In the evening hours of July 4, 2019, Jalen Johnson tweeted his college choice, somewhat out of nowhere. By doing so, the five-star small forward from Wisconsin gave Duke basketball faithful a mood boost just in time for the fireworks.
At the time, the staff in Durham had reeled in one prior 2020 commitment: five-star point guard Jeremy Roach, who had delighted Blue Devils with his decision in early May and is now the prime candidate to direct the backcourt next season. The haul of incoming scholarship freshmen finished at six after the fall additions of two more five-stars, combo guard DJ Steward and center Mark Williams, plus a pair of four-star power forwards in Jaemyn Brakefield and Henry Coleman.