Banks Commits To Duquesne

For the second time in less than two weeks, the Duquesne basketball program has received a commitment from a highly rated  player from the state of Florida.

Last week it was point guard Jamari Wheeler and now it’s Saint Petersburg HS forward Darius Banks. At least one scouting service (Scout.com) rate Banks as a 4-star prospect. This is a player that definitely has a chance to play early for the Dukes.

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“Yes, Jamari had a big part in this commitment because it made it even better to commit being like he’s family. I’m very excited to play with him.”

Like Wheeler, Banks decided to commit to the Dukes while on an official visit to Pittsburgh. Aside from Jim Ferry and Duquesne, Wheeler had scholarship offers from schools like South Florida, Central Florida, Kansas State, Florida Gulf Coast and Wyoming.

“I committed to Duquesne University because they promoted me better on and off the court and I feel like they can develop me better than any other college,” said Banks.

Banks tells me that he’s a fan of Coach Ferry’s offense and was really impressed with the city of Pittsburgh and Duquesne’s campus.

“I like how Duquesne uses their guards and how they’ve developed them over 4 years. I love Coach Ferry’s style of play and how they get up and down. I was also impressed with the before and after pictures of how the strength and conditioning coaches developed them through the summer,” said Banks.

“My impression of the city is that it’s a big sports city and they have a lot of sports fans to support them. The Duquesne students love the basketball players.”

This is Duquesne’s second verbal commitment for 2017 and they likely will sign 2 more players for this year’s class.