Art Heyman was Duke’s first nationally known recruit.
Of course, 1959 (when Heyman flipped his commitment from UNC to Duke) was before the era of Hoop Scoop, the RSCI, Scout, Rivals, 247 and the like. The recruiting industry was still far in the future.
Dick Groat, who preceded Heyman as a Duke great, was an unheralded prospect out of Pennsylvania, more celebrated for his baseball skills than his basketball prowess.
But Heyman was the best player in the New York area, which was at the time THE prep hoop hotbed and he was pursued by some of the nation’s strongest programs.