Over the last two weeks or so, the Duke basketball program has shown interest in several top prospects in the 2027 recruiting class.

Head coach Jon Scheyer has been overwhelmingly successful as a recruiter since he took over in Durham, and he is now targeting an interesting slew of prospects in the 2027 class to keep that trend alive.

The Blue Devils officially offered 4-star forward Asa Montgomery last week. They have now scheduled an official visit with the 6'7" prospect. Given how Duke's roster could look a year from now, targeting a recruit like Montgomery makes sense.

Duke Targeting Lengthy 2027 Wings/Forwards Makes Sense

Montgomery is the No. 28 overall prospect and No. 8 small forward in the 2027 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports 2027 Composite Rankings. The Blue Devils offered the Hillgrove High School (GA) product about a week ago.

The 4-star prospect has recently received offers from programs such as UConn, Kentucky, Michigan State, Arizona, and Michigan. Montgomery scheduled an official visit to Duke for Oct. 2. He has also scheduled visits with LSU, Florida, UConn, Providence, North Carolina, Arizona, and Louisville.

Montgomery participated in the FIBA U17 Men's World Cup this summer with Team USA, along with Duke freshman Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and potential 5-star Duke 2027 target Beckham Black. In seven appearances, the 6'7" forward averaged 9.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals a game in 17.0 minutes of action.

Montgomery has shown flashes of scoring versatility as well as being a great rebounder and versatile defender. The Blue Devils have also recently offered 5-star recruit Demarcus Henry and 4-star Deng Ngor, two other wing-type players in the 2027 recruiting class. With how Duke's roster could look a year from now, targeting bigger, versatile wings makes a lot of sense.

Duke's Guard Room Could Look a Lot of Different Ways in 2027-28

The Blue Devils have the deepest backcourt in college basketball this season with seniors Caleb Foster and John Blackwell, sophomore Cayden Boozer, and 5-star freshman Deron Rippey Jr.

Foster and Blackwell are entering their true senior years, and the NCAA's passing of the new age-based eligibility model could change their career outlook a year from now.

In this new "5-in-5" eligibility model, both Foster and Blackwell could return to Duke in 2027-28 if they wanted to. In theory, all four of Scheyer and Co.'s guards heading into this year could return a year from now.

Now, whether that happens won't be decided for quite some time. Still, with Duke recently offering a few wings who project as versatile scorers and defenders at the next level, it seems like Scheyer and Co. are potentially anticipating a return for at least some combination of the four guards currently on the roster.

In today's college basketball landscape, experience and continuity often provide more value than a 5-star high school recruit. It is generally seen as a much bigger win for a program to keep its starting point guard around or find a top talent in the transfer portal rather than landing the top point guard out of high school.

Again, it will remain in question for quite some time whether all, some combination, or none of the Blue Devils' 2026-27 guards return to the program in a year. Nonetheless, Scheyer and his staff going after wings in the 2027 class makes sense with the newfound possibility that Foster and Blackwell could return for a fifth season.

Even if neither Foster nor Blackwell comes back to Durham in a year, keeping at least one of Boozer or Rippey would probably be a priority for the program.