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247Sports

Duke picked up its first commitment from the Class of 2026 on Tuesday, when five-star wing Bryson Howard announced his pledge to the Blue Devils live on the CBS Sports College Basketball Youtube Channel. Howard picked Duke over North Carolina and Kentucky following a whirlwind commitment that accelerated dramatically in recent months.

The top-ranked prospect from the state of Texas was unranked until exploding on the grassroots circuit following his junior season at Heritage High School in Frisco, Texas. Howard's first big leap carried him to No. 29 in the prospect rankings before he reached five-star status with his latest jump to No. 12 overall.

Howard comes from a strong pedigree, as his father, Josh Howard, played 10 years in the NBA after a storied four-year career at Wake Forest. The elder Howard was the ACC Player of the Year in 2003 and an NBA All-Star in 2007 while playing for the Dallas Mavericks.

Here is the breakdown of Bryson Howard's game from 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein:

He attacks the rim in straight lines, getting downhill and absorbing contact with a physical style. He rises up to finish above the rim and is a lob threat. He also has a translatable shooting stroke and has even shown some flashes of being able to make movement shots (45% 3pt, 75% FT), which is very unusual for someone so young (won't turn 18 until following his high school graduation) and with such long arms (6-foot-11 wingspan).

In addition to his length and physicality, Howard also has a naturally strong frame that is only going to continue to fill-out. Defensively, he's engaged, excels with his court coverage, and has good playmaking metrics (2 steals and 0.9 steals). There's still room for him to clean up some of his angles, but he has a world of potential, both on and off the ball. Offensively, he could take his game to new levels by developing his right hand and decision-making, particularly when he's in attack mode (1.5 assists vs. 1.9 turnovers).

Howard averaged 17.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in 37 games during his junior season of high school. Houston, Texas and Tennessee were also involved in Howard recruitment before he narrowed his list of finalists to three. 

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