Duke basketball solidified its hold on the nation’s top recruiting spot Saturday when Shelton Henderson committed to play for the Blue Devils next season.
A 6-6, 220-pound small forward from Bellaire, Texas, Henderson made his recruiting decision public in a live video streamed on YouTube.
He picked Duke over his two other finalists, Texas and Louisville, saying Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer and associate head coach Jai Lucas made the difference. Lucas also played high school basketball at Bellaire, a Houston suburb.
“Coach Scheyer believed in me,” Henderson said. “I really thank him and coach Jai Lucas. He’s from here, went to the same high school. So we have that connection already. I really appreciate them. They see me coming in, making an impact as a freshman. That’s what I want to do.”
Henderson made an official visit to Duke the weekend of Sept. 27 and returned the following Friday night to attend the program’s Countdown to Craziness event at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
He’s considered a playmaking forward with the ability to score on jumpers or by driving to the basket.
Rated a five-star recruit and the No. 15 player in the nation by 247sports.com, Henderson is the fourth player in Duke’s 2025 recruiting class, with three of them being rated five stars.
Cameron Boozer, a 6-9, 225 pound power forward who is the No. 2 player in the class, committed last month along with his twin brother, 6-4 point guard Cayden Boozer. The sons of former Duke big man Carlos Boozer are both five star players, with Cayden rated as the No. 21 player in the 2025 class.
Henderson played with the Boozers in international play in Argentina last summer.
“We already have that connection,” Henderson said. “The Boozers, I already know it’s easy to play with them. They make everyone better around them. So just being around them will make me better. So I’m really looking forward to getting out there and working with them.”
Duke also received a commitment last month from 6-8 power forward Nikolas Khamenia, a four-star player from Harvard Westlake High School in Los Angeles. Khamenia, who committed to Duke last month, is rated as the the No. 19 player in the class.
Even before Henderson committed, 247sports.com had Duke with the No. 1 recruiting class, with UConn, Notre Dame, LSU and Iowa State rounding out the top five.
With Duke’s current season about to tip off with the season-opening game against Maine on Monday night, the expectation is the Blue Devils will likely be losing three freshmen of this group in Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maulach. All three are projected first-round picks in next summer’s NBA Draft.
In addition, transfers Sion James and Mason Gillis, who joined Duke this season, are playing their final seasons of college eligibility. Guards Tyrese Proctor, a junior, and Caleb Foster, a sophomore, could also leave for the NBA if they have strong seasons.
Duke remains in the running to add another five-star player in 6-9 power forward Nate Ament, the No. 4 player in the class who hails from northern Virginia. Scheyer visited Ament on Monday night. Ament has made two unofficial visits to Duke while making official visits to Texas and Louisville, with a Notre Dame trip scheduled for Nov. 9.
