman class that’s taking over college basketball

Trios have always been a staple of human history, making up formidable forces throughout the past. Duke may have just recruited their way into having the next one on their team.

The trios of history include some of the most powerful and impacting people the world has ever known, including a couple of names easily recognized by even those who find themselves loathing the long, boring history lessons they sat through in high school.

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In days long past, Ancient Rome was led by a powerful trio of rulers named the “Triumvirate,” led by Julius Caesar. In World War 2, the allied forces had Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin. Basketball has been no stranger to powerful trios throughout the history of the game.

We’ve seen the likes of Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman. We’ve seen Bird, Parish, McHale. We definitely can’t forget LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade, and so many others who have made the game what it is today.

Needless to say, three is a magic number for the powerful and talented. This comes, especially, in the world of sports.

The Duke Blue Devils’ 2018 recruiting class has taken the college basketball world, and the world of basketball in general, by storm already in the young season. In games against Kentucky and Army, the emergence of the trio of R.J. Barret, Cameron “Cam” Reddish, and Zion Williamson has wowed the basketball world already.

It has also brought up even more questions about the Blue Devils season from those not-so involved in the world of basketball recruiting.

Who are these three freshmen that have caught the eye of nearly every basketball fan in the world? And can they cement their name into history as one of the best trios in college basketball, and in sports?

Duke has already taken care of highly ranked Kentucky this year, and in a big fashion. Let’s break down what could be the newest star-trio of the sporting world, and find out more about the players leading the team that oddsmakers have as the favorite to win this year’s national championship.

R.J. Barrett – The potential No. 1 pick

The Duke Big Three starts off with perhaps one of the most well-rounded prospects the NCAA has seen in some time. R.J. Barrett was a 6-foot-6, 210-pound prospect from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, who was rated a perfect 1.000 rating by 247Sports coming out of his senior year of high school.

Barrett committed to Duke on Nov 10, 2017, and joined what became (statistically) one of the best recruiting classes in Duke history. Duke landed the next two players we’ll discuss, giving them the first, second and third rated recruits in the class. Barrett has a lot of strengths, and very few noticeable weaknesses, which earns him the spot as the class’ No. 1 overall recruit, and gave him that nearly impossible 1.000 rating.

Barrett shoots left-handed, a trait which is becoming more and more popular in the basketball world. He also has a natural physical feel for the game, thanks to his high-level athleticism. Barrett uses a quick first step, great vertical ability, and great body control to get to the basket. Though his outside shot could use some work, it’s sufficient enough when paired with a dynamic ability to change speed and direction.

With Barrett, you’ve got a for-sure all-around offensive threat. The ability to change speed and direction also allows Barrett to frequently draw fouls. He gets to the line a lot and has already shown that so far this season. In the Nike EYBL circuit, the premier traveling league for high schoolers, Barrett was known as an aggressive competitor, who was often unfazed by the fact that he was often the youngest player in attendance.

Barrett is, without a doubt, an offensive powerhouse, but the freshman also already has a great court IQ, giving him the ability to find his teammates for clear-cut scoring opportunities. Barrett went on to lead the EYBL in points with 28 points per game, and finished top five in rebounds in that league, averaging 10.8 rebounds., Barrett also shot an average of 13.8 free throws per game.

There are a lot of reasons Barrett got a perfect ranking from 247Sports. His dynamic ability not only to score for himself but to create opportunities for his teammates is something that Duke will be counting on going forward.

Barrett spearheads this triple threat of freshman, but you certainly can’t sleep on the two guys behind him on this list.

Even Jordan had Pippen and Rodman.

Cameron Reddish – The silky smooth wing

Next on the list of Elite Duke basketball recruits from the 2018 class, Cameron “Cam” Reddish. Reddish is a 6-foot-7 two-way wing from Norristown, Pennsylvania. He has a lot of natural length, with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, and an eight-foot-nine standing reach. In addition to his massive size and length, Reddish is a fluid player with great athleticism.

Reddish uses his great athletic ability, blended with an excellent mixture of explosiveness and finesse, to terrorize opposing defenses. Reddish is at his strongest as an off-ball asset and shows great fluidity when roaming the court.

When needed, Reddish can bring the ball up the court and start the offense when needed, best shown by his three assists per game in the EYBL but is at his best when paired with a good guard to find him on the wing.

