Incoming Freshman Luke Kennard Discusses Duke’s Current Roster Without a PG Next Season

The Blue Devils capped off a fantastic 2014-2015 season by winning the National Championship. Looking ahead to next season though, Duke is currently without a point guard on the roster with Quinn Cook graduating in May and Final Four MOP Tyus Jones leaving for the 2015 NBA Draft. There is still time for Duke to add a point guard so fans don’t need to panic yet, and several players have recently commented on the current status of Duke’s roster next year without a PG.

Live Feed

Betsided

Tyus Jones was aware that his decision to join the NBA Draft would most likely leave Duke without a point guard next season but wasn’t too worried about how things would play out next season, mainly because of classmate Grayson Allen. Jones had this to say about Allen, “Grayson is a phenomenal player. He’s very aggressive but he’s a smart basketball player at the same time. That’s what could allow him to play some point guard next year.” Allen has played everything from point guard to small forward over his entire basketball career and is a proficient passer and dribbler as seen some here so, if necessary, he could probably be the primary ball-handler for Duke next year.

Another option is for incoming guard Luke Kennard to come in as the primary ball-handler for Duke. Kennard was invited to attend the 2015 Jordan Brand Classic over the weekend and, although he did not participate in the game to rest an injury, he did answer questions about joining the Blue Devils next season and possibly playing point guard. He mentioned how “it kind of stinks” that Tyus will be leaving along with Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow, and also noted that assistant coach Jon Scheyer has told him to “keep working on that ball-handling” and the coaching staff wants him ready to play point guard next season.

Luke Kennard also has experience playing point guard for his high school and AAU teams, similar to Grayson Allen. Mike Krzyzewski also praised Kennard’s versatility on the court after he committed to Duke, saying “He defies one position because he can handle it and be a point guard; he can play the wing. He’s a natural athlete and competitor. Although he scores a lot, he’s an amazing passer and he’s an easy guy to play with. I’m not sure most people would say that a 40-point a game scorer would be easy to play with, but he is. He’s a great, great kid.”

More from Duke Basketball

• Duke basketball prioritizing frontcourt prospects in 2025
• Duke basketball: Unmasking the hate for the Blue Devils
• Duke basketball: Countdown to Craziness lands another huge visitor
• Duke basketball fills final open scholarship
• Duke basketball: Darren Harris, Isaiah Evans wear uniforms during visit

Coach K and Duke are currently working hard to fill in the point guard position for next season, but don’t appear to be too worried if a PG doesn’t work out. The Blue Devils have been successful before by playing shooting guards out-of-position at point guard before with Scheyer during the 2010 National Championship season and Nolan Smith after Kyrie Irving went down with an injury in 2010-2011.

The Blue Devils have reached out to 2016 Derryck Thornton who is considering reclassifying to join Duke next season in 2015, are interested in 2016 guard Jamal Murray who may also leave high school early to start college next season, and are on the list of destinations for graduate transfer Dylan Ennis from Villanova who has one last year of eligibility as a few options but could also reach out to other graduate student transfers or any other undecided point guards lower in the 2015 class.