Franklin junior guard Luke Kennard has committed to Duke University.
The whole town gathered into the gym at Franklin HS on Monday night to celebrate the terrific junior season of star shooting guard Luke Kennard.
The 6’5 wing won just about every award possible in the state of Ohio, including AP State Player of the Year, Coaches Poll State Player of the Year, Gatorade State Player of the Year and of course, Ohio’s Mr. Basketball award.
However, that wasn’t the only thing that the crowd showed up for. As expected, Kennard made his college decision public after the awards were announced, choosing the Duke Blue Devils.
With offers from all of the nation’s elite programs, Kennard chose Duke over Michigan, Ohio State and Kentucky in the end, spurning the semi-local teams to travel down to Durham, NC, to play for Coach K.
Kennard told TDP that he felt that Duke was the best fit for him, and that he had felt that way ever since he took his official visit to campus a few weeks ago to take in the Blue Devils rivalry game against the North Carolina Tarheels.
After tearing up the record book this season by averaging over 41 points per game, Kennard has gathered national attention from every media outlet in basketball, and has become a consensus top-25 prospect nationally in the 2015 class. Along with Cleveland VASJ forward Carlton Bragg, Kennard is Ohio’s top junior prospect, and will be in strong consideration for a spot in the McDonald’s All-American game next season.
An ideal fit for Duke’s style of play, Kennard is a sharp-shooter and versatile offensive talent who should be able to contribute in the scoring column in his freshman season. With size at 6’5, Kennard could play multiple positions in Durham, and could quickly become a fan-favorite with his high octane style of offensive play.
With Kennard off the board, look for high major programs to focus on Shaker Heights PF Esa Ahmad, Versailles wing Kyle Ahrens, Cleveland St. Ed’s forward Kipper Nichols and several other intriguing prospects, as Ohio’s class of 2015 continues to gain momentum nationally.
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