Several Duke Basketball Signees Snubbed on Final Five-Star Tally

On3 isn't as generous as primary competitors 247Sports, Rivals, and ESPN in giving the coveted fifth star to top-tier recruits. Even so, it feels like an injustice to exclude Duke basketball recruiting prize Isaiah Evans from the five-star group.

But the site did precisely that in its unveiling of the final 2024 On3 150 on Monday.

Along with Montverde Academy (Fla.) consensus five-star forward Cooper Flagg, who ranks No. 1 in the class regardless of where one looks, Evans is one of two future Blue Devils who played in the 2024 McDonald's All-American Game. (Note: NBA Academy Africa center Khaman Maluach, who joins Flagg as the only Duke signees with five-star tags on On3, where he ranks No. 9, wasn't eligible for that honor given his international status.)

Moreover, the 6-foot-6, 170-pound Evans, a high-scoring showman whose game resembles that of former Duke one-and-done Brandon Ingram, powered his North Meck (N.C.) team to dramatic upset wins over a pair of seemingly unbeatable opponents en route to a state championship as a senior.

And North Meck just retired his No. 0 jersey.

Nevertheless, at No. 25 overall, 10 spots below his ranking on the 247Sports 2024 Composite, Isaiah Evans is not among On3's 14 recognized five-stars:

Neither is another heralded 2024 Duke basketball wing addition in Wisconsin Lutheran's Kon Knueppel. That said, the composite five-star's No. 17 On3 ranking is on par with his No. 16 composite position.

Meanwhile, Paul VI Catholic (Va.) center Patrick Ngongba II, also a composite five-star, sits No. 35 overall as a mere On3 four-star; he boasts a No. 26 composite ranking. As for Ngongba's high school teammate and fellow member of the nation's No. 1 recruiting haul set to arrive for Jon Scheyer's third season as Duke head coach, four-star forward Darren Harris finished No. 43 on the 2024 On3 150, just two notches shy of his 247Sports 2024 Composite ranking.