By JAMES MADDEN
Five-star forward Will Brunson and his family have had a longstanding relationship with Duke, but that’s not the only program the New Jersey native is focused on.
Brunson, a 6-foot-5 junior at IMG Academy (FL) , joined the Up Next Podcast with Khalid Green and Jamal Murphy on Thursday to discuss his budding recruitment and the suitors in it, besides his father’s alma mater, Duke.
Having already earned nearly 20 offers headed into his junior season, Brunson spoke about the programs he’s visited early on in his growing recruitment.
“Schools that I went on a visit to… Notre Dame, North Carolina State, Duke and Oklahoma State.”
Aside from the four power-five programs, Brunson notably holds offers from Kansas, Auburn, Louisville, Providence and more.
A native of Somerset, N.J, who transferred to IMG from Rutgers Prep, Brunson said he’s looking for a program that plans on giving him an opportunity and valuing his growth as a player.
“I’m looking for an opportunity to get on the floor,” Brunson said on the podcast. “But I also want a coach that believes in me and wants to put work into my development.”
Brunson also touched on his family’s longstanding fandom of Duke, which is one of the schools involved in his recruitment. Despite his father, Stan, spending three seasons with the program, Brunson said he’s remained neutral the past few years despite becoming a much bigger college basketball fan as his recruitment has ramped up.
“My dad went to Duke, so everybody in the house is always going for Duke when I was growing up but in the past three years I just became a huge college basketball fan,” he said. “I turn on YouTube and look at the replays of March Madness. I’m not really a fan of nobody right now.”
Brunson also has a younger brother, Dylan, who’s a rising member of the class of 2030 and is set to play at Roselle Catholic (NJ) for this upcoming season.
He’s rated as a five-star recruit by 247Sports and ranked as the No. 19 overall prospect in the class of 2028.
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