Morning Headlines: John Calipari 2016 Recruiting Updates – Wildcat Blue Nation

LOUIS, MO (KTVI)-Chaminade hoops star Jayson Tatum is one of the most celebrated high school athletes to ever come out of St. Louis. He is thought to be heavily considering just two schools – Duke and Saint Louis – but he told reporters at Nike’s Peach Jam on Thursday that he has not yet eliminated Kentucky or North Carolina. Even if Tatum joins the Billikens and leaves after a year, the attention that the commitment would bring to the program would likely draw in better recruits.

The pursuit of Jayson Tatum, one of the consensus top three players int he Class of 2016, seems to be winding down.

Tatum’s only official visit was to Duke, in February for the Blue Devils’ game against Syracuse.

The Blue Devils have had the top recruiting class in each of the past two years, as reported by ESPN’s rankings.

“It’s definitely real”, Tatum said from Peach Jam. “A lot of people don’t expect for me to have that school on my list”. Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum are considering doing what Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones did for Duke and that is to agree to go to a high-profile college together and try to win a championship.

The commitment could also help Duke land another top prospect as Harry Giles, the top-rated recruit in 2016, has talked very openly about the possibility of he and Tatum being a package deal. Their U.S. Basketball under-19 team won the gold medal.

Duke, which has had five players selected in the first round of the National Basteball Association draft in the last 18 months and landed back-to-back No. 1 recruiting classes over that span, is off to another strong start in its recruiting efforts for 2016 after landing the nation’s No. 2 player.