5-Star C Dereck Lively II Commits to Duke over Kentucky, UNC, More

247Sports.com

The second-best player in the Class of 2022 has chosen to play ball for Duke.

Dereck Lively II, a 5-star big man from Westtown School in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, will suit up for the Blue Devils in 2022. He’s a fantastic, highly-touted prospect capable of making a pronounced and immediate impact at the next level.

Brandon Jenkins, a recruiting analyst for 247Sports, published this scouting report for the high school class of 2022 prospect on June 8:

“The potential and athletic gifts of Dereck Lively are beyond tremendous. He has terrific athleticism for his size as he elevates off the floor well and is aggressive in how he utilizes his springs to protect the rim and control the glass on a consistent basis. One factor that truly stands out to scouts at the highest of levels is his commitment to being a center and playing as such.

“He values rebounding, sprinting the floor, and keeping his motor running in a high gear. He is dangerous in the screen and roll game and gives across Tyson Chandler vibes due to his length and productivity in the shot blocking and rebounding categories. However, with his budding skills on the perimeter, Lively projects as a big man prospect who could be more of a threat offensively than Chandler was.“

Jenkins pegged Lively as a future first-round NBA draft pick and compared him to long-time NBA center Tyson Chandler.

Lively fielded 22 offers and took three visits, seeing Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina in person.

On June 25, Lively announced on Instagram that he cut his list of schools down to seven: Duke, North Carolina, Penn State, Michigan, Florida State, Kentucky and USC.

In the end, Lively chose the Blue Devils, who will be led by future Duke head coach Jon Scheyer when he arrives on campus. Mike Krzyzewski announced that he is stepping down after the 2021-22 season.

Lively should make the Blue Devils an instant national title contender alongside a pair of 5-star class of 2022 Duke recruits in Dariq Whitehead and Kyle Filipowski.