On Wednesday, Mark Williams — a top-30 prospect in the 2020 class — narrowed his list down to three schools. At the top of his list is Duke; however, UCLA and Michigan are also in the running for the 7-foot-1 Williams.
Williams visited UCLA in late August, and he’s set to visit Michigan this weekend, too. The weekend of Oct. 25 Williams will take his official visit to Duke. On that Saturday, the Blue Devils will host Northwest Missouri State in an exhibition game.
Five-star senior Mark Williams is down to three schools: Duke, UCLA, and Michigan, he told @Stockrisers. He broke down his finalists, also, moved up his visit dates. Michigan gets an official this weekend and Duke visit moved to October. | Story: https://t.co/CjbaBexfd6 pic.twitter.com/mLl2yAPB4q
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) October 2, 2019
Duke is in the midst of assembling a power 2020 recruiting class — as is North Carolina. The Blue Devils already have commitments from three 5-star prospects — Jalen Johnson, DJ Steward, Jeremy Roach — and, most recently, 4-star forward Henry Coleman.
Coleman, who committed to Duke last Friday, is already working to help land Williams. Duke assistants Jon Scheyer and Nates James are leading his recruitment, too.
Duke verbal Henry Coleman quote from USA Today Blog- "Now, I’m turning in to a recruiter for my team and I’m going after Mark Williams!"
"It’s easier for me because we’re actually best friends and we played AAU together for years, and we’ve always played really well together."
— Blue Devil Nation (@BlueDevilNation) September 27, 2019
Like Coleman, Williams is from the state of Virginia. Williams played his prep basketball for Norfolk (Virginia) Academy; however, he transferred to the IMG Academy in Florida for his senior season.
His sister, Elizabeth, played college basketball at Duke, too.
2020 Class + Mark Williams?
Currently, Duke ranks as the No. 2 recruiting class for 2020 — in between Kentucky at the top and North Carolina. After the Blue Devils lost out on 5-star center Walker Kessler to UNC, Williams quickly became a priority target for Mike Krzyzewski.
For the 2019-20 season, Duke has plenty of talent at the center position; however, that will change, rapidly. Vernon Carey Jr. — despite his defensive issues — is a gifted low-block scorer and likely a one-and-done talent. For senior captain Javin DeLaurier, this is his last season of college hoops. There’s an opportunity for Williams to come in and start at Duke from the jump.
Read More on Mark Williams and Duke Basketball
With DeLaurier back, a look at Duke’s frontcourt depth in 2019-20