OLDSMAR, Fla. — After going for 10 points and 8 assists in Advanced Prep International’s 74-61 win over nationally ranked Oldsmar Christian on Friday night, star point guard Trevon Duval he feels his team has started to figure out who it is.
“Right now we are on a run,” the 6-foot-3 point guard said. “We haven’t lost in a while. It feels like we are playing as a team, and we are on a roll.”
A Delaware native who transferred to API in Dallas from St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, Duval is the top-ranked point guard in the Class of 2017 and a possible future pro. He wowed NBA scouts at the Under Armour Elite 24 Game in New York in August.
Duval holds offers from Villanova, Arizona, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Syracuse, UConn, Kansas, Oregon, Oklahoma, UCLA, N.C. State, Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John’s, among others.
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After picking up the offer from Oklahoma this week, the No. 3 ranked player in the country by 247 Sports said that he has been watching how the Sooners have been playing on the national stage, and they have been in close contact.
“Oklahoma right now, they are obviously the No. 1 team in the country,” Duval said, “They’re coming after me pretty hard right now. I fit into their playing style as well. So that’s why I like them.”
Meantime, St. John’s assistant Barry “Slice” Rohrssen watched Duval at API on Thursday, as first reported by SNY.tv.
“As for St. John’s,” Duval said. “Being from New York, they said that I could play at Madison Square Garden, and they have a style that fits me too, so they’re coming hard.”
St. John’s is also involved for 2017 Christ the King point guard Jose Alvarado, whom Rohrssen watched FRiday night at the SNY Invitational, but while Alvarado is seen as more of a four-year college player, Duval could be one- or two- and done.
One other powerhouse has been in contact with the stud guard.
“Duke has contacted me recently,” Duval said. “Kentucky hasn’t been in touch in a while, but Duke has been contacting me recently.”
The Blue Devils have been known for developing talented point guards, including Kyrie Irving, Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook in recent years.
While Oklahoma, St. John’s and Duke have all been in contact, Duval insists that none have been working any harder than any other school.
“I would say everyone that has been recruiting me has been working pretty hard recently,” Duval said. “No one school really more than another.”
When Duval and his team get off the road, he says one of the big things he will be looking to do is make a list of his top schools.
“I was supposed to come out with a list already, but things have been so busy,” Duval said. “I’m definitely going to sit down with my dad soon and do that.”
FRASCHILLA EXPECTS ST. JOHN’S TO LAND FREUDENBERG
St. John’s already has two commits in the Class of 2016 in Brooklyn Thomas Jefferson guard Shamorie Ponds and Hutchinson (KS) Community College wing Bashir Ahmed, but ESPN international basketball expert Fran Fraschilla expects them to land a third recruit soon.
That would be German forward Richard Freudenberg, who visited St. John’s in August.
“I expect a major commitment from Europe here shortly,” Fraschilla, the former St. John’s coach, said on The 4 Quarters Podcast. “I do think they’ll get the young German kid who’s a terrific prospect.”
The 6-8 forward averaged 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in the 2015 European U18 Championships.
Fraschilla said he also likes injured St. John’s freshman big man Yankuba Sima and believes they have a nice nucleus going forward with guys like Sima, Federico Mussini, Kassoum Yakwe, Malik Ellison, Marcus LoVett and their incoming recruits.
“It’s the equivalent of an NBA expansion team,” Fraschilla said of St. John’s. “They have already put a number of pieces together and it looks like it will be a much improved roster a year from now.”
ST. JOHN’S HOSTING RECRUITS
In addition to Rawle Alkins, St. John’s will host a number of recruits for Sunday’s game against Villanova at Madison Square Garden.
According to the New York Post:
“They include four-star Thomas Jefferson guard Shamorie Ponds, who has signed with the Red Storm; top junior target Jordan Tucker of Archbishop Stepinac and his talented teammate, sophomore guard Aundre Hyatt; St. Raymond junior duo Isaiah Washington and Sidney Wilson; and Iona Prep sophomore Bryce Wills. Also in attendance will be: Our Savior New American (L.I.) duo Boubacar Diakite and Mamadou Doucoure, Che Evans of Maryland and Lawrence Woodmere Academy’s Aidan Igiehon.”
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