4-star power forward Sean Stewart commits to Duke

Four-star recruit Sean Stewart has committed to Duke basketball for the class of 2023, he tells On3.

Stewart grew up a fan of the Blue Devils and they’ve been his dream school ever since he was a child. Has it always been a no-brainer that he would end up at Duke? “Yeah, it’s been a dream of mine since I saw a Duke game in third grade,” Stewart explained. “It’s actually kind of crazy because I went to that game (in third grade) and then eight years later, on the same day, I was on my official visit which is insane. It was a deep-down feeling. I couldn’t go anywhere else knowing that I could’ve gone to Duke. ”

Stewart, a standout out of Orlando (Fla.) Windermere High ultimately chose the Blue Devils over Michigan, Ohio State, Georgetown, Stanford, Kansas, Harvard, and Howard.

Stewart is the No. 30 prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is ranked as the No. 8 power forward and the No. 2 player in Florida.

Besides being Stewart’s dream school, why Duke?

“I really love the coaching staff,” Stewart said. “Even though Coach K is leaving…Coach K isn’t going to give the job to just anybody. So he made sure he had the right staff come after him. Coach (Jon) Scheyer, I love him. He’s a really good guy. He and his coaching staff are really young. They all got out there during practice and mixed it up in the drills. Amile Jefferson is now on the coaching staff and he really plays with them because he was just recently in the NBA. So he really gets in there and gets involved.”

“I just really felt a family vibe when I went down there and when we were at dinner at their house,” Stewart continued. “I just really felt like I could play for Coach Scheyer and call him my coach for the next four years.”

Jon Scheyer has been killing it on the recruiting trail, landing four 5-star recruits in the class of 2022. Now with the attention shifting to the 2023 class, Stewart will be joining five-star point guard Caleb Foster.

Who does Stewart plan to recruit to join him at Duke?

Stewart says he plans to start recruiting two fellow top-30 prospects, five-star forward Mackenzie Mgbako and four-star guard Jared McCain.

Basketball is in Stewart’s blood

Sean Stewart is the son of former California Golden Bears big man Michael “Yogi” Stewart.

Michael Stewart played for Cal from 1993-1997. He played with two future lottery picks his freshman year in Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray.

Stewart enjoyed an eight-year NBA career with the Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Atlanta Hawks.

Sean Stewart is actually a third-generation basketball star. His grandfather, Mike Stewart, played at Santa Clara from 1970-1973.

A 6-foot-10 center, Mike Stewart was the 1972 West Coast Conference Player of the Year after averaging 21.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. At Santa Clara, Stewart averaged 18.5 points on his career, which is No. 2 all-time in school history. He went on to play professionally in Europe.

Fun fact: Former Duke great Grant Hill has been a family friend of the Stewart family for nearly 20 years.