Highly rated basketball recruit Alex Murphy will graduate from high school a year early and enroll at Duke in 2011 rather than 2012, his father confirmed Tuesday night.

Jay Murphy, who played four seasons in the NBA in the mid- to late-1980s, referred to a quote his son gave Fox Sports columnist Jeff Goodman, saying Alex considered this a difficult decision but one that's best for him.

"We're excited about the opportunity for Alex," Jay Murphy said. "We know it's a great program, and we know he's going to have to work harder than he ever did before."

Murphy was rated the No. 11 player overall in the class of 2012 by Scout.com.

Josh Selby’s decision to enter the 2011 NBA Draft may have helped the Jayhawks in the Trevor Lacey recruiting sweepstakes.

Lacey, a high-scoring, deadly shooting 6-foot-3, 200-pound combo guard from Huntsville (Ala.) Butler High, has a final list of KU, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, UConn and North Carolina State, which is now led by former Alabama coach Mark Gottfried.

“The (KU) roster now has a gaping void at the shooting guard position and Lacey would fill that need nicely,” Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer wrote. “He has a superb basketball IQ, is physically ready and is an outstanding long-distance shooting threat off the catch.

“There is no doubt that instant playing time is a major factor in Lacey's decision, but Kansas faces heavy competition for Lacey. Alabama — Lacey’s ‘backyard’ school — is in need of shooters and has available playing time. Kentucky has developed a strong relationship with Lacey, and if Brandon Knight leaves school, Lacey could very well end up in Lexington,” Meyer added.

The No. 34-rated Lacey averaged 31.4 points a game last season.

Four Kentucky signees - guard Marquis Teague and forwards Michael Gilchrist, Anthony Davis and Kyle Wiltjer – will be old friends by the time they arrive in Lexington together later this year.

They've been making a tour of national all-star games, which speaks to the quality of coach John Calipari's latest recruiting class.

Teague and Davis are rooming together for a third time on the all-star circuit, creating a friendship that has them planning to room together at Kentucky.

"We have a bond now," Gilchrist said. "We have so much fun together. I can't wait to get there."

Kentucky signee Marquis Teague, the consensus top ranked point guard in his class, hopes Brandon Knight returns to the Wildcats.

"I want to play with the best players possible, I want to play in the same backcourt with Brandon," Teague said in a recent interview. "I want him to come back because having the best players gives us the best chance to win."

Teague also had a thought on what would happen if Knight stays: "I think we could really make it a lot of trouble in the SEC if he comes back."

Rick Barnes announced Thursday that forward Kevin Thomas (Ajax, Ontario , Canada) has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball Texas.

With the addition, the Longhorns have a five-man incoming freshmen class that includes guards Myck Kabongo, Julien Lewis and Sheldon McClellan along with forward Jonathan Holmes.

Thomas, a 6-7, 200 pound forward from Christian Faith Center Academy averaged 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks per game during his senior season.

If Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph stay for next season, the Longhorns will represent Canada very well with four players from Ontario.

Desmond Hubert, one of the top big men remaining in the country, picked North Carolina over Maryland.

Hubert was one of the top big men left on board.

“When I decided what school I wanted to be at, I took basketball out of the picture and said, where would I feel more comfortable at as a regular student?” Hubert told CBSSports.com. “I was more comfortable with the campus, students and the high quality of an education I can receive at UNC.”

Hubert is a 6-foot-9 center from New Egypt (N.J.) who ran with the Playaz on the AAU circuit. He is a long and athletic big man who runs the floor effectively and blocks shots at a high rate on the defensive end.

He will help provide depth behind John Henson and Tyler Zeller down low in Chapel Hill.

Duke could be adding two more standouts to their class very soon.

DeAndre Daniels is likely to deliver his pledge to coach Mike Krzyzewski very soon, while Alex Murphy, a top 20 prospect in the Class of 2012, has apparently been cleared to graduate early from St. Mark’s School near Boston, allowing him to potentially enroll at Duke this fall, a year earlier than originally planned.

Up to this point, Duke was already in possession of a stellar recruiting class that most experts had ranked as one of the top three or four in the country. The original quartet of signees included players, according to ESPN, ranked second (Austin Rivers), 28th (Michael Gbinije), 35th (Marshall Plumlee) and 38th (Quinn Cook) in the 2011 class.

Now, with Daniels and Murphy likely to join the mix, the Blue Devils may stake their claim as having the No. 1 class in the nation.

In addition to forward Michael Gbinije, the Blue Devils also have three McDonald's All-Americans signed in center Marshall Plumlee and guards Quinn Cook and Austin Rivers.

All four are ranked in ESPN's top 100 players in the class, giving the Blue Devils the No. 3 overall class behind Kentucky and St. John's.

On Thursday, when discussing his decision to turn pro with reporters, Kyrie Irving let slip that 6-8 small forward DeAndre Daniels may be pledging -- or may have already pledged -- to join the Blue Devils.

Daniels considers Kansas, Texas, Kentucky and San Diego State among his finalists along with Duke. He visited Kansas, Kentucky and Texas last December and has yet to visit San Diego State.

If Kyrie Irving’s comments during a telephone conference with reporters this afternoon are any indication, Class of 2011 forward DeAndre Daniels may soon be committed to the Blue Devils. Irving was asked if he had given thought to how good Duke might have been next season if he had decided to return.

“That’s something I’ve thought about considerably because of the talent that we’ll have next year,” Irving said. “I think this year’s team was really special and I think next year’s team would be really special if I were to return.

“I think we have about five recruits coming in with the addition of DeAndre Daniels. That’s five recruits. So it would be really special, so that would give me a chance to lead the team. . . .If I were to return, it would be a really special team.”

Daniels, a 6-foot-8 forward ranked 9th in his class by Rivals.com, has not announced a commitment.

Kentucky coach John Calipari is bringing in the nation's top recruiting class for the third consecutive year.

"It's in the same type of elite category," said Jerry Meyer, a national recruiting analyst for Rivals.com.

Kentucky's incoming freshman class includes three of the nation's top six prospects in 6-foot-2 point guard Marquis Teague (No. 2), 6-7 small forward Mike Gilchrist (No. 3) and 6-10 forward Anthony Davis (No. 6). The class also features 6-9 forward Kyle Wiltjer, the nation's No. 25 prospect.

Meyer believes at least two and maybe three of those freshmen could crack the starting lineup for Kentucky next season even in the unlikely event that all of the Wildcats' current underclassmen return to school.

In that scenario, Meyer envisions Davis and Gilchrist starting alongside Knight and Jones in a lineup with Teague and Lamb competing for the fifth spot in the lineup.