ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported Monday afternoon that Jon Scheyer, the fourth-year head coach of Duke basketball, and his staff had contacted Desmond Claude, a transfer guard from Southern Cal and a previous UNC basketball target. One of the best players still available, the 6-foot-6, 207-pound rising senior is rated as a four-star prospect on the site.
Claude is also receiving offers from Kentucky, Ole Miss, Virginia, and Gonzaga, according to Borzello, who said Claude is “looking for a proven backcourt mate to share playmaking and a team built for a deep run.”
Joe Tipton of On3 said earlier Monday that Claude, 21, a second-time transfer who spent his first two seasons at Xavier before moving to Southern Cal last year, is not a target for Duke’s bitter rival, UNC.
Last season, as a junior, Claude averaged 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 33 games, 32 of which he started. He shot 48.2 percent from the field, 30.7 percent from three, and 76.4 percent from the foul line while playing 32.4 minutes per game.
Cedric Coward, a former forward for Eastern Washington and Washington State, is the sole transfer prospect to pledge to Duke basketball this cycle. Duke basketball is one of the few schools that did not lose a single scholarship player to this year’s transfer portal. However, he is still expected to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
