Folks, word is beginning to circulate that St. George’s guard Elliot Williams has chosen Duke as his college destination. I just received phone calls from credible people who are confirming it. Again, I’d caution that information on Williams’ recruitment has been very difficult to come by and often inaccurate. But at this point, I believe this information to be true.

I’ll post more as I learn more.

UPDATE: I’ve got more confirmation now. Elliot gave the verbal to Duke and has told the Memphis, Tennessee and Virginia staffs of his decision. Barring a very, very, very late change of heart, he’ll announce it at a Friday press conference at St. George’s.

Certainly, the Memphis staff will be disappointed with the decision. I know Coach Cal and Derek Kellogg, who was primarily responsible for recruiting Elliot, think a lot of him. But this is not nearly as big of a blow to Memphis as it is to Tennessee, which had put a ton of eggs into the Elliot Williams basket. It’s no secret the Tennessee staff had basically set up camp in Memphis for the past year trying to seal the deal with Elliot. So far, Bruce Pearl’s efforts to recruit an elite player out of Memphis, while impressive, have not ultimately been successful.

Memphis now turns to Tyreke Evans, who will visit later this month and choose between the Tigers, Villanova, Louisville and Texas. If the Tigers get Evans to go along with Angel Garcia, they are still very much on track to land a blockbuster recruiting class.