Duke Basketball Target Colton Hiller on How Young He May Be in College

As fifth-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer suggested to Duke Blue Devils On SI during last week's ACC Tipoff in Charlotte, the Blue Devils are happy to be trend-setters when it comes to welcoming advanced talents to Durham two years in advance of their NBA Draft eligibility date. That was the case this offseason when they landed now-freshman phenom Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje for what figures to be a two-and-done stay in the program.

And it could be the case for one of Duke's priority recruiting targets right now in Coatesville Area High School (Pa.) junior small forward Colton Hiller. In fact, should the 6-foot-6, 210-pound phenom decide to make the leap from 2028 to 2027 and enroll in college for next season, he would be about a week and a half younger than Boumtje Boumtje is this season for the Blue Devils.

"My first week on campus, I would be 16 years old," Hiller noted during his recent chat with Rivals senior national recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw.

He was born on June 11, 2010, meaning he would turn 17 roughly a week after arriving to prepare for summer school and summer workouts at whichever school he ultimately chooses. Meanwhile, it sounds like Hiller has narrowed his focus to Florida and Duke after taking official visits to each (Florida on Sept. 5 and Duke on Oct. 5) in the past six weeks.

For now, Hiller remains in the 2028 class, currently checking in at No. 2 overall and No. 1 among small forwards on the 247Sports 2028 Composite. But there's no doubt in most scouts' eyes that the versatile talent appears more than ready on the court to play at the college level next year.

Colton Hiller Breaks Down His Own Game and Duke's Recruitment

At the USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team Minicamp in Colorado Springs, Colo., this past weekend, Hiller listed to MADE Hoops four NBA players he watches often in order to build his own repertoire. It's worth pointing out that the list he provided — Kon Knueppel, Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, and Devin Booker — includes two former Duke basketball one-and-dones in Knueppel and Tatum and that one of them (Knueppel) developed in Durham during the Jon Scheyer era.

"What separates me from other players in my class is just my ability to feel the game," Hiller added during his above conversation with MADE Hoops. "I use my mind more than I use my body. I feel like basketball is 90 percent mental, so definitely just like the way I stay calm and can score at all levels."

The first two 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions in the Colton Hiller sweepstakes popped up earlier this week. Both point to Duke as the favorite, but neither specifies whether that's for 2028 or 2027.

"They want me to come in there early and [be] a big piece of their next season," Hiller recently confirmed to Zagsblog recruiting expert Matt Whitfield about the Blue Devils' pitch to him.

Duke basketball's 2027 haul already consists of two pledges in Wisconsin Lutheran High School power forward Kager Knueppel, who is Kon Knueppel's younger brother and earned composite five-star status over the summer, and Australian point guard Luke Paul, who announced his commitment to Scheyer and the Blue Devils about two weeks ago.