Three huge Duke basketball recruiting races nearing finish line

Duke basketball target Patrick Baldwin Jr. (USA TODAY Sports)

It’s now the calm before the storm on the Duke basketball recruiting trail.The last Duke basketball recruiting splash was way back in August. It came by way of the surprise announcement from O’Dea (Wash.) power forward Paolo Banchero, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound absolute force who ranks No. 2 among high school seniors on the 247Sports 2021 Composite.

Prior to Banchero’s decision, it had been almost 10 months since Mike Krzyzewski and his staff pulled off a pledge from any prep. That was in November 2019 via Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) small forward AJ Griffin. He sits No. 7 in the class and has reportedly grown into a 6-foot-8, 220-pound…