Son of former NBA champion draws interest from Duke Basketball Recruiting

Westchester Senior (Calif.) junior sensation Tajh Ariza is the son of Trevor Ariza, a UCLA basketball one-and-done forward from 2003-04, former 18-year NBA player and 2009 champion with the Los Angeles Lakers. And within the first week of the open recruiting period starting earlier this month, the 6-foot-8, 180-pound five-star Duke basketball player was getting attention at his school.

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According to On3’s Jamie Shaw, Kentucky and Arkansas were among the other major recruiters keeping an eye on Tajh Ariza, who moved up one spot on the 247Sports 2026 Composite earlier this week to crack the top five for the first time.

He was ranked No. 15 in early June, so there’s no doubt Ariza’s stock is rising, now well within reach of No. 1 overall.

“He plays a minimalist game, if that makes sense,” Shaw recently explained to Kentucky Sports Radio’s Jacob Polacheck on the Here Comes the Boom podcast. “He’s got great length. The shooting is coming, and that’s kind of going to be the X-factor for how high he can go in the class… He’s a good athlete. He’s very young for his class, which will be interesting to see him fill out as he’s already in the right position.”

According to 247Sports, Ariza’s offer includes eight early suitors, a list that already includes Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA and Arkansas.

Meanwhile, third-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer has extended early offers to three 2026 prospects: Paul VI Catholic High School (Virginia) five-star guard Jordan Smith Jr., St. John Bosco High School (Calif.) five-star guard Brandon McCoy Jr. and Compass Prep (Ariz.) five-star forward Miikka Muurinen.

These three full-fledged Blue Devil targets all rank in the top twelve of the cycle.

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