Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt adds offer from Duke after impressive showing in Atlanta

Growing up, Jaden Schutt perfected his shooting form watching tapes of former Duke star J.J. Redick, video that Schutt’s dad projected on the gym wall at youth camps.

Could Schutt follow Redick’s lead again?

It could be.

Schutt, Yorkville Christian’s 6-foot-5 rising senior, added a scholarship offer on Sunday from five-time national champion Duke to his burgeoning list of suitors.

Schutt said he had a 20-minute phone conversation on Sunday night with Duke associate head coach Jon Scheyer – who will succeed Mike Krzyzewski as head coach beginning with the 2022-2023 season – after Schutt’s impressive performance at the Under Armour circuit event in Atlanta over the weekend while playing with the Illinois Wolves AAU team.

“It’s just a big honor,” said Schutt, who is up to 20 scholarship offers after Florida extended an offer Monday. “It is a blessing to be honored by one of the top programs. They’ve kind of somewhat been on the radar, but this is the first time they reached out.”

Coaches from Duke, Michigan State, Illinois and many others were on hand to watch Schutt and the Wolves in Atlanta for the first July live recruiting period in two years. The Wolves went 7-0 over four days in Atlanta.

“It was a good weekend, it’s a fun group of guys to play with and we enjoy being around each other. Going undefeated helps, obviously,” said Schutt, who will be in Texas next weekend and Indianapolis the following weekend with the Wolves. “I thought I played pretty good, shot the ball at a high percentage, was able to find my teammates. One thing that stands out is athleticism. Coaches see it on film and see it in person and end up being shocked. My passing ability, I was able to showcase that too.”

Schutt, the 2021 Record Newspapers Player of the Year, averaged 26.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.6 steals as a junior, while shooting 40.3% from the 3-point line and 84% on free throws for the No. 1-ranked team in Class 1A.

Rated among the top four players in Illinois’ Class of 2022, Schutt saw his recruitment soar last summer with the likes of Michigan State, Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa offering. In recent months Louisville and Oklahoma joined that list, but clearly Duke – which has made 12 Final Four appearances in Krzyzewski’s 40-year career there – is an eye-opening offer.

“That’s a big one, that’s exciting,” Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern said. “That is one school that Jaden has been a fan of since he was a little kid. I don’t know where they stand on the pecking order but I know the family is planning to visit whenever they can.”

Schutt made four visits in June – to Illinois for an unofficial, Michigan State for an official and Iowa and Wisconsin on unofficials. He said he’ll probably wait to the fall to make more visits – but provided no timetable on his decision.

He has plenty of choices, after a year that’s seen his recruiting take off.

“For sure it’s been a wild recruitment process,” Schutt said. “It’s definitely an honor to hear from all those coaches.”

Schutt and the Mustangs should be one of the favorites to win the Class 1A title this coming season.

Yorkville Christian has enjoyed a successful summer, starting with a 5-1 finish at the Oswego East Shootout without Schutt and Brayden Long. Schutt wasn’t at Normal West with the Mustangs while on his visit to Michigan State, but returned at Burlington Central where Yorkville Christian went 2-1, its only loss to Class 4A power Glenbard West. The Mustangs wrapped up their summer at Ridgewood, beating Brother Rice in the final game.

“In the games without Jaden and Brayden, our two primary shooters and ballhandlers, the other guys stepped up,” Sovern said. “Tyler [Burrows] and KJ [Vasser] benefitted the most I think because the ball was in their hands more. It was nice to see the group bond.”