As one of only three early 2026 Duke basketball offer recipients and on tap to become the first to visit the Blue Devils, Paul VI Catholic High School (Va.) junior guard Jordan Smith Jr. is arguably the top target for third-year head coach Jon Scheyer and his staff in the cycle.

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And it sounds like Smith remains high on the Blue Devils as a top early suitor while he gears up to tour the program beginning on Nov. 1.

“Duke is a rich program,” the 6-foot-3, 195-pound five-star, checking in at No. 7 overall on the 247Sports 2026 Composite, noted to ZAGSBLOG’s Matt Whitfield while displaying his energized prowess at the USA Basketball Junior National Team October Minicamp in Colorado Springs, Colo., this past weekend. “It’s a Paul VI pipeline, people say.

“I just like it overall.”

The “Paul VI pipeline” tag results from the four Panthers who became Blue Devils this decade: former Duke basketball guards Jeremy Roach and Trevor Keels plus two members of Scheyer & Co.’s current six-deep, top-ranked freshman collection in guard Darren Harris and center Patrick Ngongba II.

Smith said that Harris and Ngongba have kept in touch with him about their experiences since arriving in Durham over the summer.

“They love it up there,” Smith told Whitfield. “It’s fun, and you’ll get better [as a player].”

He added that the Duke basketball recruiting team is one of three pursuing him the hardest, along with the two programs he recently visited in Georgetown and Syracuse.

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