’That place was home.’ Duke basketball adds forward Henry Coleman to its 2020 class
With its focus turned to adding front court help to its already strong 2020 recruiting class, Duke picked up a commitment from forward Henry Coleman on Friday.
The 6-7, 210-pound Coleman committed to coach Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils during an announcement at his high school, Trinity Episcopal School in Richmond, Virginia.
He told reporters in Richmond, according to a live Twitter video posted by The Richmond Times-Dispatch, he felt comfortable at Duke during his campus visit Aug. 30-Sept. 1 and that made the difference for him.
“It was truly home,” Coleman said in the video. “I talked to Coach K a couple of days before the visit and he said `you are going to know as soon as you step on campus if this is home.’ By that Sunday, I knew that place was home. “
Coleman, who averaged 25.6 points and 12.1 rebounds as a junior for Trinity last season, is a four-star recruit according to 247sports.com. He’s the No. 40 player nationally in the Class of 2020. This summer, playing for Virginia-based Team Loaded on the Adidas Gauntlet circuit, Coleman averaged 18.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in 10 games. He made 67 percent of his shots from the field (65 of 97).
In addition to Duke, Coleman’s finalists were Michigan, Ohio State, N.C. State and Virginia Tech. Coleman’s father, Hank, played defensive end at Virginia Tech for College Football Hall of Fame coach Frank Beamer.
Coleman joins 6-2 point guard Jeremy Roach of Fairfax, Virginia, 6-3 guard DJ Steward of Chicago and 6-8 forward Jalen Johnson of Milwaukee as Duke’s 2020 class commitments. Roach, Steward and Johnson are all five-star recruits who combined to give Duke the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class prior to Coleman’s commitment.
“Three guys that are unbelievable players on and off the court,” Coleman said in the video of Roach, Steward and Johnson. “I could just see myself playing with them and making a great run in the (NCAA) tournament.”
Duke remains strongly in the running for 6-7 forward Zaire Williams of Chatsworth, California, and 7-1 center Mark Williams of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Zaire Williams, a five-star recruit, is the No. 5 player in class while Mark Williams is a four-star prospect with the No. 29 overall rating.
The Blue Devils were also considered a finalist for five-star center Walker Kessler, a 7-footer from Georgia who visited Duke three weeks ago. But Kessler committed to rival North Carolina last weekend following his campus visit to Chapel Hill.
This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 3:40 PM.