Five-star forward Bryson Howard, the son of former NBA All-Star Josh Howard, verbally committed to Duke on Tuesday.
Howard — the No. 12 player in the 2026 class, per the 247Sports Composite — picked the Blue Devils over fellow finalists North Carolina and Kentucky.
Although Howard is Duke’s only commit so far in 2026, Jon Scheyer’s track record suggests that won’t be the case for long. In three of the four offseasons since Scheyer took over for Mike Krzyzewski, he’s eventually signed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class — and in Howard, the Blue Devils have a key piece of what they hope will eventually become another standout freshman haul.
The 6-foot-5, 188-pound Howard plays, in a lot of ways, much like his father, Josh, a former All-American at Wake Forest who spent over a decade in the NBA. The younger Howard is an electric athlete, especially driving to the rim, which he parlayed into 19.7 points per game during Nike’s annual grassroots championship event, Peach Jam. He also averaged six rebounds per game en route to finishing top 10 in the class in both player index rating and overall efficiency.
That’s to say nothing of Howard’s defensive potential. Josh Howard was known for being a two-way menace both in college and the pros, and his son has the same potential, especially as he continues to fill out his frame. With a 6-foot-11 wingspan, Howard’s size also fits nicely with the focus on length that Scheyer has shown throughout his young head-coaching career.
The potential swing skill with Howard, like many young wings, is his shooting — and there are reasons to be encouraged there, too. Howard shot 40.6 percent from 3 during Peach Jam (on over five attempts per game) and 48.6 percent from 3 in the grassroots summer. With Duke’s expected turnover along the perimeter next offseason, Howard has a pathway to emerging as a pivotal piece for the 2026-27 Blue Devils.
Where does Duke go from here? The top remaining target on Scheyer’s board, by all accounts, is combo guard Jordan Smith, the No. 2 player in the class. Like Howard, Smith has a sizable wingspan and is known for his two-way impact. Smith also attends Paul VI Catholic High (Va.), which produced former Duke guards Jeremy Roach and Trevor Keels and current Blue Devils Patrick Ngongba and Darren Harris.
