John Blackwell chose Duke on Tuesday afternoon, and that adds a very interesting piece to Duke’s basketball team. So what kind of player is he?
Well, he’s 6-4, reasonably but not freakishly athletic, and he plays with immense confidence. He developed steadily at Wisconsin and this year emerged as a major factor in Big Ten play.
He’s a solid three-point shooter, hitting 38.9%. overall, and on open threes, he hits about 70%. He also rebounded well for the Badgers, getting 5.1 per game.
He doesn’t necessarily
finish that well in traffic, and his left hand needs work.
Defense has been hit or miss, but that’s partly because he was asked to carry a lot of the offensive burden. He won’t have to do that as much at Duke, and the Blue Devils teach defense well.
Still, he’s a three-level scorer. In the Big Ten, opponents tried to be physical with him and keep someone close as much as possible (referring back to that 67% on open threes).
They also tried to force him to make quick decisions, which sometimes led to turnovers.
These are things that can be improved upon, but ACC coaches will study those tendencies thoroughly. Scouting calls will be made, and video will be shared.
Every player this side of Michael Jordan has weaknesses, though. That doesn’t take away from his strengths.
He’ll be immensely valuable for the Blue Devils because he’ll help open up the inside. With Blackwell, Caleb Foster, Cayden Boozer, and Deron Rippey, the Blue Devils will have multiple guards who can handle the ball — conceivably two or even three point guards on the floor at all times.
That should also allow Jon Scheyer to speed up the pace considerably while increasing defensive pressure. And given the interior defense Duke should expect from Pat Ngongba, freshman Cameron Williams, and Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski, that’s a lot.
We haven’t even touched on Bryson Howard, who looks like an absolute dog on the court, or Maxime Meyer, who may surprise people. Nor have we accounted for the possible returns of Isaiah Evans and Dame Sarr.
Whatever ends up happening with the roster, Duke is going to have some weapons.
We can revisit this later, but as of now, this could be Duke’s team next year:
- Isaiah Evans
- Pat Ngongba
- Caleb Foster
- Dame Sarr
- Sebastian Wilkins
- Cayden Boozer
- John Blackwell
- Drew Scharnowski
- Cameron Williams
- Deron Rippey
- Bryson Howard
- Maxime Meyer
- Ifeanyi Ufochukwu (we’re not sure what his status is for next year)
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