Dereck Lively II, 5-star high school center, commits to Duke

Dereck Lively II, one of the top high school prospects in the 2022 high school class, announced his commitment to Duke on Monday.

Lively is a five-star center who plays high school basketball for the Westtown School in Chester, PA. He announced his commitment via the program's IG Live account. Lively headlines a 2022 Duke recruiting class that also includes fellow five-stars Dariq Whitehead and Kyle Filipowski.

Basketball News NBA Draft analyst Matt Babcock provided his thoughts on Lively:

"The thing that jumped out about Dereck Lively II when I first watched him was that, although he stands a towering 7-foot-1, he is incredibly coordinated and mobile, which allows him to be an outstanding rim protector, defender and rim-runner. He has also shown promise as a developing shooter with his soft touch. I’d like to see him add some functional weight, but he is a legitimate NBA prospect nonetheless. We will certainly be monitoring Lively closely moving forward."