Though Reddish may not be the best three-point shooter yet, he has an ability to get hot from the outside. He finished fifth in the EYBL in scoring, and shot a league-leading 107 free throws last year. Reddish has great versatility as both an offensive weapon, and as a defender. He averaged 1.5 steals per game in the EYBL and grabbed 7.8 rebounds per game.

Though Reddish has a lot of room to improve in terms of his outside shot, and particularly in his shot selection, he has big-time potential. Coach K will be looking to unlock that potential this season for the Blue Devils.

Zion Williamson – The human highlight film

Zion Williamson was the Duke recruit that got the biggest hype on social media coming to college.

Since he entered high school, he has been a high-flying highlight reel all to his own, throwing down powerful dunks even as a freshman and sophomore. To me, in this 2018 recruiting class, his ability to finish at the rim is almost unparalleled.

One search of his name will reveal an endless highlight reel of his high school escapades, commonly throwing down dunk-contest worthy finishes at the rim. Head and shoulders (literally) above almost every other player, Williamson’s physicality is on another level.

The 6-foot-7, 275-pound forward from Spartanburg, South Carolina has a vertical that is almost inhuman for someone of his size, measuring almost 41 inches. He has often been said by many to “break physics” with his athletic ability. When his vertical was tested, it broke Duke’s vertical testing device, and the Duke record for highest vertical. He also has impressive length, with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, and eight-foot-seven standing reach. He has a great ability to get off the floor not only on the run, but he can also explode from a standstill.

Paired with great body control, and an ability to finish at the rim, Williamson dominates offensively at the rim, finishing with either hand. He is a high-level, energized competitor who seems to thrive in competition, already showing that in the win against Kentucky in the season opener.

Williamson also has an efficient shot from the floor, and has a great mid-range game, which will likely allow him to be successful at the NBA level, with his physical abilities. His senior year, he led the Adidas Gauntlet in scoring with 11.3 points per game. He had great showings in high-level competition, playing at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, Adidas Nations, and being named to the Jordan Brand Classic.

Though early in the season he has flourished as a Blue Devil, he does have some weaknesses. He can sometimes struggle against a weak defense and needs to work on hitting his outside shot at a relatively dependable clip in order to make up for his lack of height at the position at the next level. Williamson also has injury concerns due to recent injuries, most likely to the large amount of weight his body puts on his legs.

That being said, Williamson hasn’t been slowed down in the slightest in his basketball career thus far, and there isn’t any sign of him slowing down under a wide-open Coach K offense, spearheaded by the trio of Barret, Reddish, and Williamson. If Williamson can develop his perimeter shot, he could be the most promising recruit in the 2018 class.

Williamson is no doubt one of the most fun players to watch in basketball today. and seeing him match up with the more talented big men he will face along this year’s Duke schedule will be a great time to see exactly where he stands. Through two games, Zion looks like a locked-in Top 5 pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

The Duke trinity

In these recruits, not only did Duke land a gifted set of athletes, but Coach K and Co. landed a trio of athletes that complement one another in terms of skillset. Reddish and Barret, the skilled shooters, come together with the physical, talented inside player in Zion Williamson.

Duke didn’t stack any position too deep in signing these three. In fact, they avoided that entirely, even with the other signings in the 2018 class. Seemingly, all the athletes in this class come together to combine strengths, which allows the young Duke team to flourish in competition, for example, against Kentucky.

In addition to the three, five-star studs listed above, Duke gained the commitments from Tre Jones, brother of Duke alum Tyus Jones, who is also a five-star, and is rated as the No. 15 player in the class, and third best in the point guard category.

Joey Baker, a 6-foot-7 power forward also signed with the Blue Devils. Duke is stacked at the shooting guard and small forward positions, however, and it is more likely that Baker redshirts for Duke. Doing this, he has a chance to get stronger in the weight room and play a bigger role in the future.

Baker is a four-star recruit who came in as the No. 33 overall player nationally. The fact that the recruit who ranks No. 33 nationally has the chance to sit and take a year to develop speaks highly to the quality and depth of talent currently on the Duke roster.

This year’s class greatly added to the depth of the Duke class, and as some of the most famous trios in history, we could see the trio of R.J. Barret, Cameron Reddish and Zion Williamson make a big impact on the landscape of college basketball in the same vein the Fab Five once did at Michigan.

At least for a year.