The last recruiting class Mike Krzyzewski ever signed at Duke included Paolo Banchero, A.J. Griffin, and Trevor Keels — three five-star prospects who would all reach the NBA within a year. The fourth member of that class was a four-star combo guard from New Jersey named Jaylen Blakes, ranked 89th nationally by ESPN and second in his home state. He was not the headliner. He was not supposed to be.
Born on April 7, 2003, in Somerset, New Jersey, Blakes grew up playing for the NY Lightning on the AAU circuit before enrolling at Blair Academy in Blairstown — the same prep school that had produced NBA All-Star Luol Deng two decades earlier. At Blair, Blakes played alongside Keenan Worthington, who would follow him to Duke as a walk-on. Together, they led Blair to the Mid-Atlantic Prep League title and the NJISAA Prep 'A' State Championship in 2018–19. In the state championship game, Blakes came off the bench and scored a team-high 27 points — the kind of fearless, big-moment performance that would define his career even when the moments were smaller than he wanted them to be.
As a junior, he averaged 18.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, shooting 35 percent from three. He was named the No. 2 player in New Jersey by ESPN and took part in the USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team minicamp in July 2019. Then COVID-19 wiped out his senior season after just two games. He never got a proper final year.
Coach K had been watching. Duke had lost point guard Jordan Goldwire to transfer and DJ Steward to the NBA Draft. They needed backcourt depth behind Jeremy Roach and the incoming Keels. Krzyzewski extended a scholarship offer, and Blakes committed within a week. "We are getting a winner with Jaylen Blakes," K said at the signing. "He is a versatile guard that can score and defend, and we're certainly thrilled to have him in our program." His Blair Academy coach told the New Jersey media that Blakes compared to Luol Deng as one of the two hardest workers he had ever seen.